This sermon was imported from our previous website, which many have broken some of the content. We apologize in advance for any strange formatting or broken links you may find.
In this passage, Jesus begins teaching and preparing His disciples concerning future events (both near and distant) that will occur. Some of these events are painful realities, such as the destruction of the nation of Israel, its temple, false witnesses against the church and immense persecution on those who follow Christ. Yet some of these events also involve our glorious hope, such as the return of Jesus, His righteous judgment of evil and our eternal union with Him. The purpose of Jesus teaching this wasn’t to create hysteria, unleash a wave of Left Behind movies or invoke needless eschatological debates within the church, but rather to prepare them in perseverance for the upcoming persecution, to fix their hope on the glorious promises of Christ yet to be revealed, and to ensure they stay laser-focused on their mission: preaching the gospel to all nations.