Tatford, Fredrick: Christs Survey Of The Future

May we turn to the Gospel according to Matthew in chapter twenty four. Matthew twenty four and reading at verse one: And Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what will be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. May God bless the reading of his word. And I expect the old brethren are saying, now he's going off the rails, look where he finished that reading. All right, keep your horses for a little while longer. Our Lord Jesus Christ and four of his followers, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, had been in the north of the country, now have made their way down through Galilee and Samaria into Judea. And by the Sunday of Pass- of Passover week, they'd arrived on the outskirts of Jerusalem, at a place called Bethphage, renowned for his gardens of figs. And you recall, our Lord sent for a donkey and rode down that rocky road into the city. He crossed the brook, presumably left the donkey standing there, and entered the temple. He looked around and saw what was going on. Apparently he said nothing that day. And before sunset, he and his four followers crossed the brook once again and climbed the hill and made their way across to Bethany. And there, until the following Thursday morning, they spent the- they spent each night at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, possibly with their reputed father, Simon the Leper. They were well able to look after five men. They were an extremely wealthy family. If you've been to Israel, you'll, you'll have seen the re- remnants of their house and realize that they were, in fact, a wealthy family. On Monday morning, they rose early, apparently before breakfast. Well, they'd have to rise before breakfast, I suppose, but they went out before breakfast, started on a hillside, and they were extremely hungry. Presently they saw a fig tree. It was absolutely full of leaves. So, quite naturally, they thought there'd be fruit there, possibly some of the purple figs of the previous year, and two small green larks that held the fruit of the current year. But to their utter surprise, there wasn't a trace of fruit whatsoever. Now Lord Jesus Christ made a curse upon that tree. He didn't explain the reason for his action. Then they left the tree standing and continue- continued their journey down the hillside, across the brook, and into the city. They entered the temple and saw precisely the same kind of scene as that upon which they had gazed on the previous afternoon. There were men selling oxen, sheep, pigeons, and doves, others sitting at small tables changing money, and so on. It was a festival time. People who lived in the country and had to come a long way would sell their cattle and their sheep locally, and with the proceeds by others in Jerusalem to present as offerings at the temple. But that kind of thing was done in the marketplace and in certain of the streets. They had, of course, to change their money for the temple money. That kind of thing was done on the narrow streets where the money changer shops were. Here the whole work was being done in the temple court. Our Lord looked at those men, realizing, of course, that they were the connivance of the priests who unquestionably were getting a rake off on the proceeds, and he declared they were turning the house of God, which ought to have been a house of prayer, into a den of thieves. And the words he used were extremely blunt. As they had come down through Galilee, they'd passed the caves where the robbers dwelt. The brigands were fest to the road and robbed the travelers. Our Lord took up that very expression and applied it to these men and drove them out of the temple court. And of course, by his action and his irritation of the priests, he almost unquestionably sealed his doom. All day long, apparently, he spent his time teaching in the temple port. Then at sunset, he and his followers went home once more, over the brook and up the hill across to Bethany. Next day, the same kind of thing occurred. They rose early, came down the hillside once more, and stood by the tree that they had seen on the previous day. And to the sheer amazement of the disciples, it was completely withered. When they expressed their surprise, again, our Lord didn't explain, he simply referred to the effects of faith. They continued their journey down the hillside and into the temple once again. In that afternoon, our Lord looked around at the priests and the leading religious people of the day, declared they were nothing more than play actors, hypocrites, and pronounced a woe upon them. And if he'd not sealed his doom on Monday, he certainly did on Tuesday. They left the temple rather earlier than they had the previous day, apparently, started to climb the hill, and a moment or two afterwards, one of the disciples looked back, said, look, master, what marvelous buildings those are. And as he looked back at the temple complex, it must have seemed a wonderful sight. From where they stood, only see the golden plates. They were fastened to the wall. It was a blaze of light in the sun. On the other side, Josephus tells us it looked like a mountain of snow because of the white marble employed in the building. But what marvelous bar. Our Lord looked at the disciple. He said, let me tell you this, not one stone of those buildings will be left standing upon another. The whole will be cast down. Not long before, he said precisely the same thing concerning the city. That, of course, was feasible. A conqueror would destroy the city, but no conqueror destroyed temples. There was a superstitious fear that if a temple to a god or goddess was destroyed, the anger of the deity would be invoked thereby. Always the conquerors preserved the temples, and here was our Lord saying quite clearly and explicit, temple of the true God will be completely destroyed. They didn't question his saying. But shortly after, as they threw themselves down on the grass around him, they posed questions to him. And if you read all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew twenty four, Mark thirteen, and Luke twenty one, you'll find that they posed four questions. And I like to think that each one of those four may say it. When will these things happen? And another, what will the sign when they're about to occur? And a third, what will be the sign of your coming or your presence? The fourth, what will be the sign of the end of the age? Quite clear and distinct, although the first two questions were allied, the Lord replied to them all. But first of all, he said, let me tell you what is going to happen right up to the end. And he described the conditions that would apply up to the end of the age. Wars and rumors of wars, civil unrest, and actual riot. There'll be false prophets and false messiahs. Trouble on every side. And then in Luke twenty one, he gave his first time signal. Before all these things come to pass, trouble will come to you personally. Your own blood relations will betray you. Those around you will hate you. Some of you will be put to death. Don't be concerned at the moment of trial in preparing your defense. The words will be given you at the right hour. The trouble is coming to you personally. And he was referring, of course, to those four men, those whom they represented, and his words were completely fulfilled. But that was no reply to their questions. When will the destruction of the temple come? And what will be the sign when it's about to take place? He gave the answer again in Luke twenty one, uh gave also his second time signal. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know the time of her desolation, and implicitly that of the temp- that of the temple, is at hand. Well, in the year uh sixty six, because of the folly of the Roman procurator Florus, the Jews revolted, and an army was sent under Cestius Gallas to quash the rebellion and, if necessary, to raze the city to the ground. He found it quite impossible to capture the city or to find an entry to it. Later on that year, he withdrew his troops. There were some in the city who recalled the master's words. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, for he had followed that by an injunction, then flee to the mountains and find a shelter there. That seemed incredible folly. Jerusalem was a walled city. If one wanted security, one would obviously stay in the city. And our Lord has said, flee to the mountains. Those who recalled his words left the city and fled to a place called Pella, or today we call it Petra, and found a shelter there. Every one of them was saved alive. But within the city, an internecine strife broke out. Many were slain by their own brethren. Then in the year seventy, another Roman general came, Titus, with another army, lay siege to the city, eventually captured Jerusalem and razed it to the ground. Titus gave clear instructions that the temple was to be saved. One of the Roman soldiers tried to peer into the building and, finding it impossible, flung a blazing torch into the temple. That was followed by others, and as again Josephus tells us, to the anguish of the Jews, they saw their beloved temple going up in flames. Then the Roman soldiers, quite systematically, started stripping off the gold and plates that were attached to the walls. Lest there should be any gold left in the crevices between the stones, they tore stone from stone until, quite literally, not one stone was left standing upon another. The master's words had been completely fulfilled. What will be the sign? When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies. When? Precisely the same thing. When Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, then will be the time of the desolation of city and of temple. He didn't answer the third question immediately, but referred first of all to the fourth. What was the sign of the end of the age? These men were perfectly convinced that the new age was coming, and coming soon. They only knew of two ages, the present age in which they lived, and the age which was to come. They were talking about the age in which they lived. What will be the sign of the end of the age? When is that going to occur? Obviously, we're reaching our climax. Our Lord's own teachings had clearly indicated that something was about to occur. Now when? What will be the sign? Our Lord's reply must have staggered them. He gave more than one sign. He said, first of all, before the end comes, the glad news of a coming king must be preached in all the world, and only when that has occurred will the end come. The gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all nations, and then shall the end come. He was not talking, of course, about the glad news that we're preaching today. There is no pledge whatsoever that that will reach the whole wide world. In fact, there is every indication they will do nothing of the kind. There are many tribes and dialects today in which no message has been presented, and no written word either. There's no guarantee that the gospel you're preaching today will reach the whole world. Or you may persuade yourselves that by radio and television and all the rest of it will reach the whole wide world. There's no indication in the New Testament that you ever will. Sorry about that. Some years ago, the IVF coined the phrase, a slogan, evangelize to the finish and bring back the king. It was a marvelous slogan, but completely, of course, irrelevant. They were basing upon, basing it upon verse thirteen, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the present day. Our Lord was talking about a future day in which the evangel of the king, the glad news of a coming king, will be preached in all the world. And that must be accomplished, he said, before the end comes. That was his first sign. But then he gives another. He says, when you see, and you'll find it in Matthew twenty four this time, not Jerusalem surrounded by armies, but the desolating idolatry. When you see the desolating idolatry in the holy place, again he follows it with a similar injunction, flee to the mountains. What did our Lord mean? If you turn to Mark thirteen. you find he said far more than is contained in Matthew twenty four. For Mark thirteen says, when you see the desolating idolatry standing where he ought not. In Matthew twenty four, our Lord quite clearly is talking about a thing, in Mark thirteen, about a person. So he's saying quite deliberately, even directly, that the abomination of desolation, or the desolating idolatry, is both a thing and a person. Well, what was he talking about? He said it was referred to by Daniel, by in the prophecy of Daniel. And if you turn to Daniel chapter nine, you'll find what he was talking about. The last verse of that chapter, verse twenty seven, it talks about a treaty between a Western power and tiny Israel, a treaty to last for seven years. Halfway through that period, all religious worship is stopped by the one who enacts the treaty, and consequently there comes upon the wing the desolating idolatry or the abomination of desolation. Daniel doesn't tell us what he, what it is, and nor frankly does our Lord, but there are the indications. Halfway through that period of seven years, all religious worship will be stopped, and the abomination of desolation will come upon the wing. If you're a New International Version fan, you see the new A- New International Version says upon the wing of the temple. They're probably right. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't say so, and they're a- they're giving a- an exposition rather than a translation. But what did our Lord mean? All religious worship will be stopped. Daniel puts it in symbolic terms. He talks about oblations and sacrifices. What he really means is that religious worship will be stopped. Well, if you turn to Revelation chapter eleven, you'll find two faithful witnesses for God. It might be two men or a company of men, but that doesn't matter very much. They bear testament to God for three and a half years. The first three and a half years of that period of seven. and then at that point in time, they're put to death, and their bodies lie in the street for three and a half days. Then they're resurrected and caught up to heaven. In chapter seventeen, you find that picture of a universal church, a false church. Towards the close of the chapter, you find a great power, a great political power, destroying that church and looting her wealth, and apparently at the same point in time, so that both true religion and false will be broken at the same point in time. But you can't do that kind of thing, can you? There's something within man, an innate desire for someone to worship, someone to whom to turn. You cannot take away some object of worship from mankind. In place thereof, there comes an alternative. In Revelation thirteen, you get the picture. At Jerusalem, there'll be constructed a statue of a man. And so great will the- will be the power of the one who constructs that statue that he will impart life to that statue and enable it to speak. And all will be commanded to worship that statue and the man whom it represents on penalty of death. A very strong incentive to pay homage. You will say you can't see people worshiping a statue in our twentieth century. But when you're threatened with death as the alternative, there be no doubt as to what the majority of people would do. Our Lord talks about a thing. There, Revelation thirteen, John describes the thing as a statue. But in two Thessalonians chapter two, the Apostle Paul refers to a man who he describes as a man of lawlessness, one who's opposed to God and the things of God, and one who finally enters the temple and claims divinity for himself. There are some who say he will enter the great hall that is being built in Jerusalem today, the hall that will be, will be used as a synagogue. Unfortunately, the word that Paul uses refers to the Holy of Holies and cannot possibly refer, therefore, to an ordinary temp- to an ordinary building. He's talking about a temple erected at Jerusalem in a future day. So that our Lord was referring both to the statue and to the man. Matthew twenty four to the statue, in Mark thirteen to the man. They both in together represent the abomination of desolation, or better, the desolating idolatry. Nothing comparable has occurred in human history. And from that point in time, said our Lord, there will run a period of unparalleled trouble. Nothing in the world has ever been comparable to this. Trouble unprecedented in history, so great that were it not shortened, unless it came to an end, no one would be saved at all. And our Lord described it as a great tribulation. So the great tribulation will start halfway through that period of seven years in Daniel nine and verse twenty seven, the last week of Daniel's seventeen weeks. That will be the sign, said our Lord, of the end, of the end. When that occurs, you'll know quite well that the end is in sight. Three and a half years of trouble, and the end will come. But he made no reply to their third question. What will be the sign of your coming or of your presence? Realize what they were asking. They were not referring to our Lord's second advent. Up at Caesarea Philippi, only some days earlier, our Lord had turned to them, those very four, the very same four men, and said, tell me, what are people saying about me? And one after another gave a reply. Then he turned to them again. And what do you say, he said? Whom do you say that I am? And as though with a flash of inspiration, Peter burst out, you're the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Upon this rock in Christ, I'll build my church. He wasn't, of course, referring to Peter, although he said there are to stand. He wasn't even referring to Peter's confession. Upon this rock, you confess me as the Son of God. Upon this rock, I'll build my church. He was taking up a word that is used so frequently in the pages of the Old Testament, and always in relation to God, the rock, TSUR, the rock that is a shelter of his people, their refuge to whom they may flee, the one who's the source of their security and stability. He was take up that word and applying it to himself, and confirming consequently what Peter said. I am the Son of God, and the expression that applies to the Almighty applies equally to me. Upon this rock of myself, I will build my church. Of that fact, there's no doubt whatsoever. The Apostle Paul could say, the foundation has been laid. It is Jesus Christ. No other foundation. He is the solid rock upon whom the church is built. We're built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Our Lord, of course, was talking about himself. There Peter had confessed him as the Messiah. The others had acquiesced in what he had said. Now they lay around him. The Messiah was here in the early midst. Oh, he proved it conclusively, not only by his words, but by his actions and his miracles too. Every sign that Messiah should bring, he had brought. The lame walked, the blind saw, the dead had been raised, the deaf heard, the dumb spoke. Every sign had been presented. They had no doubt in their minds. Messiah was here. So quite confidently, the disciples said, tell us, what will be the sign of your coming down, of your presence as Messiah? Will you erect a standard and call the whole of Israel to your standard? Will you issue a manifesto declaring what you propose to do and command everyone to obey and to follow your lead? Will you make an attack upon the Roman soldiers or the Roman forces immediately? What will you do? What will be the sign of your presence now as Messiah? The reply they received again must have staggered them. But I will say quite simply, immediately after the tribulation of those days, at the very con- conclusion of the great tribulation, look to the heavens above, like lightning flashing across the sky, you'll see the sign of the Son of Man. He'll come down in his power and his glory. That will be the sign of my coming. A totally unexpected reply. They had thought, what will Messiah do now? The new age is about to dawn. What will be the indication of his coming as Messiah? Now Lord took them on to a future day, beyond our time, to his, to his real second advent. Then, having answered their questions, he turned around to them again. He said, let me give you some indications. Now, do you remember the fig tree? How surprised you were when you saw it completely withered? Let me tell you one thing. The fig tree now is withered, dried up from the roots. But one day, the fig tree will put forth its leaves. And when that happens, you say somebody's had. Now read the other gospel. When that occurs, you'll know that he is near. When the fig tree puts forth its leaves, wasn't he talking about his own people? Of course, we read ca- read it casually. Those disciples knew perfectly well what he was talking about. If you went to Israel, on your return, someone might say, what would you say was a figurative tree or a representative tree of that country? And in nine cases out of ten, you say the citrus or the orange, and justifiably so. A Jew wouldn't. A Jew would say, well, the olive, the vine, the fig. There they are upon his stamps from time to time. The olive, the vine, the fig. Look at the trademarks. There they are, the olive, the vine, the fig. They knew what Christ was saying. Israel will lie under a curse because of her apostasy from me, because of all her transgressions. A curse will be laid upon her, and justifiably so, and under that curse she has lain for centuries. But one day, said the master, the fig tree will put forth its leaves, and then you'll know that something is about to happen. But pause and think. Hasn't the fig tree begun to put forth its leaves? When you see that, you know that summer is near. You know that he is near. You compare the Gospels again, our Lord referred not only to the fig tree, but to all the trees of the field. And all around Israel today, there are those small Arab nations, some of which previously never existed, every one of them putting forth their leaves. In fact, their prosperity is astounding today. Look at some of those little, little Arab nations and their oil wealth. They're putting forth their leaves. Something is about to happen. The Lord gave it as an indication, not to us, but for those who are going to live after we have gone. Those who are concerned about a future day after the removal of the church, but there are the indications already, plainly to be seen. They say, let me give you another indication. This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled. What marvelous addresses, yeah, I've heard on that subject. I think it's three or four years ago I was at the Paris Conference. An old friend of mine, a Belgian brother, was the first speaker. He said, I'm going to speak about the laws coming. I thought, well, that's good. He went on to say, and I can tell you when he's coming. I thought, well, that's bad. He said, well, let's start with nineteen forty eight. I thought, all right, if you want to start there or sports, start at nineteen forty eight. I couldn't see why. He said, take nineteen forty eight. Now, if you go to Deuteronomy two, you find that Mo- Moses refers to a generation as thirty eight years. Then on the same chapter, he rounds it up to forty years. Add thirty eight or forty to nineteen forty eight and you come to nineteen eighty six. or nineteen eighty eight. Well, I did a bit of mental arithmetic. His arithmetic was right. We got to nineteen eighty six and nineteen eighty eight. Then he said, well, take off seven years. By that time, I was getting a bit confused. He explained it was the seven years in the last verse of Daniel nine. I immediately took off seven years in my mind. That brought us back to nineteen seventy nine or nineteen eighty one. And with an expansive smile, he said, so you see, the Lord will come back either in nineteen seventy nine or nineteen eighty one. Sheer poppycock, isn't it? Nineteen seventy nine or nineteen eighty one? He can't. They've gone. Our Lord wasn't talking nonsense of that kind. The word he used, the word genia, can refer not only to a literal generation, but to a nation or a class of people or a category of people. And in the context of the fig tree, quite obviously he was talking about the nation of Israel. And saying deliberately, that nation will not pass until all these things are fulfilled. That's too bad for some of my friends because they think the nation has passed already. They say all the promises to Israel belong to the church. They had to be allegorized and applied in some mysterious way to God's people in the present day. A greater pack of nonsense you never listen to. How they get around some difficulties, I just don't understand. Satan, I'm told sometimes, is bound already. Well, he has a remarkably capable deputy going about. The first resurrection is the new birth, whereas the second resurrection is a literal physical resurrection. That doesn't make sense to me anyhow. Now, Lord's coming is of the general judgment, and so on. Our Lord is perfectly clear. This nation will not pass as a permanent future, not merely for a spiritual Israel, but for the ethnic Israel. God's word must be fulfilled. He pledged himself four thousand years ago that a certain area of country should be the possession of his people. That place must be redeemed. His word must be fulfilled, and in the coming day, he will do what he said he will do. And don't reject Israel or her future. She has a future in that land that belongs to her. God's word is going to be realized in a soon coming day. Then he said again, let me give you another illustration. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, quite lawful, quite legitimate things, until the flood came and took them all away. As it was, so will it be. There'll be two in a field, not two men, but two in a field. One will be taken and the other lived. Two in a bed, one may be taken, the other left. Two in a mill, one will be taken and the other left. Haven't you heard some marvelous gospel addresses on that subject? At the Lord's coming, one will be taken and the other left. That's perfectly true. But if you base it upon these verses, I think in fairness to the congregation, you should say what you're saying has nothing whatsoever to do with the verses. Of course, the same kind of thing will happen when our Lord comes for his church. One will be taken, all the Christians will be taken, and the others left. That wasn't what Christ was talking about. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. Notice, incidentally, how accurate our Lord's words were. He knew that on one side of the world it would be dark and on the other side light. He talked about two being in a bed, two working in the field. He knew also who did the work, two women in the, in the field, two women in the middle. It might have been two men in the bed. From the Arab countries particularly, it's the ladies who do the work. You find the men sitting in the corner of the street, smoking their pipes and discussing the big problems of the day. A terribly difficult task. Those who are doing the manual work, which doesn't really matter, of course, are the ladies. It's a marvelous place for a man to live. I'm thinking of retiring there personally. Our Lord knew what he was talking about. His words, every small detail of his words, is so perfectly accurate. He knew the circumstances, knew the conditions of which he was talking. Two, one will be taken and the other lived. I repeat, he was not talking about his coming again for his people today. He's talking about a period of judgment. As it was in the days on earth, the flood came and took them all away. It took them away in judgment. The apes saved alive in the ark were saved alive for blessing. When the judgment falls, it will take away those who are due for judgment, and those left will be left for blessing. When our Lord comes for his church, those who are taken will be taken in blessing. Those who are left behind will be left behind for judgment. He's giving a sign for the people of another day and not for our present day. Then he said, let me give you another indication. Jerusalem will be trodden down of the nations or the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. I've had wonderful addresses on that subject too. An old friend of mine was speaking on that in nineteen sixty seven. It's now quite clearly Luke twenty one and twenty four has been fulfilled. Now those coming must be about to occur. If ever there was a non sequitur, that was true. Luke twenty one twenty four fulfilled. Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. It's been trodden down, he said, for nineteen centuries. Now Jerusalem has been liberated. No longer trodden down, and we can expect our Lord to come in the near future. An absolute pack of rubbish. If he turned to Revelation eleven and read verse two, he'd have realized how idiotic his statement was. For there, John indicates quite plainly what our Lord was talking about. Jerusalem trodden down. The treading down is in a future day, in a day of the great tribulation, of trial and trouble, and we've trodden down until the times of the Gentiles have reached their conclusion. Have they reached their end yet? It's till the times of the Gentiles. The reign of the gent- the reign of the Gentile nations is still effective. Not until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will the times of the Gentiles come to their end. Our Lord was referring, of course, to Daniel chapter two, where that marvelous vision given to Nebuchadnezzar, the times of the Gentiles were painted clearly and unmistakably. Daniel's, the vision given to Nebuchadnezzar showed plainly that they would come to their end with the return to earth of our Lord Jesus Christ. He pictured it there as a boulder rolling down the hillside to fall upon the feet of a statue, to crush the whole statue, completely pulverize it, then rapidly to expand and to fill the whole earth. That hasn't happened yet. Our Lord has not come. The time of the Gentiles have not concluded. What our Lord was talking about was future and not past, and had nothing whatsoever to do with nineteen sixty seven. I hope that doesn't spoil one of your best addresses. Anyhow, it's best to be accurate, isn't it? Well, by this time, you'll probably say, I can't see the clock, so it's all right. By this time, you're probably saying, well, virtually you're implying that none of this has any reference to us whatsoever. Well, if you've arrived to that conclusion, may I congratulate you upon your intelligence, for you're about right. The pause of that pause for a moment before you definitely decide to stick to that conclusion. Our Lord, of course, was talking about the future, about a period after we have gone. Some of some of the questions posed to him related to what is now past, the other two to what is still future, and his discussion related primarily to the future, after the church has been taken away. Now pause and think for a second or so. If one can see the indications of the nearness of the events he described, then one can conclude justifiably that they are extremely near, and that consequently the event that precedes them must be all that much nearer. Well, if one does pause to think, one fact emerges quite clearly and immediately. He said that one day the fig tree would fulfill its leaves, and that all the trees in the field would do likewise. Is not that occurring already? Hasn't it occurred in our own lifetime? Or you may say not completely yet. There are the initial indications without any shallower doubt. He said that certain conditions will apply after we have gone. There'll be trouble in the earth, unrest and disquiet, and false teachers, and so on. Are there not some indications of that in the world today? Oh, if you went to America, you'd have no doubt whatsoever. You find messiahs by the score, or false prophets by the hundred. What our Lord described is already being forecast, or already casting a shadow before, in the events of the present day. The events he described, the, the actual events are about to be fulfilled, on the verge of fulfillment. If that be so, there is one logical and inescapable conclusion. His return for the church, his coming for his people, which necessarily precedes all those events, must be about to occur. He might come very shortly indeed. Now someone's going to say, well, they talked like that for nineteen centuries. Of course they have. I don't always left it as a present hope. In the past, there have been indications upon which people have seized. They've turned to an event or to an, or to a man, as if that or he might be the possible fulfillment of prophecy. They could only point to one thing at any one time. But today, as never previously in history, every event which one would expect to occur at the time of the end seems to be casting its shadow before. I repeat, that has never occurred previously in history. Someoneing shout on the sound of the trumpet, and he called away from this planet to meet him in the air. That's our hope. That's our expectation. You wouldn't think it to look at some of you. I wish I could hold up a big mirror and show you what you looked like. Here am I talking about the blessed hope, and you look as though you're going to a blessed funeral. Don't you realize what I'm talking about? Our Lord's coming back. He might come today. Don't you wish he would? My word, what a lot, aren't they? This is the trouble, you know, isn't it? Most Christians talk about it, but they don't believe it. They're interested in prophecy. When it comes to the Lord's coming, oh, one of these days he'll come, yes, oh, that's so, that's quite true. Not just yet. You talk as I've often talked in the past to groups of young people. They're terribly interested in prophecy. You talk about the details of prophecy. They're eager and excited. Then talk about the Lord, my- the Lord's coming soon, and their eyes glaze over. I know what they're thinking. I want to get my master's. I want to complete my thesis for my doctorate. I want to get married or some silly thing, I mean something like that. As though these things matter. Don't you realize Christ is coming? We've been waiting for him now for nearly two thousand years. He might come today. In another minute or two, all the shadows will be passed. We stand in his glorious presence and see him face to face. Of course, we'll see our loved ones, and the heart aches sometimes to see them. But above all, we'll see him, that while we love and adore, our Lord is coming back. Can we say with John, even so, come, Lord Jesus. You may come today.