St Louis UBF UBF Bible Study : Luke 21:5-38 (2012)

Bible Study Materials

Luke 21:5-38 (2012)

by Paul Choi 02/05/2012

Question

THE SON OF MAN IS COMING

Luke 21:5-38

Key Verse: 21:27

1. Read verses 5-7. What reveals the disciples’ materialism? What did Jesus teach them about the destiny of the temple and human culture? What were their two questions? Why?

2. Read verses 8-11. What warning did Jesus give? What are some signs of the end of the age? What must we guard against? What are some false messiahs?

3. Read verses 12-19. What will happen to those who are faithful to Jesus? (16-17) Why? What should they do? What will be the result? How can we not fear? (9; 13-15; 18-19; Lk 9:23)

4. Read verses 20-24. What would happen to Jerusalem? What should God’s people do? From God’s point of view, what does this mean?

5. Read verses 25-38. What are some signs of the end? What is the great sign? Why should we rejoice? Who will not rejoice? What do we learn here about the word of God? What can we learn from the fig tree? What should we do?

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THE SON OF MAN IS COMING-questions.doc

Message

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS

Luke 21:5-38

Key Verse: 21:27 “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

The year 2012 has been regarded as a special year by those who believe eschatological events. They believe that December 21, 2012 is the end-date of a 5,125 year-long- cycle in the Mesoamerican calendar. They have predicted that in this transitional year a cataclysmic phenomena or apocalyptical event will occur on this earth. A filmmaker in Hollywood made the movie “2012” according to his belief. Many people think that the end of the world is drawing near and the history of the world is going toward destruction. However, we Christians don’t think so. We believe that the second coming of Jesus is near and the history of the world is heading toward the glorious coming of Christ. In today’s passage, Jesus predicts signs of the end of the age and concludes it with his glorious second coming. Jesus also teaches us how to prepare for his second coming as his people. May God grant us ears to hear and hearts to understand Jesus’ teaching. Amen.

First, signs of the end of the age (5-26) Look at verse 5. “Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God…” Jesus and his disciples were at the temple, which was known as the Herod’s Temple. This temple originally had been built by those who returned from the Babylonian captivity and later was expanded and renovated by King Herod around BC 19. This temple was so enormous in its size and splendorous in its appearance that it was known as one of the great wonders of the world. It was built with magnificent marble stones and was decorated with tons of pure gold. Jesus’ disciples, most of whom from Galilee, must have been fascinated by the magnificence and beauty of the temple.

However, what did Jesus say about the temple? Look at verse 6. “...But Jesus said, As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple. Jesus said that the time would come when all the stones of the temple would be thrown down. As Jesus had predicted, it happened in AD 70 when the Roman General Titus invaded Jerusalem and demolished the temple completely. At that time, the Roman soldiers moved all the stones away in order to collect the gold that melted from the roof when the temple was set on fire.

Jesus’ prediction about the fall of the temple surprised his disciples. “Teacher”, they asked, “When will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (7) At that time, all the Jews believed that the day when the temple was destroyed is the day when this world would end. To them, the temple was the presence of God among them and it was the center of their life, faith, and identity as people of God. So, the destruction of the temple was unthinkable and unacceptable to Jesus’ disciples. Still, they asked two questions to Jesus; when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place? How did Jesus reply?

Look at verses 8. “He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” Jesus warned them of the appearance of false messiahs. At the end of the age, many false messiahs and false teachers will appear and deceive people. In human history, there have been numerous false messiahs and false teachers around the world. In Korea there had been more than 100 false messiahs ‘who claim to be God’ and 33 who called themselves ‘Jesus’. In America there were Jim Jones and David Koresh who led their followers into mass suicide a couple decades ago. In the name of nationalism Adolf Hitler put more than six million Jews into gas chambers during the World War Two. Communism deceived Russians and Joseph Stalin killed more than ten million people. Capitalism seemed to bring perfect paradise to the world. However, in the capitalistic society people became more anxious, insecure, isolated, greedy, selfish, and indifferent to each other.

Today we live in so-called ‘post-modern era’. What is post-modernism? A literary critic Fredric Jameson describes post-modernism as the ‘dominant cultural logic of late capitalism.’ One of the phenomena of post-modern era is relativistic pluralism. In other words, people say that there is no absolute truth in this world. We believe that there is absolute truth in God. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) But, people in this post-modern era think that there are many ways to be saved. People deny traditional religion, moral value, and authority and attempt to reconstruct the structure of idea and culture. This post-modernism takes a root from modern humanism. They eliminate God and put human reason and experience in the center of their thought world. It sounds intelligent and reasonable, right? No! Jesus said, “Watch out that you are not deceived. Do not follow them.”

The second sign of the end of the age is wars and revolutions around the world. Look at verses 9,10. “When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” We experienced two world wars and numerous local wars for the last century. Even though the Cold War between the Western world and Communist world was gone, still we confront tension between the Western world and the Arab world. The development of nuclear weapons from N. Korea and Iran continue to threat the peace of the world. Last year there was a wave of revolutions among the Arab countries so-called ‘Arab Spring’, which started from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, and Syria.

The third sign of the end of the age is natural disasters. Look at verses 11. “There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” In 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami took more than 230,000 people’s lives in 14 countries. Last year we remember The East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami which killed more than 20,000 people and severely damaged several nuclear plants alongside the Pacific Ocean. People in Japan still suffer from these deadly disasters and become anxious about more disasters. This year my family has to pay more property insurance just because of possible damage from tornado in St. Louis area. Last year a huge tornado hit Joplin Missouri and took 116 people’s life. There is no safe place on this earth. Some may say that such deadly natural disasters have continued to occur for all generations. However, as frequency increases in a woman’s birth pain, so the frequency and intensity of natural disasters increase remarkably in this generation. Indeed, we live in the era of end of the age. But, Jesus said, ‘These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. (9b)

The fourth sign of the end of the age is persecution against Christians. Look at verses 12-19. “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” We who live in America, the Land of Freedom, don’t feel much tension or receive persecution because of religion. However, according to the Voice of Martyrs, persecutions against Christians around the world occur every single minute. In Jan. 5^th 2012, in Nigeria the Islam extremists attacked a church during the service and killed the church pastor, his wife, his 10 year old son, and other four believers. During the last Christmas worship service, a Muslim mob burned a church and killed 40 people near the city. Asia Bibi in Pakistan, a Christian mother of two young daughters, has spent more than three years in prison with a charge of blasphemy against Muhammad and recently was sentenced to death. In Indonesia, the incidents of Christian persecution nearly doubles in 2011, and many church closed during Christmas service because of increasing threats from Muslim mobs. We must pray for those who are persecuted, tortured, and murdered for Jesus’ name sake. How did Jesus encourage those who are under persecution? He said, “But make up your mind not to worry because I will give you words and wisdom. …But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” Jesus promised to give us words and wisdom so that we may overcome life-threatening opposition. He will also protect us from all harm and give us eternal life when we stand firm to the end. Jesus said to those who are under persecution. “…Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev 2:8b) Amen.

In verses 20-24 Jesus describes the fall of Jerusalem in detail. Look at verses 20-24. “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Jesus’ prediction about the Fall of Jerusalem was fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman armies under the command of General Titus besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the city completely including the temple. According to Josephus, during the siege more than a million, most of the Jews, were killed including women and children, and 97,000 were captured and enslaved. As Jesus had predicted, Jerusalem was trampled by the Gentiles and the Jews were slaughtered by them.

The Fall of Jerusalem is the preview of the destruction of human culture and extermination of human civilization. There will be no more mercy, justice, tolerance, but hostility, brutality, and cruelty. Jesus added the transformation of the constellation. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (25,26) Indeed, the signs of the end of the age makes people faint from terror and apprehensive of the imminent disasters. These days we have witnessed various unprecedented and apocalyptic disasters around the world. However, how did Jesus encourage those who trust in him and follow him?

Second, the second coming of Jesus. (27-38) Jesus will come again with power and great glory. Look at verse 27. “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory.” The words ‘At that time’ refer to the day when people mourn in anguish and with terror. But at that time, our Lord Jesus will come again with great power and glory as he had promised. When the Risen Jesus ascended into heaven in a cloud, the two men dressed in white stood beside Jesus’ disciples who were looking intently up into sky, saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Ac 1:10,11) The Apostle Paul describes Jesus’ second coming in this, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…”(1 The 4:16) When Jesus came to this world first time, nobody was aware of his coming. But, when he comes again, it will be universal and be visible to the whole world. The day of Jesus’ second coming is the Day of Judgment for those who don’t believe him and do evil. But to those who trust in him and call his name, it will be the day of salvation and the day of victory. At that time, Jesus will send his angels to collect his people from four corners of the world.(Mt 24:31,Mk 13:27) He will raise the dead from the grave.(Jn 5:25, 1 Co15:20,1The 4:16). He will call each name of his people one by one in order to call them up to his side. I am sure that he will call your name one by one. Therefore, what did Jesus say to us for his coming?

Look at verse 28. “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” We should not sit down and despair. Instead, we should stand up and lift up our heads. We must lift our heads to look up to heaven. Look at verse 34. “Be careful, or your heart will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Here the words “Be careful” mean “Repent.” We should repent of our sins and live a holy and godly life.(2 Pe 3:11) Above all, we should accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and be ready to welcome his second coming.

In verse 36 Jesus continued, “.”Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Watch and pray! When we are dozing or sleeping, we will miss God’s call. Jesus warns those who do not prepare for his second coming in the Parable of Ten Virgins in Matthew’s gospel. In this parable, five virgins were awake at night and prepared oil for their lamp because they did not know when their bridegroom would come back, at night or in the morning. But, the other five virgins didn’t prepare oil thinking that the bridegroom would not come that night. However, at midnight the bridegroom came and the five wise virgins welcomed him and went with him to the wedding banquet. The other five foolish and lazy virgins missed the chance to welcome the bridegroom, and the door was shut while they were going out to buy oil. Jesus warned his disciples after telling this story. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Mt 25:13)

Today we learned Jesus’ prediction of signs of the end of the age. In his warning Jesus foretold his glorious second coming to this world. His coming is our ultimate hope and glory. It is the culmination of human history and the fulfillment of redemption. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (32,33) He meant that he would keep his promise. He will come again. May God give us spiritual insight to interpret this generation in view of Jesus’ prediction and prepare for his second coming. Help us not to be foolish and lazy servants, but to be wise and faithful servants who always watch and pray. I pray that all our names including those of our children and friends may be called when Jesus comes again. May God make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.

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