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Enduring Witness Until the End (Matthew 24:9-14) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking. You know, usually when we talk
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about a public message, there is this underlying assumption that
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adaptability is the key to success, right?
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Yeah. Like, think about modern
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marketing or public relations. You figure out what your target
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audience wants, and then you adjust your branding.
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You file down the sharp edges, you know.
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Yeah, you hand them a product they feel completely comfortable
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with. You want them to feel affirmed,
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but if you step into the world of biblical prophecy and
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specifically the words of Jesus Christ, that whole marketing
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playbook is just thrown into a fire.
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It really is. It is a completely different
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paradigm. We are looking at a prophetic
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landscape today that is frankly shocking to modern
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sensibilities. We are taking a deep dive into
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Matthew chapter 24, specifically verses 9 through 14 and.
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We have a pretty heavy stack of sources today.
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We do, yeah. Primarily 2 rigorous theological
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expositions, and our mission today is to unpack the solemn
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warnings and also the sovereign comforts that Jesus gives his
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followers in what is known as the Olivet Discourse.
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Which is such a massive section of scripture.
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It is. And listen, if you have ever
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felt whiplash looking at modern Christianity's promises of an
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easy, prosperous life versus the Bible's stark warnings of
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hostility, well, this deep dive is going to clarify things for.
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You it will definitely clear the air.
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We are going to see why the biblical Jesus does not promise
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the applause of the culture. Instead, he guarantees the venom
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of the nations. And we will see why that is
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actually a reason for absolute confidence.
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The. Contrast there is just jarring
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when we look at how much of the modern religious landscape
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operates. A lot of contemporary movements
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treat the gathering of believers almost like theater.
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Like a production. Yes, a production driven by
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seeker sensitive pragmatism. The goal shifts to selling a
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version of Jesus who exists to enhance your best life right
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now. He is pitched as a life coach,
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basically. Precisely a life coach who
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guarantees earthly peace, physical health and financial
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wealth. But the text we are examining
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today strips away all those carnal illusions.
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Completely strips them away. Christ speaks so plainly here
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about tribulation, betrayal, and a very real lethal hatred that
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will fall upon His elect. He's preparing his followers for
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a collision with the world, not a compromise with it.
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OK. Let us set the scene here
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because context is everything. We are standing at a major hinge
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in redemptive history. It is Tuesday of Passion week.
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A very heavy day. Jesus has just spent time in the
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temple pronouncing these devastating woes upon the
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Pharisees. He is calling them whitewashed
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tombs. He is declaring their house
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desolate. And as they leave the temple
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complex, the disciples point out the magnificent Herodian stones.
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They are marveling at the architecture and Jesus just
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shatters their entire worldview. He really does.
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He looks at this wonder of the ancient world and prophecies
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that not one stone will be left upon another.
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They retreat to the Mount of Olives and the disciples,
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probably in a total state of shock, ask him about the signs
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of the end of the age. We have to understand the
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physical and spiritual geography of that specific moment.
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They walk out of the city. They cross the Kidron Valley and
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go up the Mount of Olives. So they have a Clearview.
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A perfect view from that vantage point.
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You look directly W over the Temple Mount.
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They are staring right at this architectural marvel while he
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says this. Which had to be surreal for
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them. Absolutely surreal.
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The Temple in 1st century Jerusalem was not just a local
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meetinghouse. It was not just a pretty
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cathedral. It was the absolute center of
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Jewish national identity. It was.
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Everything to them. It was the logus of priestly
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service, the heart of their sacrificial system, and the
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anchor of their covenantal hope. King Herod had expanded it
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massively. Using those huge white stones.
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Massive blocks of white stones, some weighing hundreds of tons,
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and they were adorned with gold plates that would literally
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blind you in the midday sun. So when Jesus says it will be
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reduced to rubble, he is not talking about a zoning dispute.
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Hearing of its destruction was a massive covenantal catastrophe
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for the disciples. I try to put myself in their
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shoes. It feels akin to someone
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standing in Washington, DC, looking at the Capitol Building,
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Wall Street and the Vatican and predicting the setter physical
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destruction of all three simultaneously.
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That is a great comparison. But even that falls short
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because the spiritual stakes here were so much higher.
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How did the disciples process this?
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Because, I mean, they were expecting an immediate,
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triumphant political Kingdom. Right, they wanted to conquer.
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So this sudden pivot to total devastation had to be incredibly
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disorienting for them. It was psychologically
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staggering. They were heavily ingrained with
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the standard Jewish expectation of their day.
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They anticipated A continuous, glorious earthly Kingdom.
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And they were living under Roman occupation at the time.
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Exactly. They were living under the boot
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of Roman domination. They suffered heavy taxation,
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military occupation. Their intense daily hope was
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that the Messiah would bring National Liberation.
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Violent overthrow if necessary, yes.
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By predicting the temple's destruction, Jesus dismantles
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those political illusions entirely.
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He is preparing them for the fierce reality of what follows.
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Which is not immediate glory. No, not at all.
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What follows is intense personal hostility.
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The destruction of the architecture is just the prelude
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to the persecution of the people.
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So how do we timeline this? Well, to fully grasp the
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timeline Jesus lays out, the source material we are relying
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on applies A dispensational framework.
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Let us pause there and make sure we clarify.
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That framework for the listener can get heavy quickly.
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So how do our sources define this lens?
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A dispensational framework at its core distinguishes clearly
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between the nation of Israel and the Church.
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OK, the perspective of our source material reads this
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specific passage through a pre millennial and pre tribulational
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lens. Break that down for us a bit.
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In plain terms, this means that while there are broad practical
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applications for Christians living today, the specific
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apocalyptic events prophesied in these verses look forward to a
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disdained period in the future. A future event?
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Yes, they point to what is called Daniel 70th week, which
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is the seven-year tribulation period.
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Right, I have heard that term. According to this view, after
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the church is removed from the earth in the per Tribulation
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Rapture, God resumes his specific covenantal dealings
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with the nation of Israel. So as Jesus sits on the Mount of
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Olives, he is answering Jewish disciples regarding the
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consummation of the Jewish age. He is laying out the events
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leading right up to the physical establishment of the Davidic
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Kingdom on Earth. That distinction really changes
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how you read the text. He is laying out a road map for
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a specific future time of unparalleled global hostility.
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It is a very dark road map. And that brings the tension
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right into verse 9. Jesus declares.
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Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to
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death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
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The vocabulary Jesus uses here is very heavy.
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The verb for deliver up is the Greek word paradidomi.
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Paradidomi. Yes, what stands out in the
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language is that this is the exact same word used over and
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over in the Gospels for the betrayal of Christ himself.
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Oh wow. Judas delivered him up.
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The religious leaders delivered him up to Pilate.
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The disciple will share in the pattern of the Master.
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We are handed over, betrayed, given to the authorities.
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And we are handed over to tribulation.
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I want to focus on that concept of tribulation for a second.
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The sources mentioned the original Greek word is the
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phlypsis. Yes, phlypsis.
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We use the word tribulation today to mean anything from a
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flat tire to a bad medical diagnosis, but what kind of
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pressure was Jesus actually describing to them?
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In the ancient Greco Roman world, phlypsis was not a
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metaphor for a bad day at the office.
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It literally refers to a crushing physical pressure.
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Like actual. Weight.
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Yes, the best historical image is a heavy stone bearing down or
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graves being utterly crushed at a massive winepress.
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That is a brutal image. It is.
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The weight just keeps increasing until the structure gives way in
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daily life. For the early church, and
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certainly in the future tribulation period described
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here, this meant agonizing, life threatening ordeals.
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What would that look like practically?
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It meant being shut out of trade guilds so you could not buy or
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sell. It meant being disowned by your
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family, losing your inheritance. It meant facing physical
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violence in the public square. It is a suffocating way.
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Truly suffocating. And Jesus pairs that crushing
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pressure with the phrase being hated.
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Our sources point out the grammar of that phrase is vital.
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It is framed as a continuous, unbroken action, right?
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Yes, the grammar treats it as a continuous reality.
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It denotes an unbroken posture of hostility from the world.
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It is not just a passing phase. Not at all.
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It is not a brief period of unpopularity.
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The world's posture toward the true believer is 1 of perpetual
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animosity, and the text gives us the specific reason for this
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hatred. It is not because the disciples
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have poor Mariners. No, it is not because they are
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politically irritating or because they are socially
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awkward. It is strictly theological.
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It is, as Jesus says, for my name's sake.
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So what does this actually mean for us?
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Because we hear all the time that the gospel is good news,
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right? If the message is good news, why
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does it provoke universal hatred?
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We see modern church marketing strategies insisting that if we
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just adapt our message, if we Polish our presentation, the
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culture will love and accept us. Which is a complete myth.
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How does this single verse expose the flaw in that whole
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seeker sensitive model? It exposes a massive theological
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blind spot regarding human nature.
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The sources point out that the exclusivity of Christ infuriates
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A pluralistic world. We are dealing with total
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depravity here, right? Yes, the doctrine of total
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depravity. Because unregenerate humanity is
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it absolute enmity with God. Their natural disposition is
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rebellion. Therefore, a gospel that the
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world universally loves is a false gospel.
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That is a heavy statement. But it is true, the world will
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gladly tolerate any deity, any philosophy and any self help
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guru as long as it leaves them on the throne of their own
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lives. Right, as long as they stay in
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charge. But the sovereign Lord of the
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Bible demands absolute allegiance.
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He says He is the only way, the only truth and the only life.
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That exclusivity is the offensive.
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Part is the stumbling block. If a church movement thinks he
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can avoid the world's hatred by softening that message, it is no
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longer preaching the Christ of Matthew 24.
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It is invented new highly marketable deity.
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That is a stark reality check. We cannot remove the offense of
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Christ crucified without completely betraying.
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Him. No, we cannot.
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But here is where the narrative takes an even darker turn.
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The pressure does not just stay on the outside.
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While external pressure from the world is guaranteed, that
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external crushing inevitably causes devastating internal
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fractures within the visible religious community.
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That is a tragedy of verse 10. Jesus warns in verse 10.
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Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one
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another. This verse describes A
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terrifying domino effect. The progression is tragic and
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inevitable. Let us look at the verb for fall
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away. The verb comes from the Greek
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word scandalizzo. It originally referred to the
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trigger stick of a baby. Yes, to fall away is to be
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snared, to be tripped up and pulled into ruin.
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When that initial falling away happens, it leads directly to
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reciprocal betrayal. Meaning they turn on each other.
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People who sat in the Pew next to you will deliver you up to
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the authorities. And that betrayal devolves into
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outright hatred among former associates.
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The external heat melts the superficial bonds of the visible
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church. The sources make a really
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compelling argument here. They suggest that persecution
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does not create apostasy out of thin air, it just brings what
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was already there to the surface.
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That is spot on. Persecution acts as an
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accelerant, but it does not change the core material.
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It exposes the superficiality that was already lodged in the
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heart. It shows what you were made of
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it. Completely dismantles the
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concept of easy beliefism. The idea that you can just pray
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a quick prayer, live however you want, and be guaranteed
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salvation. Yes, there are many who possess
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A nominal cultural faith. They have no real root in
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themselves. They like the community, the
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music, or the moral structure. But when the fire starts when
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the. Fires of persecution start
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burning and the cost of association becomes physical or
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economic ruin. They will not just quietly exit
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the back door of the faith. They will actively cause harm.
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To preserve their own safety, their social standing, or their
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lives, they will actively turn on true believers.
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It is like doing a stress test on a concrete bridge.
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You build a bridge and on a sunny day with no traffic, it
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looks perfectly solid. But then you roll a convoy of
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heavy freight trucks across it. The heavyweight of the vehicles
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does not 'cause the cracks. It reveals the structural flaws,
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the cheap materials and the air pockets that were poured into
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the foundation from the very beginning.
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The frauds were always there. Exactly.
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When the load gets too heavy, the bridge fractures right where
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it was already weak. The trial just reveals the truth
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of the construction. That is a brilliant way to
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conceptualize it. Visible association with the
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people of God is not the same as a saving union with Christ.
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You can look like solid concrete until the weight comes down, and
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then the truth comes out. When loyalty to Christ threatens
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reputation, employment, or bodily safety, the heart's true
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allegiance is laid bare. And as these false believers
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fracture and exit the visible church, it creates a massive
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vacuum of authority and truth. A.
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Huge void. People are scared, they're
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confused, and they are looking for answers.
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Jesus reveals that false teachers will rush in to fill
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that exact void. Which brings us directly to
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verses 11 and 12. Jesus says many false prophets
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will arise and lead many astray, And because lawlessness will be
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increased, the love of many will grow cold.
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History shows us time and time again that crises create highly
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lucrative markets for religious fraud.
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They absolutely do. When people are frightened, they
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crave certainty. They look for signs, secret
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knowledge and flattering promises.
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The text mentions false prophets specifically.
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Yes, the terminology Jesus uses refers to those who falsely
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claim to speak for God. They arise specifically to lead
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the sheep astray. The Greek word there is plenow,
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right? Yes, Plano, the language implies
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A deliberate deception causing people to wander off the safe
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path. This is the exact inversion of
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biblical shepherding. Because a true shepherd protects
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the flock. A true shepherd feeds the flock
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and protects them from wolves. These false prophets scatter the
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flock into the wilderness. Our sources point to a few
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modern examples of this kind of doctrinal decay, and I want to
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be clear to you, the listener, we are just reporting on what
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the source material argues here. Right, we are just outlining the
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material provided. We are not endorsing a political
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side or targeting specific groups ourselves, but the
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sources specifically mentioned movements like the prosperity
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Gospel, the New Apostolic Reformation, and the
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infiltration of secular ideologies like critical race
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theory into the Church. Yes, the material highlights how
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these movements claim new authority or offer persuasive
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cultural alternatives to Christ's revealed word.
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The text we are studying also provides a strong defense for a
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concept known as cessationism. Let us unpack cessationism
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because it's highly relevant to how we handle false prophets.
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Please do. The cessationist view, which
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aligns with Reformed theology, holds that the Canon of
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Scripture is entirely closed. Meaning no new books are being
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added to the Bible. Correct the miraculous assign
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gifts of the Apostolic era. Things like speaking in tongues,
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instantaneous physical healing, and direct predictive prophecy.
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Those were given specifically to authenticate the foundational
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apostles as they wrote the New Testament.
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So they had a specific historical purpose.
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Yes, once the Bible was complete, those specific sign
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gifts ceased. Therefore, the sources argue
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that anyone standing on a stage today claiming to have a new
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direct divine revelation from God is deceiving the masses.
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They are acting outside of biblical boundaries.
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In the specific context of the future tribulation, these false
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prophets will utilize intense deception, perhaps even demonic
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signs, to lead people away from the truth that was once for all
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delivered to the Saints in Scripture.
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And what we see next is that doctrinal decay always leads to
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moral decay, the text says, because lawlessness will be
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increased. Lawlessness or anomia in the
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Greek. Right lawlessness is a rebellion
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against God's revealed will. But Jesus says that the result
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of this lawlessness is that the the love of many will grow cold.
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It is a tragic outcome. I find this fascinating.
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You would assume lawlessness just leads to chaos or violence,
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but Jesus points to a freezing of affection.
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How does rebellion against the law cause love to freeze that?
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Causal relationship is one of the most brilliant psychological
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insights in the text. We have to understand what
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biblical love or agape actually is.
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It is not just a feeling. No, not at all.
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Modern culture defines love as sentimental permissiveness, just
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affirming whatever anyone wants to do.
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Which is how the world operates right now.
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Right. But biblical love is covenantal
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devotion shaped by truth and obedience.
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When lawlessness is normalized and celebrated in a society or a
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church, the human conscience becomes dulled.
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The conscience just stops working properly.
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The. Spiritual climate turns into a
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harsh winter where loyalty and zeal freeze over.
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If a community tolerates rebellion, calling sin,
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compassion, or authenticity true love cannot survive.
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There because it is based on a lie.
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True love rejoices in the truth, not in unrighteousness.
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When you discard God's law, you destroy the very boundaries that
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make genuine love possible, leaving everyone isolated,
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selfish and cold. It is a genuinely chilling
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image. We have apostasy, betrayal by
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friends, false prophets deceiving the masses, rampant
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lawlessness, and a freezing spiritual winter where love
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dies. It sounds entirely bleak.
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It really does. If the text stopped there, it
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would be of purely tragic reading.
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But against this incredibly dark backdrop, Jesus introduces A
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glorious and stark contrast in verse 13.
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He says But the one who doers to the end will be saved.
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Everything in that sentence hinges on the word, but it
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creates a massive dividing line in humanity.
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It changes everything. It sets the true Saints
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completely apart from the apostates, the betrayers and the
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false prophets we just described.
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And the grammar here is fascinating and incredibly
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comforting. What does the Greek say here?
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Well, the aorist active participle for the one having
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adored is paired with the divine passive for being saved.
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It treats the endurance almost as completed fact.
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It essentially acts as a receipt proving the purchase was already
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made. It pairs the active endurance of
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the believer with the divine passive action of God saving
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them. Yes, this brings us to the
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absolute core of Christian comfort, the doctrine of the
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preservation of the Saints. A beautiful doctrine.
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The sources we are using strongly refute the Armenian
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idea that a person can lose their justification or that
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salvation is a precarious status maintained by sheer human
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willpower. Which would be terrifying.
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If salvation rested in our own hands, if it depended on our
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grit, we would all defect the moment the sword was drawn.
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Absolutely, we would all fail. But I can hear someone reading
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the phrase the one who stands firm will be saved and
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interpreting it as a works based transaction.
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Yes, that happens a lot. They might think, OK, if I grit
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my teeth hard enough and survive the torture, that endurance
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earns my rescue. How does the theology here
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definitively rule out that idea? That is a very common
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misunderstanding, but the theological mechanism corrects
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it beautifully. Standing firm is not the payment
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you make to acquire salvation. What is it then?
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It is the visible evidence of a regenerated nature.
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Because God has sovereignly predestined and justified His
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elect from before the foundation of the world.
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He actively provides the grace for them to endure the crushing
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pressure of the tribulation. So he is the one doing the work.
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The Saints persevere exclusively because God preserves them.
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He holds them through the intercession of Christ.
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To put it simply, endurance is the fruit of saving grace, not
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the root of it. You endure because you have a
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new nature. A new nature that cannot finally
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deny its creator. That is such a vital
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distinction. We do not endure to get saved.
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We endure because we are saved and God is actively holding on
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to us. It is His grip on us, not our
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grip on Him, that secures the outcome.
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That is precisely right. The true sheep will endure
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because they are kept by the power of God.
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The same Christ who warns them of the coming darkness also
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intercedes for them constantly before the Father.
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Which guarantees their success. His high priestly prayer
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guarantees their endurance. The true Saints are not
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preserved simply to hide out and survive in a bunker somewhere
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while the world burns. No, they have a job to do.
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They are preserved to execute a final, unstoppable mission on
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the global stage. Verse 14 shifts the tone
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completely, and this gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed
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throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and
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then the end will come. The shift here is monumental.
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We move from the suffering, crushed remnant to the
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conquering, unstoppable Word of God.
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The language here is very definitive.
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The verb used for will be proclaimed signifies an absolute
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divine certainty. It is a guarantee human hatred,
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satanic deception of widespread apostasy cannot cancel the
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decree of God. Nothing can stop it.
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The message will reach the whole inhabited earth.
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The gates of hell will try to stop it, the false prophets will
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try to confuse it, but the proclamation will succeed.
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In the dispensational context of the tribulation that our sources
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rely on, who exactly is doing this proclaiming?
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That is a great question if. The Church has been raptured.
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How does this global evangelism happen amidst such intense
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persecution? The distensational framework
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points to specifications, specific agents raised up by God
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during the Tribulation period. First, Revelation Chapter 7
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speaks of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who are sealed and
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protected by God. So they are divinely protected
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to preach. Yes, they will blanket the globe
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with the message. Additionally, Revelation 11
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describes 2 specific witnesses in Jerusalem who preach with
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miraculous authority. They are a huge part of the
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prophetic timeline. God will ensure that this gospel
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of the Kingdom, which specifically heralds the
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physically returning king who will establish his millennial
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reign, is preached across the globe.
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Even with all the chaos happening.
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The geopolitical chaos will not hinder the divine broadcast.
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I love visualizing this. It is like a royal decree sent
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out by a monarch. No rebel army, no matter how
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fierce, can stop the King's heralds from writing into every
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town square and reading the scroll.
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They have to deliver the message.
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The Herald is not making a polite request asking for the
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Culture's permission speak. It is the authoritative,
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unbending announcement that the King is returning to reclaim his
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territory. That captures the dynamic
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perfectly. The end of history is not
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dictated by the timetables of human empires.
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It is not dictated by the United Nations or military coalitions
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or the ferocity of Satan's attacks.
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God is the one holding the. Watch the end arrives only when
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God's sovereign decree for Global Witness is complete.
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And notice that the text says the Gospel acts as a testimony.
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What does that mean in this context?
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This has a dual function. It is a saving grace to the
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elect, calling them out of darkness and bringing them to
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faith. But it also stands as a judicial
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witness against unbelief. A witness for the prosecution,
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essentially. Yes, it leaves the rebellious
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world completely without excuse. When the judgement falls, no
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nation will be able to claim ignorance.
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Seeing this grand sovereign blueprint for the end of the age
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is awe inspiring, but we have to ask, how are you, the listener,
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supposed to Live Today standing in the shadow of these
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prophecies? We need practical application.
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We have to shift to how Christ fulfills these verses and what
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the urgent application is for our lives right now.
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Every faithful analysis of prophecy must connect back to
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the person and work of Christ. He is not just giving a lecture
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here. He embodies the solution.
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He is the center of it all. He is the supreme Prophet who
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speaks infallible truth, cutting through the lives of the false
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teachers. He's the persecuted Savior who
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was delivered up first. He drank the cup first.
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He experienced the ultimate tribulation, the ultimate
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crushing pressure on the cross, bearing the wrath of God for our
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sins. He is the Sovereign Preserver
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who intercedes as our High Priest, ensuring our faith will
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not finally fail. And he's the conquering King,
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whose gospel will triumph over every nation.
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Our sources draw some very sharp, actionable application
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points from this text for us today.
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First, they say, we must categorically reject the
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prosperity gospel. Without hesitation.
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A Jesus promising worldly wealth, physical health and
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cultural popularity is a complete fiction.
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It is an idol manufactured to appease carnal desires.
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It is a dangerous lie. 2nd, we must cultivate strict doctrinal
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discernment. We need to test all spirits and
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all teachings against the closed Canon of Scripture.
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If someone claims new revelation, we reject it.
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The Bible is sufficient. 3rd, we need to examine our own hearts.
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You need to ask yourself if your faith is genuinely rooted in the
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finished work of Christ, or if it is just a matter of social
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convenience. Which is a hard question to ask.
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It is and 4th. We must actively support global
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missions, recognizing the sober reality that over 365,000,000
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Christians currently face high levels of persecution globally.
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The numbers are staggering. The Tribulation has not fully
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arrived in its apocalyptic sense, but the hatred of the
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world is already a daily reality for millions of our brothers and
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sisters. Those applications bring the
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weight of the ancient text right into our present reality.
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It forces us to evaluate our foundation.
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It removes all the fluff. Matthew 24 must be read as
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Gospel before it is read as duty.
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We can only stand firm because the King stood firm for us on
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the cross. If we rely on our own strength,
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our own intellect, or our own willpower, we will fall away
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when the pressure comes. We are just not strong enough on
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our own. But if we rest in His sovereign
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preservation, if we rely entirely on His grip, we will
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endure. The Christian life is a life of
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dependence. When the pressure rises and the
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culture turns completely against you, will your faith stand the
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stress test? Are you relying on the habits of
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your heritage, the traditions of your family?
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Or are you resting entirely on the blood and righteousness of
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the Savior who drank the cup of wrath in your place?
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It all comes down to where your trust is placed.
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Consider the deep irony of the world's rage.
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The very hatred and persecution the world directs at believers
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is actually the clearest proof that the world recognizes the
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authority of the king they claim to reject.
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That is a fascinating thought. Think about it.
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If the gospel were a myth, if it were just a harmless fairy tale,
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they would simply ignore it. You do not persecute people who
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believe in the tooth fairy. You really do not.
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Their intense, irrational hostility is an unintended
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confession of his reign. They hate him because he has
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absolute authority over them. Thank you for joining us on this
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deep dive on reformed thinking. Keep testing all things by the
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Word and rest in the sovereign grace of the King, who is surely
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returning.