Take Heed
1. (Mark 13:5-13) Jesus answers their first question, “When will the Temple be destroyed?” It had not yet been destroyed and won’t be until 70 AD. This is all for the time of the Disciples between the time of the Olivet Discourse on the Mount of Olives and the destruction of Herod’s Temple in 70 AD. Remember, Jesus is answering the Disciple’s questions and speaking directly to them.
2. (Luke 21:8-12) “But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you…” Now, notice the break in the thought. What is Jesus saying here? Jesus is warning His Disciples of all the things they’re going to encounter, and then He says four words most people overlook, “But before all these…!” So, He’s giving us insight. He said these mark the “beginning of sorrows!”And from the “beginning of sorrows,” these things will be prominent throughout world history as they are growing worse by the hour – wars, famines, pestilences, natural disasters, etc. Jesus said “Before” all these things, they will lay hands on you. He’s speaking to the Disciples and the Saints of that day before the temple's destruction. The rest of Verse 12 says “…and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My Name's sake.”
3. (Luke 21:13-19) Jesus is telling His Disciples what they would begin to encounter before the Temple would be destroyed. They’re not last-days church events that we have to worry about! We’re the Church that the Bible says becomes mature, holy, pure, so anointed by the Holy Spirit that we are a perfect reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ on this Earth. In the Book of Acts, numerous times, the authorities wanted to arrest them all, but because of their number and popularity, they wouldn’t touch them. We’re not the early church. We’re the Church that will meet the Lord in the air (Ephesians 5:25-27). If He’s coming back for a glorious Church, it must be glorious before He returns!
4. Jesus in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” That means Jesus is going to finish what He’s started. Satan hated the Church. If you build something, that means you not only start it, but you finish it! According to Paul in Ephesians 4, the Church will be perfected, active in ministry, maturing, and edifying. In Verse 13, it says, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” The Church of the last days will be just like Christ, having the mind of Christ and doing the work of Christ before it’s caught away. It will be a church where the five-fold ministry is in full operation, fulfilling the “greater works than these” prophecy of Jesus. It will be a church about its Godly assignment of winning souls and discipling believers.
5. Before we’re caught away, we are not the defeated church; we’re not the persecuted Church; we’re not the tribulation church; we’re the glorious church, victorious and overcoming, more than conquerors (Song of Solomon 6:10)! We will be caught up victorious through the Lord Jesus Christ to meet Him in the air! (1 Thessalonians 4:13)! Are you ready?