This is the Son of God’s last week on Earth before His death and resurrection, and He knew it. He also knew that He would leave the planet, return to Heaven, which is a very real place, and then return to Earth at just the right time to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth.

Far from being impossible to know when He is about to return, or discouraging us from wanting to know when He will return, Messiah wants His followers to know the general time when He will come back. Not the day or the hour – but the knowledge that we are very close.

Israel’s greatest Prophet gave us signs – indicators that will increase in frequency and intensity and let us know that His return is near.

• False Messiahs and very serious religious deception.
• Wars.
• Great earthquakes, famines and plagues.
• Persecution of Messiah’s followers.
• Signs in the heavens – the sun, moon and stars.
• Extreme dismay and fear among the people of the world.

When we see these things increasing in frequency and intensity, like a woman about to give birth, the Lord’s oppressed and down-trodden followers are to straighten up and look up with confidence and expectation and hope, because Messiah will very shortly return, bringing us vindication and salvation, peace and great joy!

Messiah wants His followers to be well-aware of the general time of His return – not the specific day or the hour – and so He reinforces this message on the signs of His return with a parable. Then He told them a parable: Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. There are similarities between the natural world and the spiritual world. The Creator has designed both, and so similar principles are found in each. The natural realm can teach us valuable lessons how the Creator works in the spiritual realm. That is one reason why we want to develop an interest in learning about the natural world around us.

The Son of God was a keen observer of nature. He knew that just as nature teaches us that summer follows spring, and that the sprouting of new leaves on trees means that summer is near, so when we see the specific signs He mentioned taking place and increasing in frequency and intensity, we are to know that His glorious return from Heaven to Earth with power and honor, accompanied by resurrected righteous men and women, will take place very shortly. And, it seems to me and many others that these things are increasing in frequency and intensity, and I would not be surprised if Messiah returned in my lifetime.

Now that Messiah has taught us how to recognize the general time of His return, He wants us to know some things. First, He wants us to know that no matter how bad things get, the people of Israel will be preserved. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. The Greek word usually translated “generation” can also mean “race”. Messiah had told us that because the majority of the Jewish people did not recognized the time when Immanuel visited us, and we rejected the Son of God, God’s righteous anger would be released against the faithless majority of the nation, and there would be great distress for the land and people of Israel. Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies and destroyed, the magnificent temple completely torn down, the nations devastated and the people taken captive and sent into exile among the nations until the times of Gentile world power would come to an end. But, that would not be the end of the story for the Jewish people. The Lord would preserve us until all of the things connected to the Last Days would take place. Then Israel would be gloriously saved, and we will fulfill our purpose and be the source of blessing to all of the nations of the world.

Messiah is assuring us about the preservation of Israel – in spite of our frequent unfaithfulness and the Lord’s discipline of us – even at times very severe discipline. This is not a new teaching. It is the same thing the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah 600 year earlier. The faithful God is totally committed to Israel, and to our survival in spite of our frequent lack of faithfulness. Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; Adonai Tz’vaot  – the Lord of armies is His name: Only the great Creator God, who is amazingly powerful and wise, is able to create the vast universe with its fixed order and amazing design, and keep it and all of its forces under control. And, this Supreme Being is as committed to preserving the nation of Israel as He is committed to continue upholding the entire universe! If this fixed order departs from before Me”, declares the Lord, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever”.

The Almighty wants to further reinforce this important truth about His total commitment to Israel’s survival. Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the Earth searched out below – in other words, not until weak, puny mortal men and women are able to travel to the very ends of the universe and measure it, and also travel to the center of the Earth – things we are very far from being capable of doing – only then will the Lord, who is committed to His Jewish people, also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done”, declares the Lord.

No matter how great the hatred against us; no matter how hot the fires of anti-Semitism burn; no matter how many biased UN resolutions are decreed against us; no many how many biased reports of the mainstream media are produced; no matter if Gog and Magog and their Iranian and Middle-Eastern and European coalition try to destroy us; no matter how much the anti-Christ tries to annihilate us; no matter if all the nations of the world gather together fight against us and destroy us; no matter if Satan and his hosts fight against us, little Israel will be preserved!

God is committed to preserve and restore and save Israel. Know that! Believe that! Act on that! Tell others that! Be supportive of the little nation of Israel, partially regathered from our long exile among the nations of the world! Be loving and supportive of the Jewish people throughout the world. Reject all forms of anti-Semitism! Stand with God and with us! Pray for us. Tell us these truths, and tell us the truth about the Messiah, who is still committed to us, in spite of our rejection of Him!

Second, Messiah wants us to know that not only will Israel be preserved, but His words will also be preserved. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. This universe is not perfect and will not last forever. The entire universe has been very seriously damaged by sin. The creation is flawed. It is in a state of decay. It is enslaved and frustrated and suffering. The good news is that after Messiah returns, and after His wonderful 1,000 year rule from Jerusalem, this entire universe and everything in it will be destroyed. The heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and everything on it will be burned up. Then the Lord will create new Heavens and a new Earth – an entire new and perfect and flawless and wonderful and eternal universe for us to live in forever and ever!

This universe is seriously flawed and will not last. But, the Son of God wants us to know that His words will last. His teachings will outlast the universe! Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Imagine a Jewish carpenter saying that! Unbelievable! What arrogance! Pride bordering on insanity! Unless it is true! Unless His words are more perfect, more trustworthy and more enduring than this universe. And they are! And, so far this has been proven to be true. Yeshua’s words have already endured for a very long time – 2,000 years. The words of most of the great leaders of the nations who were so influential in their day have been long forgotten, but the words of the Carpenter from Nazareth are more quoted, studied and discussed, and sung more often than the words of any other human being who has ever lived. Amazing!

And, I believe that His teachings will continue to endure even beyond this world, because they are absolute truth; flawless, timeless truth. And, if you embrace His perfect and timeless words, and are faithful to His words, you too will outlast this universe! You will have a successful life in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

You won’t be able to take much with you when you leave this life – not things like money and wealth. You will be able to take non-physical things with you – like good character, and faithful service. And, you can also take with you Messiah’s words. So, grab hold of Messiah’s words in this life, because they are one of the only things that you can carry with you into the life to come!

You need to know Messiah and His teachings, and understand them, and treasure them, and live by them, and make your decisions by them, and arrange your goals and priorities according to them! Consistent study and application of Messiah’s words over a lifetime is what is called for.

Messiah is returning, and we need to know that. And, we can know the general time of His return. Things will get very difficult, for Israel and for the Messianic believers. But, Israel will be preserved. Messiah’s words will be preserved. Third, Yeshua wants His followers to know how they are to be preserved. Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation (frivolous, wasted living based on the constant pursuit of fun and pleasure and amusement and entertainment) and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the Earth.

Life has many legitimate joys and pleasures that we can enjoy, but the followers of the Messiah are not to be focusing on fun, and pursuing pleasure. Like Messiah, we are on a mission. We are involved with important things. We are people of great purpose. We need to be serious men and women. Time is short. Life is like a morning mist that evaporates before noon. We have to stay focused on serving the Lord, on telling people the Good News about the salvation that is only possible through the Messiah who has come, on building up Messiah’s Community!

We need to guard our hearts. Each one of us needs to be aware of what is going on at the core of our being – if we are putting God first, or if the pleasure and worries and fears of life are getting us off the proper course that we need to stay on. Are you guarding your heart? Are you focused on the right things? Are your priorities in order?

But keep on the alert at all times. Stay alert like a good soldier in a dangerous area, who must remain alert the entire time he is on guard duty. If you find yourself not alert, do things that will bring you back into a state of spiritual alertness! Turn away from the distractions. Re-engage in the basic spiritual disciplines.

Especially, start praying. Really start talking to the Lord with renewed sincerity, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Many human beings won’t have the strength to endure all the pleasant distractions of the world that will send their life careening off course, and all the fears and dismay and confusion that a fallen world and wicked men and fallen angels can cause.

But, you have a Great Ally they don’t have. Pray to Him for strength to escape the dangers. Ask the Lord for strength to know the dangers and successfully overcome them, so that you will able to stand before the Son of God, who will be your judge, and be acceptable to Him.  The Lord likes those kinds of prayers, and will respond to those kinds of prayers, and give you the strength you need to escape and stand!

Chapter 21 concludes with Luke telling us the normal pattern of events that happened during these final days of Yeshua’s life. Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

That brings us to chapter 22, which is the final day of Yeshua’s life on Earth, when the pattern of events will dramatically change.