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Word in the Wild is a one year Bible adventure with friends. Join from anywhere and enjoy a fun, rewarding, and doable 12-month journey through the Bible where you read it from cover to cover and understand it. It’s not a devotional or recap. It’s a guide by your side through God’s Word. With support from a weekly podcast and an online community of fellow travelers, this is the year when you finally explore the Bible in its own words and on its own terms for yourself.
This is Word and the Wild. It's the one year Bible adventure with friends. My name is Owen. I'm your host and your guide. Just delighted to be together with you on this 12 month journey as a podcast plus community where we read the Bible for ourselves, but not by ourselves. Hey friends, look at this. We are at week 44.
We're about to cross the 300 day reading mark this week. And this week, it's all about endings. Jesus talks about the end of the world. We're going to see the end of a trusted friendship in Jesus circle. We're also going to see Jesus last meal with the disciples, his last meal. Glass of wine his in last instructions to his friends and his last moments alive on this earth So this week it's the end... or is it?
So hello welcome in to you I want to say a special welcome to our Word in the Wild Plus community members. Their support of this non profit endeavor here makes space for all of us on this one year Bible reading adventure. As part of the Word in the Wild Plus tribe, they enjoy access to our private, safe online space, open 24 7, where no honest question is a dumb question, along with a weekly live stream Q& A.
Bonus content like articles, interactions, occasional meetups, even some live stream teaching gatherings with yours truly, all that and more, so word to the wild people. Thank you so much. Hey, listen, we are rounding the bend here in our one year Bible adventure We're gonna see that calendar flip over soon to a brand new year I know it's crazy to think about but it's true.
Hey if you haven't already I'd love for you to consider jumping in with us as a member of the word and the wild plus community next year. If you've enjoyed the ride here with the podcast and the Facebook community, you're going to love how rewarding and doable. And interesting and fun. It is to have a seat on the tour bus as a member of the word in the wild plus community.
So look for ways to subscribe and join us in the coming year. Look for those soon. You can find them on the website word and the wild dot com or word in the wild. Our group on Facebook. All right, so for now though, let's turn our attention to what's on the trail for us this week as we climb a mountain with Jesus to get a view of the end of the world.
Now, when I was in college I studied broadcast journalism and we, we did a bunch of, of creative projects too, where we'd make short films and things like that. I had a friend who was one of my classmates and he was a real character. We were all kind of characters. It takes a special type, right?
He was a character and he, he had this kind of running joke. That still makes me laugh when I see the end of a movie that I'm watching because his little running joke He would create, you know, the projects we have to create for class And then at the end of like a short film he would he would put the usual ending title You know It says the end and then it would keep it would scroll up up up disappear, and then there would be one last bit of title at the end.
It would after the end scrolled up You'd see the next words it would say, "or is it?" That's kind of corny, but it made me laugh every time: the end or is it? And I'm thinking of my friend and his little sense of humor as we approach this part of our story with Jesus and his life. It feels like the end or Is it?
And we're gonna discover that the events of this week as we see them unfold, they're, they're not the end. They're really the start of something new. It's not the end. It's a giant leap forward in God's amazing plan to rescue the world and everyone who wants to join him in it. So, so it's not the end.
It's just the end for now. But it's easy to see this as a kind of a surprising and, and unsettling is the right word, an unsettling week as we look into Jesus story. Because not only do we see Jesus talking about His own personal end of his journey of, of teaching and spreading the good news about God's kingdom.
That, that seems like it's coming to an end and he talks about it, but he, we start off our week with, with Jesus giving us a thumbnail sketch of the events surrounding. The end of the world as he and his disciples describe it. It's a conversation with his disciples that, that, that, that, that gets every bit as apocalyptic as it sounds it's worth slowing down to take a look at this because it's something that, you know, that can spark of course, a lot of curiosity.
It's also one of the key ideas from Jesus. Not only is Jesus here to talk about. God's kingdom and new life in that kingdom. He is also here to talk about the story we are in the story. That's about God, the creator, God, and how that story works its way through to a conclusion. So Jesus also wants to talk about the end.
So what's worth slowing down and taking a look at this. This pops up in, in the many accounts of Jesus life we have in the Bible. But the one I'm going to zero in on is, is Matthew's account of this. And it pops up in chapters 24 and 25 in his account of Jesus life and mission. And Jesus and his disciples there, starting out in Matthew 24 and 25, it following there it all starts out with them sitting on the top of a mountain just outside the city of Jerusalem, it's called the mount.
And if you are on the Mount of Olives, you're sitting there with Jesus and his disciples, and you can look out to the west and you can, from there, you can look out across the Kidron Valley and right into the heart of Jerusalem, right into the heart of the city and right into the center of the temple. And it really is fitting that you can see the temple from there because the temple is the reason that we're having this conversation.
See, earlier in the day, the disciples were in Jerusalem with Jesus and they were admiring the beautiful temple complex with its exquisitely crafted stonework. And it's a beautiful structure. It's beautiful. towering and it's, it's covered with marble and gold and it's, it was a must see stop on any trip through the area.
It's, it's well known to history. Many historical writers comment on how beautiful this temple is. And so the disciples, they're making comments about, wow, look how, look at Jesus. Isn't this temple amazing? Well, then Jesus responds to that comment and he says, do you see all these buildings? Here's what he says.
I tell you the truth they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another. So here we are now on the top of the mountain outside the city and where the disciples have a quiet moment with Jesus, they're able to ask Jesus a question that any one of us would ask him if we could.
And this question is simply this when will all this happen? When will the temple be destroyed and what signal and what signs will we see that signal your return and that signal the end of the world. And so Jesus responds with a pretty detailed sketch of what the end of the world will look like.
What kind of signs that we would see in the world, in the church, in the geographical area of Judea and in Jerusalem itself, and then even in the sky. Jesus is going to, should tell us what we're going to look for. Now he does this to, to bring some comfort. He also does it to bring clarity and he does it also to deliver a word of caution, comfort, clarity, and caution as Jesus describes what we're going to see at the end of the world, in the world, in the church, in the area of Jerusalem and Judea, and in the sky.
Hey, I'm not going to spoil the whole thing for you. You need to read it. It's worth reading. It's fascinating. But as you can imagine Jesus talks about these future events and they are, they're big events. They're global events. Historic events, cosmic events, the events that the prophet Daniel had already predicted long ago.
These are events. They're just too big to miss. And they are also too big for people like you and me, normal people. They're too big for us to control. We're not going to shape these events. They're just going to happen. And yet the final outcome, as Jesus tells us where the story lands in the end. You.
You have a say, and so do I. You and me, we have choices that influence the ending. You can be at the table for that final party at the end of the ages, or you can choose to be on the outside looking in. Will the future, God's future, include you and me, or not? Up to us. That's what Jesus talks about here.
As we look into Matthew 24 and 25. So I'm going to give you, I'm going to walk through this a little bit, a little outline, but just to give you your bearings and you're going to dig for yourself. Okay. So when Jesus talks about the signs, the events at the end of the world, what's he talking about? Well, he's talking about, first of all, in the world itself, like global events.
Jesus makes it clear. We're going to see an escalation of war. unrest and natural disasters. We're going to see many, many people also, we're going to see this people claiming to be God's chosen deliverer, people claiming to be the Messiah there's going to be massive spiritual confusion and deception.
That's what we're going to see on a global scale, along with war, unrest, natural disasters. So all this, however, Jesus told his friends. And that includes you and me by extension. He says, don't panic because here's the thing. When we see all those events unfold, war natural disaster, confusion, lies spiritual deception, Jesus says, look, you're not actually watching the end of the world.
You're really watching the end of a long, uncomfortable, Pregnancy. All right, let's take a look. This is Jesus word picture. You're watching the incubation of the kingdom of God. It's like a baby being born, the increased frequency and intensity of unrest disasters. It's like contractions. They signal the arrival of a new life like a baby about to be born and the contractions get more intense and closer together.
The closer we get to that, that the birth of God's kingdom. And so we don't have to panic. We can stay calm. We can still, we can show compassion. We don't have to fight and scrap. We know God's going to take care of us in the midst of this, this final you know, these contractions, we're going to know the baby's about to be born so we can show compassion and we can stay calm as the world falls apart.
So that's, what's going to be happening in the world. Meanwhile, Jesus also describes what we're going to be seeing in the church. The, the, the, the collection of people who claim to be followers of Jesus in the, in the years after his life, death and resurrection. All right. Now as you can imagine, it's, this is the apocalypse.
It's not going to be great. As the world falls apart. The world turns against authentic followers of Jesus. And well, here's what's sad is that that also includes all the casuals who act like followers of Jesus. They hang out in the church circles but they have other motives. Casuals in the end.
We'll turn on the real ones. That's what Jesus says, but he also offers again some encouragement. Here's what's amazing There's gonna be persecution betrayal people are going to turn their backs on Jesus and drift away but that persecution That that that that will not be able to stop the real church from accomplishing its mission To take the news of God's kingdom to every corner of the world, to every ethnic group of the world, all nations, Jesus says, we'll hear the good news of God's kingdom.
That's the mission of the church. And despite all the casuals and the persecution and, and opposition, God's work through the church will not be stopped. Awesome. So what the church is going to be betrayed, infected, and discouraged by all these fake followers, but God's work will remain unstoppable. The real ones, Jesus says are going to endure real ones.
We're going to make it. We're going to continue to experience the rescue of God. So in the world, war, disaster, famine confusion. Jesus says, don't panic in the church, betrayal discouragement and, and, and fake followers. And Jesus says in the face of all that, Hey, just hang in there and do her.
Okay. And then there's more. Jesus tells us what we're going to see in the geographical area of Judea itself, which includes the city, the Jerusalem. Which again, Jesus and his disciples, picture the scene. They're sitting on a mountaintop looking. I mean, the mountain is like a quarter mile away. They can look down into the, the city of Jerusalem sprawling in front of them and that beautiful temple.
Well, Jesus says, yeah, the temple. that exists in Jesus day will be destroyed. He also says that there later, there's going to be another temple built on the spot and it will be the scene of where the, the, the prophet Daniel, what happened in Daniel, where he predicts the back in Daniel chapter nine versus 26, 27, he predicts all this, this abomination of desecration.
If you remember this back from old Testament, a few weeks ago, That's going to happen. The future temple will be desecrated. The world leader will proclaim himself to be God. And there's going to be the, the worst opposition and distress the world has ever known. It's going to be suffered by the people in the region of Judea.
Jesus says run and hide if you when you find yourself seeing what I'm predicting unfolding He says just just run away. In fact, the situation is gonna be so bad the humanitarian situation The the and and the oppression surrounding that so bad that if God does not directly intervene Not a single person will be left alive That's what we're gonna see at the end of the world You in Judea and Jerusalem.
All right. But when that happens, okay, there's one more place to look for signs of Jesus return and the end of the world. You look in the, the, the global picture, the world, look in the church, look in Jerusalem and Judea. Oh, but when things are at their worst and it looks like, I mean, life itself is not going to survive.
Oh, no. Now's the time to look for the sign in the final spot. Jesus points us to the sky. All right, look to the sky because God does, in fact, intervene to preserve the people in the region of Judea and Jerusalem. He does intervene in a decisive way. forever kind of way Jesus calls himself the son of man He's done it all throughout the gospels a little odd that sometimes it feels like like why is he talking about himself in the third?
Person and why does he choose to describe himself with that term the son of man? Well that son of man is a call back directly to something we see in the book of Daniel. And, and when Jesus here talks about the end of the world, he taps into that exact spot in the book of Daniel to describe what's going to happen.
Jesus says the Son of Man returns in the clouds with power and glory and with his angels to, to gather and protect all the ones who are his own. And the way Jesus describes this unfolding, like I say, it comes right from Daniel. In fact, let me read this to you, Daniel chapter seven, verses 13 and 14. It's a vision that Daniel had about the, the progression of world leaders from Daniel's day down to the end of the world.
So it's appropriate that Jesus taps into it. And so Jesus calls himself the son of man coming in the clouds. Listen to what Daniel says as he describes what he saw in his vision about that very moment. Daniel again, chapter seven, verse 13, 14, he says, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.
He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal. It will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. The Son of Man. Coming in the clouds of heaven. I mean, boom, there you go. We're talking about endless, borderless, indestructible, once and for all reign of Jesus, our God and forever King.
When you see that happening in the sky, you know, rescue has arrived. And and the world as we know it, it comes to an end. Now, this is something interesting to think about, okay? Think about, for a minute, with me, when Jesus describes his return and the end of the world what will actually end in Jesus end of the world scenario?
Not everything. We think of the end of the world, you know, the pictures we get, it's the, you know, it's the nuclear. You know, Holocaust and everything's destroyed, you know, and in gone. And I mean, we're just obliterated, but Jesus paints a different picture as he walks through this scenario. And he actually, we actually see just an emphasis on a couple of things that will end.
Not everything. In fact, if Jesus really highlights two things that for sure, we'll end. The first one is this current. world regime, let's call it. It's this, it's the system of life that we have, you know, come to think as normal here on this planet. It's how people have organized themselves. Without thought to the kingdom of God and the, the reality of who is really king.
We've created a world we're trying to get by. And then you've got, you know, God's enemy has been involved in this as well. And all together, it's kind of a dumpster fire. It's kind of a mess when Jesus returns the son of man in the clouds and the world ends. What ends is that world regime. There will come a time when God's enemy in his escalating opposition to God and his kingdom will step out.
Out of the shadows and come in full force, show his true colors. In other parts of the Bible, this, this, this person's called the antichrist and this will, this, the antichrist will forcefully stop worship at the temple. He'll demand worship of himself instead. He's going to persecute decimate God's people.
That's the enemy's end game. Get worship, stop worship for God. And destroy, decimate, persecute anyone who wants to remain loyal to God and his kingdom. That's the enemy's endgame. And that whole game will end when Jesus returns. As predicted by Daniel, reaffirmed by Jesus here himself, King Jesus will come in the clouds to stop the Antichrist and establish his forever kingdom.
Heaven and earth once again united. and united for the last time. That, that's, that's what we're going to see. The schemes the and sabotage of God's enemy will just be effortlessly eternally crushed by the unstoppable power and unquestionable authority of our God, Savior, and King. Yes. Let's go. That's what we're going to see at the end of the world, the end of the world system.
Okay. And the other thing that ends, okay, here's the second thing that Jesus himself highlights with the remainder of his conversation with the disciples there on that hilltop. Okay. The other thing we're going to see that Jesus highlights here that ends, is our individual opportunity to respond to what Jesus says about himself and his return.
The time for that, someday, in the future, it, it, it runs out. It runs out for individuals and it runs out for the whole human race. Now Jesus is clear. He tells us in Matthew in these, in 24, 25, he, in chapter 24, he says, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen. When will the world regime come to an end?
When will time run out for individuals and for the human race? No one knows. But to illustrate this, Jesus pulls a familiar episode in from the Old Testament. It's one that we all know, and in our one year Bible adventure together, it's one that still stands out in our minds, even though it goes all the way back to Genesis.
Some of the early days of our journey together, but you're going to recognize it. Listen to this. This is Jesus. Now describing, illustrating what it's going to be like. When time runs out, Jesus says this, Matthew 24, 37 through 39, he says, when the son of man returns, remember that he's talking about himself as the son of man.
He says, when the son of man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day in those days before the flood. The people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings, right up to the time when Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away.
Jesus says, Hey, life went on for years and years. Noah built his boat and Noah, no doubt warned his enemies. I mean, you can't help, but miss a big old giant boat sitting there in the middle of a field. There was no water around, right? For years and years, all this went on until the rain started to fall and their fate.
Jesus And the door to the ark, boom, sealed shut. This is the picture Jesus gives about the end of the world. Belief in Jesus and his message, that's the ark. Jesus is the ark in this analogy. The warning and invitation to be saved from the coming storm, the end of the world regime and the opposition to God.
All right. Oh, that warning goes out just like Noah in Noah's day. It goes out first through Jesus himself, then through his disciples. Guys. And it goes, it goes out all the way down until literally me and my very voice to you. Right now, the invitation and the warning goes out and life goes on until it won't.
I mean, there, there, there's time to respond, to step into the arc until there isn't. As Jesus explains it, this is a choice that every person must make for themselves. And it's a choice with long term personal consequences. And this is tough. This is Jesus, you know, as he reaches the end of his life on earth in his mission, he, he gets He gets really direct here and it's a, it's, it's tough to hear, but it's every bit as much something Jesus said as all the wonderful things we've heard him say about, you know, loving our neighbor and him coming to God, loving us and loving the world.
This is also what he's about to say. It's part of his message to Jesus has said. Jesus has started out with this, this end of the world, you know, picture that's big, wide, global view of all these big events. And now he drills down into the, these granular view of individual choices. Jesus has pointed out signs in world of affairs, nature and the church and, and Jerusalem, and even in the sky itself.
And, and, but, but as you, as we, as we get into the second part of Jesus remarks, you start to browse those and watch those unfold. You'll see that Jesus now points to the men around him, his friends, the disciples. And he tells them that all these big ideas, this big view of the big end to the world has very personal application.
He tells them you, he's like, Hey, I'm You all, you guys must keep watch. That's his wording. This talk about the end of the world. It's meant to bring comfort in the face of panic, but it's, it's also meant, to bring clarity in the face of distractions and delays in Jesus return. Jesus tells them, you must be ready all the time.
I am returning. Don't fall asleep. Amen. Jesus is clear, real disciples, real followers, the real ones, Hey, they don't abandon their duty to God's kingdom. They stay focused, they stay prepared and, and they, they pour whatever God has entrusted to them into investment in God's kingdom. That's what they do.
Real ones remind themselves constantly to live with, with no neglect to their duty, no regrets. Because today's decisions matter forever. I know these are, there's, they're big ideas, but it's where Jesus takes us in his talk about the end of the world. That he takes us from you know Jerusalem and the sky right into the, the, the, the final moments at the end of time.
And it's a, it's a very personal. And, and very, very, in some ways, unsettling picture that we're to the place where he takes us. Listen, listen to this. This is Jesus words himself, this is in Matthew 25 near the end of his, his talk about the end of the world. He says, when the son of man. Comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered in his presence and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. You'll place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. All right. So Jesus takes us to a view of the final moments of the world as we know it. And it's a scene that features King Jesus on his throne, pulling out the authentic sheep from all those goats who have been running with the sheep.
What's the difference between a sheep and a goat? Well, Jesus tells us sheep have loved God by loving their neighbors. See, a sure signal that they are true followers of Jesus who have been transformed into people who love the way Jesus loves, it comes out in how they treat the people around them. The, the, the, the, the real ones love the way Jesus loves.
Jesus says this to them, you come, he says, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty. You gave, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked. You gave me clothing.
I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then these righteous ones, righteous mean they have a right standing with God. They are people who God has chosen to accept. As members of his kingdom these righteous ones will reply, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink or a stranger and show you hospitality or are naked and give you clothing?
When did we ever see you stick a sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will say, I tell you the truth. When you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. Jesus continues, then the king will turn to those on the left and say away with you You cursed ones into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons for I was hungry You didn't feed me.
I was thirsty. You didn't give me a drink. I was a stranger. You didn't invite me into your home I was naked and you didn't give me clothing I was sick and in prison and you didn't visit me then they will reply Lord When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not help you and he will?
Answer. Hey, I tell you the truth When you refused to help the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me. And then one of the most unsettling statements from Jesus, and perhaps one of the most alarming and unsettling statements in the Bible itself, coming from Jesus, he says, they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go.
into eternal life. I've been reading to you from Matthew 25 verses 31 through 46. Sheep, they don't earn their status by showing love to the least of these. They don't earn it. Sheep don't make themselves sheep. We know this already from what Jesus has already said. Sheep show their membership in God's kingdom by loyal love of their king through loyal love of those their king loves.
All right. And the goats, well, they've shown their true colors by their lack of love and compassion. They aren't part of God's kingdom, not because they failed to earn their way in, but it's because they don't live as members of God's kingdom. You know, they're not the real ones. They refused to help the forgotten, the needy and the insignificant.
And no one Has ever been given that new heart, you know, the old Testament promised that God's going to give a new heart to his real people. If you've been given a new heart as a member of God's kingdom, you don't act like that. You don't refuse to help the beautiful individuals made and bearing the image of God.
You don't do it. And that's where Jesus leaves his discussion about the end of the world, it's a caution because, because who knows how long you and me, how long we have to respond through his disciples. And even, you know, a person like me sharing these words with you, Jesus offers comfort, clarity, and caution.
Comfort. He says, Hey, don't panic at what you see going around in the world in nature in the church, in the Middle East, Jesus says, my return in the clouds, it's going to end these problems once and for all, just like that. No effort required. It's done. The world regime as we know it now will end and all will be well, but Hey, Jesus wants to continue.
He says, don't let. All that distracts you from the real question. Are you one of my sheep? Or are you just a goat that's running with the sheep? How do you know? Well, how you treat other people and how you value them will help show you. Jesus wants to say, If you love me, you will love like me. That's how you know.
You're a sheep if you don't Know me and love me then you do not love like me and if you find yourself in that boat Jesus extends the invitation this time. It's through me. It's been through his disciples through his word through the centuries Believe in me Jesus says while there's still time
So as we watch all these endings In Jesus story this week, the last meal, the betrayal, the final hours of his life on earth. Keep the real endings in mind. Jesus existence does not end. God's word does not end. It endures forever. God's story does not end. It goes on forever. However, the clock is ticking.
Ticking down it's not Jesus who's running out of time this week as the clock ticks down. No, who's running out of time. It's Jesus enemies. They are running out of time.
Well, my friend, it is a rich journey with Jesus this week. There was so much to talk about. I hope you enjoy what's ahead and don't be a stranger. I want to know how it's going for you so far. I'd love to hear from you. Hit me up on Facebook, look for the word and the wild Facebook group. Just search for it.
You'll find it. It's easy. Jump in. There's, there's a, it's total, totally free and totally available to you. So you can also look up. Look us up on Insta, look for the wild dot us there. You'll find us and Hey, be sure you've subscribed to this podcast so you can keep up with us and you can, you can find us on a Apple podcast, Spotify, YouTube, all the places.
And look for a, your chance to join us as a member of the community coming up next year. Word in the wild. It's a Bible reading adventure with friends. I love it. And I hope you are too. All you word in the wild plus community members. Hey, thanks again for making this journey a reality for all of us.
I'll be seeing you in the wild this week. Everybody else. Hey, don't be a stranger subscribe. Like I say, join the tribe, follow where the while on Facebook, check us out, word in the wild. com. And we'll be looking for ways to interact with you there. Word in the wild. It's a line house community. It's part of the line house community network.
That's a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring neighbors together, to promote awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the Bible, because we believe that friendship and God's word changes lives and changes cities presented. By the LumaVoz podcast network. Thanks to our friends at LumaVoz.
And with that, we're out. I'm Owen, your host and your guide delighted to be with you once again, until next time, my friend, I'll be looking for you out there on the trail in the word and in the wild, have a great one. See you next time.