This sermon delves into the foundational question of whether to take the Bible literally, exploring the implications of literal interpretation and the need for consistency in applying God's Word. It addresses the potential deception that arises when people deviate from the truth of Scripture and emphasizes the importance of being prepared for Christ's return, urging believers to not be caught off guard by worldly distractions or unpreparedness.

Matthew 24, and as you know it's going to take quite a while to get through Matthew 24 because there's a lot to talk about. We're talking about what does this apply to and it's going to take probably a few weeks if not maybe a few months to get through everything and I just the foundation I want to start with tonight that's going to be the foundation for the whole series is do you take the Bible literally so the message is you don't take the Bible literally do you because people say that you don't take the Bible literally saying do you yes I do when you're supposed to and we're gonna cover what that looks like so the title of messages you don't take the Bible literally do you I should have probably just titled it do you take the Bible literally would have been much easier and it's it's funny you'll see this a lot like on you ever watch Bill O'Reilly I haven't probably in a few years but a lot of those guys on TV they'll say when it comes up the Bible it's like wow you don't take that literally you know you don't have to take that literally and usually the reason people don't want you to take the Bible literally is because they don't like the application as soon as they like the application then you can take it literal in other words I was just in a memorial service this afternoon and everybody's talking about heaven even people who aren't Christians it you know heavens is great heaven heaven hell we'll see you in heaven and I remember when that one movie star Fast and Furious guy crashed in Santa Clarita and died and a lot of people you know we'll see you in heaven and so Evan but when it comes to hell no no no that's all figurative Sheol Gehenna that was all Old Testament the Jesus was talking about a garbage dump on fire and it's really doesn't apply to us today well you can't take heaven literally and then not take the other side of that literally so a lot of people don't want to take the Bible literally when it comes to applying it when it when the application challenges their lifestyle they say well you can't really take that literally I just had a couple weeks ago down and it was I think about an hour from here I don't remember the exact maybe Sun Valley Panorama City in there and I ran to a couple guys and they're talking over heard them of course you know me I kind of a little bit but with the whole area with with homosexuality and gay marriage and taking them through Jude and and Genesis and Paul's words and Corinthians and the whole Jesus's discourse on fornication pornea and what that looks like just everything goes well those things you can't really take literally you can't I mean Shane he said you know shellfish is an abomination and he says homosexuality is abomination Shane that stuff's not for today it's not literal but then he would use other passages with literal application in order to show that those weren't literal so we have to have consistency that you take the Bible literally yes I do but there are areas where God will use metaphors similes allegories and I hope everybody knows what that is because I didn't know what some of those were until I looked them up I mean I've heard the word metaphor you use something to get a point across a simile you show something similar to and then allegory use a story and God uses that through his word but for those of us who study the Bible it's not real confusing you can tell when it's a literal sense you can tell when it's not but then it does get tricky in revelation and different things so that's what I'm hoping to uncover and it's an exhausting study because there's just so much and a lot of it hinges on you hear the word fundamentalist taking things literal have you ever heard that you've been called a fundamentalist no just me fundamentalist means you take you you're you're not bending on these things you are a fundamentalist you take the Bible literally these are non-negotiables and the fundamentalist there's some books written 1904 1905 I've talked about before by RA Torrey they had different theologians come in and talk about the fundamentals Christ is the only way the cross the inerrancy of Scripture the virgin birth the resurrection these things are not negotiable you can't negotiate these things so in that sense we are fundamentalist but we're not fundamentalist in you know what blowing up abortion clinics and you know picketing funerals of servicemen saying you know that they're gonna go to hell because they were in the army and all that and we all get lumped into the fundamentalist camp and I don't like that but we do adhere to what the Bible clearly outlines is truth and truth is literal all of God's truth is literal there's literal application everything that God says in his word is literal in regard to application so you don't take the Bible literally yes I do here's why God uses metaphors often John 10 9 if you have your Bibles in the future you can look at these I believe that's where Jesus is referring to I probably should wrote down the exact passage here but where he's referring to him himself being the gate for the sheep I am the gate for the sheep is Jesus really a gate no he's showing the entrance I am the only way walking through the gate or simile in Job 41 24 where he talks about I believe it was one of the large creatures they're having a heart like Flint or heart like stone well obviously his heart isn't stone but it's showing it's comparing to show the magnitude of what they're trying to express or allegories like in Isaiah 5 1 where God was talking about his vineyard he planted a vineyard a beautiful vineyard he he tilled the soil he watered it this beautiful vineyard but then it becomes a vineyard that is repulsive that is just weeds have grown up and he shows how that is the nation of Israel that God planted them and the people destroyed that vineyard so he'll use stories to convey truth there's nothing wrong with that so here's a good explanation of what we should take literal because you're probably wondering well Shane well how do we know what's true it's not well a couple things let's let's read the words of dr. David Cooper he's the founder of the Bible Research Society when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense seek no other sense therefore take every word at its primary ordinary usual literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context studied in light of relative passages and fundamental truths indicate clearly otherwise some people said if the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense lest it result in nonsense and that's what you can do with the Bible and a lot of the groups that knock on your door take some of it and twist it around to fit their theology that's why a couple things are important in this study on Matthew 24 the Old Testament is vital and understanding eschatology eschatology is a study of end times the end is coming the end Jesus is coming judgment is coming the end times that whole study is called eschatology and to properly understand it you need to understand the Old Testament the imagery the the moons darkening the Sun losing its light the you'll be there's Old Testament imagery that all the writers of the Bible would use throughout and even into the New Testament also there's something called the law first mention so how something is used first in the Bible you would use that application or that definition throughout the course of Scripture unless the passage clearly indicates otherwise so something is first mentioned lampstands would be a good example in Exodus and then we see lampstands again a revelation and what what that lampstand means so here's the hopefully this will help take the Bible literal just just like what this gentleman said but I'm gonna break it down first take the Bible literal take a passage literal unless the literal interpretation contradicts self-evident and fundamental truths he said he said axiomatic but who knows what that means so I had to look it up to it means self-evident self-evident so you take the Bible literally unless the literal interpretation contradicts self-evident and fundamental truths you want to example that here's a good example Jesus the Bible often talks about the right hand of God are we going to take that literally does God have a right hand no because we there are other truths that are self-evident Jesus said God is not a person he's a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth God doesn't have a right hand and a left eye and a foot so you don't take that literal because in the well that's why you need to know your Bible because some people say oh yeah God's right hand it actually I believe it's the Mormons who teach that God was once like us and that we will be like God someday I just I was scared to say that let alone teach it I God was once like me Oh help us I mean it's but he would have a physical body so to have the theology can get twisted but we learn throughout especially Old Testament God's Spirit you don't see you'll see him manifest himself through Jesus Christ or different things but God doesn't have a right hand so that you wouldn't take that literally take the Bible literally unless the context shows that it cannot be taken literally here's a good example if anyone hears my voice Jesus says and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him well is he talking about me opening a door and Jesus is going to come into me and have dinner somehow he's in my heart eating who's going to pass the you know bread and it would know that you don't take that literal why because the context shows it can't be taken literally Jesus is talking to a church by the way rebuking the church and saying you open your open the door if anybody knocks if anybody opens that door as I'm knocking I'm knocking on your door open your heart many times I've heard Greg Laurie Billy Graham other people use and I used to use it many times too but really it's that's not a call to the sinner in the context of that verse the context of that verse is calling the church who has backslidden to come back to you saying I'm knocking at your door I'm knocking I'm wanting you to return to your first love open the door now somebody uses that as an overreaching application to reach somebody who's lost that truth can still be validated why because God is convicting God is drawing theoretically there's a knocking there's a convicting and the person needs to open their heart to receive so take the Bible literally also unless the literal sense does not make sense in light of relative passages so you take the Bible literal unless it doesn't make sense when you combine it with all the other passages here's another here's a good example Jesus said remember therefore from where you have fallen did they fall no did their heart fall yes repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and I'll remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent so is there a big lampstand about seven foot tall and Jesus is going to go and come in and grab that lampstand take it away and now we're going to cry because he took our lampstand no so you don't take that literally in light of the passage the passages he's warning churches he says that the churches are the lampstand and if you don't return to your first works if you don't return to your first love if you don't rebuke that prophetess among you that's leading the people astray if you don't lukewarm church if you don't return to me I'm going to remove that lampstand you look at exodus to see when it was first used in exodus 20 I believe it was talking about the tabernacle it was right before the holy of holies the lampstand was in the holy place it was made of pure gold and it was a reflection it was actually a foreshadowing of Christ if we had time so removing that lampstand what is the church's purpose not to sit here to be the light up on a hill to shine that we come in here we get energized we get charged up and we go out we we're filled with the spirit of God when Jesus removes influence from a church it will die or it will turn into a social gathering and look just like the world the music look like look looks like the world I could preach a very good worldly method message God wants to bless you if you as you're leaving if you drop a hundred dollars in that box no no this is serious stuff you're gonna get it you're gonna God's gonna bless you a hundredfold God just wants you to be wealthy and if you're not you know and just we could just really when God's influence leaves the church will either die or resemble the world there's no more holiness there's no more conviction you can go out and do good things we can feed the homeless we can paint the neighborhoods we can do good things but the conviction is gone I like what A.W. Tozer said if the early church if the Holy Spirit was removed in the early church 90% of the work would have ceased if the Holy Spirit was removed from our church today 90% of the work would continue it shows that a lot of the church is driven that's why we don't want to start a ministry just to start a ministry I mean every there's not a week that goes by somebody says you should start this and I say you want to no no no the church should do it no no no you should do it if God's truly called you to do that because when God starts a ministry yeah there'll be challenging it will flourish there will be fruit so we want investing into the kids or investing into the children's ministry or this other campus we prayed about for seven months Lord are you in it are you and that's a big question are you in it oh Shane it's going to be difficult we never saw you in Leona Valley it's going to be challenging that's you know a lot of people from the country up there it's not going to work well God are you in it God are you in it I'd laugh every time Shane that's country folk well I love Hank Williams Jr. country boy can't survive I can sing you all those lines I can run a trout line I can skin a buck I've got a 12 gauge I okay that's I was born that way too I used to dove hunt in Rancho Vista before there was a Rancho Vista Boulevard and so but but people if God's in it you just hold on for the ride so back to this literal sense a good reminder you know what while I'm talking about this removing your lamp stand this is a good reminder Jesus spoke to seven churches in Revelation 2 Revelation 3 these are actually not churches in Jerusalem they're up higher in Asia Minor churches in Ephesus Myrna Pergamon Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia Laodicea and Jesus see these are were literal churches but they had spiritual significance when he talked about the lamp stand and different things Ephesus Jesus said you have forsaken your first love and you need to return and I felt strongly about bringing these seven points up because it hits every one of us in this room these seven churches are what we deal with often leaving our first love forsaking our first love a good example to ask is is the word of God in your fight in your belly like a fire anymore is your prayer time is your devotional are you in love with the Lord that sounds weird to say no it doesn't are you in love with everything else everything else we're in love with but are we truly in love with the Lord is there a passionate relationship or have we drifted so Jesus says always says come back before I remove your lamp stand come back before I remove your influence come back to me you've lost your first love that was Ephesus and then Smyrna was suffering persecution and Jesus encouraged them Pergamon has been infected by the world it happened in look at this this happened 2,000 years ago it's still happening today so once the world infects us and we have no call to to holiness no call to purity we look just like the world that's why I often say look at your Facebook posts does it resemble the world or the word of God well Shane I'm not sure we'll sit sipping a margarita on the beaches of Cancun with a 12-pack of corona next to you having a selfie is not that's what I'm talking about I can get real on application here so we know when we're affected by the world what do our lusts and our passions line up with the world or the word of God and everybody's going oh that sounds good oh see see see the flesh is dominating many times Thyatira it's a church where they let a false prophetess into the church and they deceived the people they're just getting all it reminds me today of those who just dreams and visions and what the prophets say and they're getting all worked up in these things now do I believe that God is the same yesterday today forevermore I've seen him warn people in dreams I've seen him confirm things in dreams I I think I've seen people speak boldly into the lives of people through prophetic type or words of wisdom I have nothing against that but we got to be careful because that should not consist in the church be the full the full focus of the church hearing about dreams and visions every week I had a dream and this and dream this and dream well be careful because Abraham went 10 years on one dream we don't need to go every week and get this I had a I had a dream of this and a dream of that and God and sometimes he might do that but I'm saying be careful because I've noticed please don't get offended I don't know of anybody in this room but I've noticed that those who get into that hyper spirituality with tons of dreams tons of visions tons of this get if get off into never never land come back come back let's see what the word God of work oh god told me no let's get into the word what does that say God will confirm it through his word and the reason I promote that a lot is because that's the foundation that's for grounding I mean I remember a guy I I said this before it was a pastor locally I went to hear the speaker on an invitation and it was before we went to war with Iraq and he said if we go to war with Iraq God has showed me in a vision that America will not have enough body bags so about a year later I or six months later asked that pastor I said well I'm I hate to burst your bubble but I I don't know what the casualty was anyone even one death is sad but it was I don't remember some of you might and tell me after the service 2000 or something and you compare it to 40 million in world war one and so and I talked told the pastor he goes well not all prophecy is accurate you know it's just he's like well we can't have it both ways you can't say the Lord told me this and this what's going to happen that doesn't happen well I miss that one well you miss the other one you miss this and see but then they live in that culture of what are the prophets saying what are the dreams saying what are this what and they go off of those things and there's not there's not enough grounding there's not enough foundation there so he's warning the church don't be seduced away from the word of God and I've seen people in God's word praying and fasting that God will give them a dream of something he'll put a dream in their heart and they'll say that's what he's calling me to the ministry for that's what he wants me to do it confirms what's already going on in their heart but they don't live off that dream and then I have another dream of of cockroaches in their in their basement and then they think oh God's trying trying to clean my soul out of this and then they see a vision of this and the airplane crashing and oh God somebody's about ready to wreck their life and then they just walk around each week on these visions and dreams and that's not healthy that's not healthy it's called hyper Pentecostalism hyper charismaticism and I'm not making fun because if you look at the word charismatic bestowing spiritual gifts I would fall in that camp you're either charismatic and thinking that the spiritual gifts are for today or you're not and I want to embrace all that God has but it's grounded it has to be grounded in his word and sometimes those those who are the most um uh chasing after the you could call them fake signs or wonders or fake they're all into all this stuff are not grounded in the word at all so we have to be careful in that area as well Sardis had fallen asleep if you can believe it Jesus says I see your good works I see you're doing this and this and this and this but guess what you're asleep you're dead stop all this working working working and return to your first love and this is as we get older I'm seeing this even my own life but even especially those who are even older the older we get the easier we can fall into this camp because we have theology we have we know what to do we can point out the false teachers we can do this but we lose that first love and Jesus is telling us to return Philadelphia they had patience and patient endurance and then Laodicea many of you know Laodicea that's a famous church where Jesus said hey please be either cold or hot but you're lukewarm and I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth take that literally no right what's the context showing that's that this this lukewarm church is is displeasing to God and I often remind people we think we can live lukewarm and still please God we can't we're either we're either we're either all into God's camp or we're if we're trying to defense we're in this camp and again nobody can live perfectly but we can have a heart that says Lord I don't want anything to do with lukewarm living I don't want anything to do with the worldly influence there's so many areas I need your help in God remove these things and then we start to make lifestyle decisions and changes to promote this lifestyle this this one this this being set apart for God and that's what the whole lukewarm church is a lukewarm church basically is they're just just just no power no spiritual power no conviction they I remember I saw YouTube posting of one big church I don't even know where it's at but like for worship they did a Michael Jackson video thing and the guys danced and did Michael Jackson song and I remember another guy another big church on Easter they had the worship team doing ACDC I'm on a highway to hell you know that song I'm on a highway to hell and but his thing well I'm just showing the people you know it's about Easter and what hell looks like well you don't have to do it that way I mean come on who would even think of that hey Brant before you break out into old rugged cross I want to hear Ozzy Osbourne and just show that you know I mean it just but then there's also no conviction the sermon's not convicting it's popular it's it's it's it's it's what everybody wants to hear it's no that just felt great and it's pleasing the masses in the church there's no there's no heartfelt ministry taking place it's all superficial that's what the lukewarm church is and it's it's so funny when I read this Jesus we can all agree that Jesus loved us very much and loves us doesn't he so why does he rebuke us because he loves us see we should take rebuke sometimes from the word of God is a loving father no a rebuke is never for our harm it's always for our good so when Jesus says I love you and those I love I rebuke and I chase and come back come back so you'll see often from preaching a preaching should help to draw the people back to God and convict them so again back to the literal sense when the plain sense of scripture makes common sense seek no other sense therefore we have to take every word as primary ordinary usual literal meaning unless the facts indicate otherwise so that's the foundation for Matthew 24 I'll read Matthew 24 here's this this is one of the most you know what let me just read what D.A. Carson said if you don't know D.A. Carson he's a New Testament scholar very well versed in a lot of different areas he said about Matthew 24 what we're about ready to read few chapters of the Bible have called forth more disagreement among interpreters in Matthew 24 and its parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21 than any other passage of the Bible the history of interpretation of this chapter is immensely complex and in a nutshell here's why one group says a lot of what we're about ready to read one group says it already took place the other group says it's coming it's coming earthquakes false signs Antichrist the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not reader beware the Bible says the Antichrist a great tribulation it's all coming a large segment of Christian Christian people say it's already happened so now you see the confusion and if you're not saying I didn't know people believe that well I'll tell you why because you probably either went to a vineyard a Calvary Chapel or what they call dispensationalism where they believe in the rapture and different things because you grew up in that and I grew up in that and that's what we grew up in so when we hear this other stuff like oh they're heretical no they're not heretical they're actually closer to historical biblical Christianity in regard to what the early church fathers believed but now we do have more information with the nation of Israel becoming a nation in the mid-1900s and we see all these things happening so both sides have a good argument and I'm just going to tell you up front I don't take one side or the other dogmatically I see some tremendous sign it's a tremendous confirmation on this side that all these things are coming but this side has a lot of good points as well and this I would say we have to take the Bible literally not figuratively and then this side would say the same thing but then they take some things figuratively which the other type side takes literally so I'm going to try to hopefully unpack that in the weeks to come but let's read Matthew 24 see if we can at least get through the first two verses and all be on the same page then Jesus went out and departed from the temple so he was in the temple he went out and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple this wonderful wondrous temple and Jesus said to them do you not see all these things so they're looking at the temple assuredly I say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down so it's probably like you I haven't been there in 15 years but if you go to Vegas and you see whatever the newest glamorous hotel and you're like look at this oh they're trying to show off Jesus Jesus look at this temple unbelievable and he says I'm telling you the truth that not there's coming a time where not one stone will be left upon another so both groups agree that this happened in AD 70 AD 70 what happened it was it was it was so traumatic that a lot of people think that the book of Revelation when it talks about the judgments actually happened in AD 70 this is when Jerusalem was sieged and actually it happened I believe five or six years earlier there was warfare going on and finally the city of Jerusalem was taken the outer wall the inner wall the middle wall was taken they slaughtered the Jewish people all over there there's blood was rolling down this the the temple stairs and it was it was horrific and this is the time I told you about that the mother cooked her own her own child and ate that child and Josephus writes about that he said the whole city soon rang with this abomination when people heard of it they shuddered as though they had done it themselves and you can read Josephus he was he was a historian at this time let me read what he wrote throughout the city people were dying of hunger in large numbers and enduring unspeakable sufferings in every house the merest hint of food sparked violence and close relatives fell to blow snatching from one another pitiful supports of life no respect was paid even to the dying the anti-roman zealots searched them in case they were concealing food somewhere in their clothes or just pretending to pretending to be dead gapping gaping with hunger like mad dogs lawless gangs went staggering and reeling throughout the streets battering upon doors like drunkards so bewildered that they broke into the same house two or three times an hour need drove the starving and they chewed anything scraps which even animals would reject were collected and turned into food in the end they were eating belts and shoes and the leather strips off their own shields why because rome had when you siege a city it's not different here well you could actually do it here you terrorists will probably eventually want to go after your water supply and over your grids we've got three power grids i think mainly overseeing the power throughout the united states just three power grids you see a nice little nuclear bomb right up one of those power grids you just don't have electricity for many months i mean it's that so they besieged the city they surrounded the city no food no water the people were dying and then they took that city and that's why jesus wept 30 years 40 years earlier and he said oh jerusalem jerusalem if you would just have known the time of your visitation i would you would be spared this destruction so that's what he's talking about here in matthew 24 i don't know if anybody that disagrees with that we're not one stone shall be left here upon another and that that shall not be thrown down and that happened in ad 70. so then we skip to then we go to verse three right follows verse two here's where the controversy starts your bible might say above it the signs of the times and the end of the age other others believe that this is again paralleling with what just is jesus talking about happening at 80 70 verse 3 now as he sat on the mount of olives and now you can picture this scene there's not a lot of room but now they're sitting up on the mount it's called the olivet discourse they're sitting up on the mount of olives and they're looking down and they're seeing the temple below them they can see it so as he's sitting there the disciples came in privately saying tell us when will these things be well what what do those things be not one stone will be left upon another tell us when those things will be now if they would just stop there that would handle a lot of controversy but they kept on going and while you're at it jesus what will be the sign of your coming oh there's another question and while you're at it and what is the end of the age so when will these things be where the temple is where the these stones will not be uh will be completely broken down and what will be the sign of your coming and what will be the sign of the age so this group says it's all one question they look at it as one event when is this going to happen when is it when is this happening when's the sign of your coming in the end of the age when is that happening one event this group would say no there's different events the first event already occurred 80 70 but now we're still waiting for the sign of your coming and the end of the age basically the end of the world when everything comes to an end those questions have not been answered yet and the reason some of this is so difficult i think when it comes to prophecy is this i like what david gussick said one reason why prophecy may seem vague or imprecise is because god wants every age to have reason to be ready for jesus's return we should not think of jesus's return as an event far off on the timetable but something we have been that has been running parallel since the beginning of the church and that's the that's the interesting thing with prophecy what's speaking to i mean think about when isaiah prophesied that that somebody would come out among them from their people a messiah and they would the spirit of god would be upon them and it actually happened and then there's other prophecies where it happened and it's going to happen again and it's god his prophetic word guiding people throughout at history but that's why he wants the church throughout the whole last two thousand years to always be ready for his return we live with it's called the the the immediate the the uh the immediate return of christ we live knowing that he could come at any time number two others suggest that god's intention was to keep the future somewhat vague and clouded to confound the devil even as the resurrection of the messiah was vague in the old testament so if it's not real clear i guess that confounds the devil is one of the thoughts there my view on that maybe i mean paul talks about had they known had the had had hell known that it was destroying itself they would have never led christ to the cross so in other words i don't think the enemy saw the enemy thought he was defeated i mean the enemy thought jesus was defeated on the cross and hell was celebrating until hell death and the grave were conquered so they were they were they were laughing they were enjoying that and jesus right before his crucifixion said something interesting i think the niv translates it and it says that this is your hour when darkness reigns right before this is your hour darkness while you're reigning but so had they known they were crucifying the messiah the savior to to to to do a part of god's plan they might not have went through with it so that's what that's what he's thinking here and then number three though some prophetic interpretations are different we are sure of this he is coming again and we must be ready so here's the key question we're talking about in the weeks to come you like cliffhangers are the are the abomination that causes desolation which is the antichrist the great tribulation the coming of the son of man are those all past events or are they future events and it really changes everything if it's one event if jesus was answering one question talking about 80 70 as one event that'll change how you view a lot of things because this side would not believe in antichrist or a one-world government all these things and that's when you go well hmm things are sure looking that way you might want to rethink your position i mean i asked a guy a couple weeks ago i think it was now if you see a one-world government an antichrist uh army surrounding jerusalem are you would you change your position well no not yet because there's always been a one-world you know governing and there's like well what about if you saw uh the tribulation aspect and you saw more of that happening would you you know would you and so there's they're really caught on this this uh the side of all this already happened in ad 70 that and i'm going to explain that in in a little bit not tonight because there's it wouldn't be enough time but here's why here's why i do agree with with some of what they believe because the disciples believe that the time of the end was near that they're that the the messiah would be announced soon they probably viewed this as one event that the end of jerusalem would usher in the time of the end so i agree i don't think personally that disciples are going when's this going to happen to jerusalem and thousands of years from now when is the age i think they're saying when are all these stones going to fall upon each other when is the end coming and when are you coming back they saw this as all one event why look at throughout the the chapter preceding matthew he's preparing the disciples for his departure so they're expecting they're expecting for all this to happen it was soon they they live thinking it was happening pretty soon so i don't think they they're asking you know that's going to be you know thousands of years from now they want to know when is all this going to happen and another interesting thing i don't know if you ever thought about this but when jesus said many verses later we'll get into it that i tell you the truth he's you know don't be deceived earthquakes all these things this generation will not pass away until they see these things now d.a carson rightly notes that this then would be the only time in all of the gospels that this is an audience shift now to 2 000 years see any time jesus said this generation this you will see you will see it always meant right then right then right then right then right then but now in matthew 24 when he says this generation shall not pass away until you see all these things now he's shifting his audience focus not from the disciples but to us 2 000 years ago and he makes a good point it's the only time that there's an audience shift if you believe that this now pertains to us and not back then now if you look up the word generation of course it can mean a group of people and i've heard you know people say well that could mean the generation you know not living but that generation of people meaning the jewish race and okay but again you have to look throughout the whole gospel so i hope that makes sense jesus at the end of all this is going to say that this generation will not pass away until you see the abomination until you see the earthquakes until you see these signs talking to his people so if he's not talking to those people then he's he's shifting to a future audience and that's not clear it's not like jesus saying hey guys here's what's going to happen in about 40 years jerusalem this is now many many generations from here from now we're talking 2 000 years from now here's what's going to start to happen 2 000 years from now he didn't say that it was just here's what's going to happen boom boom boom here's the signs to look for but you can also look at the parallels earthquakes in various places well what anybody know what just happened it was ecuador no japan but it was ecuador ecuador today a seven something and i tell this i tell this campus like yeah there's always been earthquakes yeah not that many boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom i mean you set up the one world go you see that the the personally i see that there there's a setup for a one world government we're close to that the number of the beast 666 will be something on a hand on a forehead will be a thought uh will be you know there's a lot of different views but you can see how everything's lining up to where earthquakes wars famine all these things that are lining up as well that's why it's difficult that's why i don't that's why i don't jump on this side and say all these other people are wrong they're heretics they're you're just stupid because i they've got some good points and that's why i'm not on this side going oh all this you know all your dispensational your rapture you listen to chucksmith too much or jack hayford or john macarthur all those good teachers man there's good teachers so i'm i'm right here like that's some good points i like but that's some good points you know the tribulation already passed i like that side the rapture is coming we'll be out of here i like this side let's get out of here but see i have a concern too i don't want to tell my kids hey don't worry about any of this isis stuff don't worry you're going to be out of here pretty soon just get back you have to prepare your kids for death it's a hard statement but you have to prepare your kids for martyrdom this isn't the popular servant tonight service tonight right but it's the truth i'm shooting you straight i want to prepare my kids say hey here's what here's what could happen he could be here but here's what might happen and you prepare them that's why i don't i don't that's one one bad thing about the raptures is ever they persecution to them is not getting a parking spot we're going to be lifted out can i take you to china for a while or north korea or pakistan or god forbid iran i mean they're living in literal hell scared of their lives isis coming in and threatening and beheading and watching their own kids murdered before their eyes it doesn't get worse than that so they're living in hell they're living in that tribulation but we're here saying oh the guy's going to take us out here before that gets really bad well you should just thank god that it's not really bad what is there any difference in the christian here and the christian there does god love them less so that's why you have to be careful that's why one i'm that's one thing i did not like about constantly preaching the raptures we're going to be out of here as soon as it gets a little tough you just kick back and then you prepare some wimpy christians they can't they're like we're supposed to be out of here i'm not gonna you know we're not the aclu and and all these groups come to take chris christ out of christmas and they're you got to take christian out of school and they're so wimpy we should be able to hold the line say nope not on our watch my lord and savior said do business until he returns until he returns i'm gonna say grown men should not share bathrooms with girls i don't care if you're north carolina or south carolina or alaska that's wrong so the church should be that voice of reasoning we need to stop murdering millions of babies we need to stop ordaining great gay clergy this is wrong stand up church stand up who told but we're but we but we come back in that wimpy mindset the rapture's coming god's coming just sit back and and and eat cool drink kool-aid and i don't want to fight these battles well you better fight them because they're coming how you fight them by prayer and if i could get this whole church to go on a 30-day fast how about a five-day fast and i'll make it easy just juice no that's real hard well it's you're getting nutrients i know some people can't but see that's where the weapons of our warfare are not carnal i'm not going to stand in washington dc with john 316 and probably make as big difference as i am on my on my knees fasting reading john 316 asking god to to intervene god's got to intervene folks this is not good this is not a good direction when when when bruce springsteen and these other guys have the audacity to say well i'm not going to north carolina because they're not they're not pushing they're they're protecting children let's pass all kind men can go over where they want women go over they want that that's perversion there's a word for that it's called pervert that's what it is you're perverting perverting is you take something as straight in the truth and you realign that you pervert the natural course that god that's perversion it's not discrimination it's perversion and the church needs to stand up the church needs to be a voice a beacon of light pointing people back to the truth if i could get more pulp it's saying the same thing you might you might upset some senators and say you know we better listen to church they're they're right about this and all that instead of like no just be quiet separation of church and state be quiet church didn't say anything the stage no just quiet go back to sleep remember the whole that's a big thing right now separation of church and state and you saw god's not dead part two they were right on the money it hasn't it's not in the constitution thomas jefferson was writing a private letter to the baptist association of danbury connecticut and he said don't worry baptist there's not going to be just a baptist denomination there will be a wall of separation between the church and the state so there won't just be one denomination ruling and reigning they want to worship everywhere so they take that little thing and then of course congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise there of the exercise clause the establishment clause all these things it's garbage it's a smokescreen all those things were written so that the government would not get involved not get involved they would stay out of it and let the church be the conscience of the nation they shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor the free exercise thereof what are they doing they are preventing the free exercise thereof so the very thing that was designed to protect the church is now destroying her why because the pulpit is silent that's why i don't know that's just that's just enough to we need to be praying and fasting more and worshiping those are serious issues i just by the sheer grace of god a nuclear bomb has not been detonated in la or new york but it's sheer grace verse 4 jesus answered said to them take heed that no one deceive you no one deceives you how does a person deceive you you get away from this if you know this you will not be deceived let me add to this if you obey this you will not be deceived you want to talk about irony remember that the the young mom i've been talking about for facts past six years who left her husband and two small kids and says i know what i know what the bible says but god just wants me to be happy well guess who we got an email from two days ago now is life's falling apart if i would just obey god's law if i would just stayed in that shelter if i would just stayed in those boundaries if i would just obeyed it i would not be living in this misery that's deception why was she deceived because she got away for any time you get away from this you live in deception so jesus says do not be deceived don't let anybody deceive you for many will come in my name and saying i am the christ these people crack me up you can google people who think they're the christ and they've got followers and he's where he wears white i think lives in florida he's got all these followers i'm like gee when jesus comes you're not you're not going to be able to conduct business as usual life is over the master is here the lord ruling and reigning every knee will bow and every tongue confess don't go running here and running there when he comes it's like lightning coming across the sky it's crystal clear but people are deceived because they're not into the word of god they're they're they're they're just gullible for many will come in my name saying i am the christ and will deceive many how are they these people usually deceiving them right this guy's living in a nice mansion in florida and that that's what their gain is listen if anybody has to say i'll do ministry but i charge a certain fee be careful i'll cast out your demon for a thousand dollars what or all you know come follow me it's it costs about 10 grand a month and you pray on those things because they're just that's that's why people deceive there's always an ulterior motive nobody deceives with all out an ulterior motive that's why you can look at the christian faith and say that's pure that's noble that's right because the deception is nothing it's come to know christ what's in it for you shane not a thing but you'd have eternal life to you'd have a relationship you don't get anything from this no i don't care i mean i do care but there's not a there's no ulterior motive even those even those people knocking at your door do you know they're asked by others how many people did you convert this week there's there's stats mormon jehovah witness because some of you like what they have to report back to their bishops how many did you talk to how many did you convert how many said the prayer there's even denominations and i would encourage them to get away from that where they send in their tallies each month how many conversions how many baptisms how much because what happens is that doesn't look too good let's say we had 20 20 we baptized five we don't want to say zero i mean so you're altering numbers and that's what that's what would happen these these false christs would deceive people because of ulterior motives and you can just gauge somebody gauge something by the ulterior by their motives what are their motives 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 i think that's a good note for us as well all you're going to hear wars and rumors of wars think about how how much they heard about it right you would hear somebody come running in i just came back from damascus and it's an uproar and it's people get worried they didn't have fox news cnn drudge report you know buffington post all these things inundating us all the time that's why i talk about you're not you don't need to know what's going on in 14 different areas and 42 different wars and and the sky's falling we weren't we weren't created to receive all that negative energy negative energy negative news i'm talking new age now you weren't created to have all that negative news because you don't even have a spirit of fear but we foster that so jesus said when you hear these things don't be troubled don't don't be troubled it'll come to pass it's and it's a it's a it's a mindset it's a it's a war in our mind we have to think because sometimes sometimes i i feel like i could just i don't isis okay but what do i feel i don't feel anything i'm immediately with jesus how's that a bad thing but there's other days where you're scared you're scared like oh for my family and you live in this fear and then you then you take those thoughts captive and you bring it back and there's this war going on jesus says that don't be scared don't be fearful of these things that must happen it must happen one example that i came across was a prophetic expectation 1846 with william miller in the united states because of his calculations and publications there were hundreds of thousands in the united states who were convinced that jesus would return in 1846 when he did not there was a great disappointment with some falling away in some cultic groups spawned up from this prophetic prophetic wrong outlook on life so we have to be careful the great deception and let's let's end on that point the great deception there's two points just this week to concentrate on not taking the bible literally not taking this literally and living as if it's truth because it is and and and people will you will not be deceived if you're in this if you're in the word and the word is in you and you're obeying the word you can't you won't be deceived it's when we get away from this that deception comes in and the last area of deception is many people are not ready for his return many people are not ready for he's coming back as i'm as sure as that as sure as i am of that son coming up tomorrow morning that he is coming back people are just not prepared they're not ready he said as in the days of noah so will be when the son of man comes you'll be eating you'll be drinking you'll be marrying and that day will come upon you unexpectedly so i don't know where you're at with god but don't let it come upon you unexpectedly unexpectedly all you have to say is lord i'm not ready i'm not ready and i need to be ready i'm confessing with my mouth that christ is lord i'm believing in my heart that you saved me you rose him he rose from the dead and i'm surrendering my life to you i'm ready for your return now also though jesus says don't let your life be weighed down with drunkenness carousing and the cares of this life and that day will come upon you unexpectedly and i sometimes have a concern for christians who are not living for christ he's back burner he's not even on the stove he's oh yeah i go to church on sunday and i'm not but he says please don't let that day come upon you unexpectedly people say well would would they lose their salvation would this happen where they get all i all i know is when jesus says don't let that day come upon you unexpectedly it means you need to be prepared get your life in such a way shane i can't overcome this addiction shane i can't i don't have a love for god in his word i don't like shane what's wrong with me what's wrong with you is the is the flesh has taken residence in your home in your heart and you need to repent to that you say god give me the desire give me the willingness give me the love for your word and for true so i can follow you all the days of my life