Transcription

Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris:
Hey everybody, I’m Chris, this is Jeff, and we are The Bible Guys. Yay! And we’re here today to bring you a great segment and a great word.

Jeff:
Oh boy. Yeah. Well, then we better up our game. In that order. Because we’ve been mailing it in all week. So if this is going to be a great one, we got to really step it up. Yeah. Well, this segment today, have you read it? Well, I know. So the fact that we’re bringing our A game today means we have to roll it back out. It feels like we haven’t asked Chris his favorite question in a while.

Chris:
That’s right. It’s been several weeks.

Jeff:
So, what made Chris mad this week? Yes. That’s our favorite. If you’re new to this podcast, our favorite question is what made Chris mad this week.

Chris:
I’m not sure it’s everybody’s favorite.

Jeff:
Oh, it’s everybody’s favorite.

Chris:
It’s a few people’s favorite.

Jeff:
It’s everybody’s favorite.

Chris:
So I definitely thought of one immediately.

Jeff:
Which is why we love it so much. It takes you like three and a half seconds to think of, Oh, I know what made me mad this week.

Chris:
Well, as soon as I came in, I noticed that we were doing it. And I said, I already have one because I’ve been building up for like three weeks or whatever.

Jeff:
Yeah.

Chris:
We haven’t done one. So here’s the reason why is because, um, Uh, it was probably a couple of weeks ago. Um, I saw somebody stuck in the snow. And so what I’m doing is I’m leaving my subdivision and there was this girl who’s, I don’t know, she was like a college student, you know, she was probably like 21 years old. She was a different culture, you know, and I don’t know if she expected me not to stop because, you know, or something like that, just because the age difference or the culture difference or whatever, but she didn’t even look my way. So when I mean she was stuck, listen to me. Our subdivision, like, it actually like, it’s flat, you know, the road is flat, and then when it goes down into the main road, there’s like a hill. Well, somehow she had driven so fast toward our subdivision, which means she wasn’t going fast Like up and down the hill up and down the road. She must have been crossing the road because she was heading directly You know, you don’t you don’t get that kind of speed and then somehow make a left-hand turn and go Perpendicular with that kind of speed she must have hit this hill so hard Because she ended up going up at like a 30 degree angle. She stuck her whole car stuck in snow and it almost was About a foot away from the lamppost and then she in the air car was dented with next to the sign and she’s completely stuck I’m literally snowing really hard. I’m pulling out of my subdivision. I’m late somewhere, but I’m thinking hey man this poor girl must have just gotten there cuz she’s still in her car and So I get out of my car. I decided to walk over to the window. Of course, immediately this snows like a foot deep, which means like my shoes are already, you know, completely wet and drenched. Right. So I’m already sacrificing a lot just to even go up to her. You’re such a good guy. I am a good guy. And then she rolls down her window and I said, Hey man, I go, this doesn’t look fun. And she says, well, I was just about to call a towing company. And because she was at a 30 degree angle, I thought, I bet you that if I leverage myself and I put my back against this light pole, I could rock her out of there because gravity’s on my side. And I said, what if I push you up?

Jeff:
And you’re pretty tough. You’re a tough guy. I’m a scrappy guy. You’re a tough guy. Yeah, yeah.

Chris:
So I said, what if I push out? And she goes, I don’t think so. I’m in here really deep. And she really was. Her whole car was submerged in this snow. And I said, well, let’s try. So I literally shimmy myself in between and she’s reversing it. And I’m rocking this thing and I’m giving it everything I have. Right. She’s spinning the tires. And I’m telling like I’m almost screaming at this point. And I give it everything I have, and sure enough, man, I rock her out of there. And she backs out into the street in the main throwaway. And then she pulls back out. And literally, I’m like, you know, trying to get myself out of this snowbank. And here’s what made me mad. You would think… Oh, no. Right? You would think that she would take just a second to roll down the window and go, oh my gosh, thank you so much for stopping. Thank you for doing that. Because I’ve just saved her two hours of waiting for AAA, right? I’ve just saved her probably about $175 for just a tow truck call, let alone where she wants to be towed, right? You know, whatever, or just the pulling out, you know, maybe the, whatever, whatever, all that stuff. She just avoided all of that, right? And by the way, I would have even thought at least a wave would be good, right? So she pulls out. She, she drives by me. She looks over me and she just gives like a little nod, you know, which wasn’t even like a smile, not, it was more like a, like a, you’re a stranger at the elevator. So I’m going to give you a courtesy, not okay. Right. And then drives away. Wow. And I’m standing there. And of course, you know, I’m old, but I’m blaming the generation, this generation, this generation.

Jeff:
And I’m thinking to myself, like those darn kids.

Chris:
I’m like, I’m like, so then here’s, and then here’s, want to know what else? This is horrible. I actually thought to myself, immediately I judged her and thought, this is a girl who has everything handed to her in life. She knows no value of money or her dad’s, you know why? Because it didn’t save her $175.

Jeff:
So you’re not just mad at her, you’re mad at her parents now. Yes. Her parents are bad parents.

Chris:
Bad parents! I’m like, I didn’t save her $170. Wow. She was just going to call dad. Wow. Right? So dad gives her everything. Apparently dad does everything for her because what kind of person would not say, oh my goodness, thank you. Because we don’t know the price of much, do we?

Jeff:
Because you’re kind of a scary guy, Chris. She didn’t want to roll her window down again. I was so friendly, it was scary. Exactly. It was so scary to her that she wouldn’t put the window down. So if you have any thoughts on this one, why don’t you just share those. Send them to info at thebibleguys.com.

Chris:
I became really old in that moment.

Jeff:
You got old.

Chris:
Because I just judged her and I actually thought to myself, this generation. Because anybody who is 15 up would have literally gone, oh my goodness.

Jeff:
Well, Chris, maybe you just laid up treasures in heaven. Maybe. You don’t need the praise of people on earth.

Chris:
Well, not anymore, because I just griped about it.

Jeff:
Well, you blew that one.

Chris:
God took away my pinky ring. I was mad for this whole generation. I became outraged for the whole generation.

Jeff:
So you just want to tell everybody, straighten up. When Chris stops to help you, you should thank him. No, not at all.

Chris:
Enthusiastically. Not at all. Remember, Jeff, I don’t get mad for me. I get mad on behalf of the world. Which means if anybody stops and helps you.

Jeff:
That’s right. If anybody lets you in. Anybody who helps you.

Chris:
By the way, if somebody lets you in on a merge, give them the wave.

Jeff:
Be thankful.

Chris:
Because everything’s okay after the wave. When someone sacrifices for you.

Jeff:
Be thankful. Yeah. And express your thankfulness. People. Show a little gratitude, people. Come on. Okay. Well, thank you, Chris. You’re welcome. So there you go.

Chris:
On behalf of the world.

Jeff:
Yeah. Well, thank you. You’re looking out for us. What would we do without you looking out for us?

Chris:
I’m not even kidding when I say I can’t believe she didn’t say thank you. I was appalled.

Jeff:
So this is like my fourth time to hear this story, and I keep laughing every time. Great. Okay, so people, if you haven’t heard that story before, he’s been ranting about this for three weeks, so I’m glad he could get that off his chest.

Chris:
I’ve only told it a couple times. They just happen to be in front of you.

Jeff:
That’s all. Okay, so today we are continuing in the grouping of verses that we started off in Matthew, then we got to Mark, and now Luke, the first portion of this passage is talking about what it’s going to be like with Jesus’ return, right? The end times really is what he’s talking about. So, Here’s what it says in Luke chapter 21 verse 5. It says, Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another. Teacher, they asked, when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to take place? And he replied, don’t let anyone mislead you for many will come in my name claiming I am the Messiah and saying the time has come, but don’t believe them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately. Then he added national go to war against nation kingdom against kingdom. There’ll be great earthquakes and there’ll be famines and plagues in many lands and there’ll be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven. But before all this, there will be a time of great persecution. You’ll be dragged into synagogues and prisons and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you. Even those closest to you, your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you. They will even kill some of you. And everyone will hate you because you’re my followers, but not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm, you will win your souls. And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. Then those in Judea must flee to the hills, those in Jerusalem must get out, and those in the country should not return to the city, for those will be the days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the scriptures will be fulfilled. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days, for there will be disaster in the land and great anger against his people. They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world, and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of Gentiles comes to an end.

Chris:
Wow.

Jeff:
So there you go. It goes on from there. We’re going to go back and we’re going to pick up the other, the ending of those three chapters over the next three days next week. But yeah. So there’s a little bit of confusion here because some of what he’s talking about is the very end times and some of what he’s talking about is the destruction of Jerusalem that was coming in 70 days. So Jesus, for us, what we’re asking is when is this going to happen? They were asking when is it going to happen and Jesus said it’s going to start with the destruction of Jerusalem. And then in some time, all these other things will happen. Well, now some of these things have happened. We look back at it, the destruction of Jerusalem and people fleeing into the hills. And some of it has not yet happened. We’re looking forward to it.

Chris:
And by the way, that’s one thing. Yeah. That’s one thing that’s very different about the Luke passage. Remember yesterday we talked about the thing that was different is we knew that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew that did the asking. So once again, we read in Luke and they said, they asked him, right? So now we know, who was doing the asking. However, in this particular one, they talked about, and by the way, let me just side note this and say, whenever Jesus gives details, just let us not look over the magnitude, the weight of the fact that Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple. And then of course it happens in 70 AD, right? But then, then he adds a detail in the book of Luke, at least Luke remembers and records it. right? Even though he said it in front of everybody. He says that there will be fleeings, right? He said, you must flee to the hills and those in Jerusalem must get out and they’ll go into the country. They should not return to the city. And so he talks about how there’s going to be this great mass exodus. Now, whenever things unfold in scripture exactly the way that Jesus talks about it, what it should do is it should reinforce the fact that God’s promises are true. So the way that translates for us is, I’m about to read about some of the fleeing here, but what I’m saying is, is that like, that’s how we know when God gives us promises about our lives, about, you know, who he’s called us to be and having a future and, and, you know, how he’ll, we should never doubt when he says, I’ll always be with you and I’ll give you peace that passes understanding. I’ll give you strength and the power to endure and all these different things. We should believe them because what Jesus says is true. Right. And it’s backed up right here, which is just wonderful. Yeah. So there’s, there’s a side note that talks about the city of Masada. It’s a fortress.

Jeff:
It’s a life application study Bible. There’s a lot of maps and a lot of pictures and things like that. And so they have a picture, actually, of this place.

Chris:
From an aerial view, which is extremely cool. Yeah, you’re right. It’s not a city. It’s a fortress. It’s a place on a hill. And it says, Jesus warned the destruction of Jerusalem would lead to a mass migration of Jerusalem in Luke 20. But then some of those who left Jerusalem went to Masada, a towering rock fortress that sits 1400 feet high, which if you’re seeing this picture, holy cow, on the Western shore of the Dead Sea. And when the first Jewish revolt began in 66 AD, a number of zealots took over Masada, which had been occupied by a small Roman garrison. And after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Romans removed a pocket of Jewish resistance into the fortress. Only the fortress of Masada remained. And I’ll let you tell the end of this story, because it’s extremely cool, because you actually visited Masada.

Jeff:
Yeah, yeah, I’ve been to Masada. So Herod the Great actually built a big portion of this. It’s a giant hill, 1,400 feet high. You get to it by a cable car. So you’re down there by the Dead Sea. Which, by the way, did not exist back then. No, not back then. You had to hike up it. And there are little trails and tunnels up the side of it where you can hike it. I chose not to. Yes. Cable car. This is a good choice. Yeah. It’s a hundred degrees out there. You chose wisely. Yes. So Herod the Great had built this where there’s a palace built into the mountain, like caves and things, just big terraces out. And then this fortress all around walls, it’s almost completely impregnable and incredibly difficult to get to. So when, and it was like going to be his last stand. If he ever got, you know, betrayed by the Romans, he would go there. It was his plan. He built several fortresses like this. He never used, there’s no evidence that he was ever even there, but he built it. So they, these, these Sakkari rebels take over. And it’s the last stand for the Jewish people against the Romans when the Romans decide they’re going to destroy everything. And there’s 960 warriors or fighters up there with their families. And over the course of several months, the Romans laid siege all the way around this mountain. and then this fortress, and then they began to build a ramp with stones and packed earth all the way up. It took months and months and months to do it. And then finally they invaded, and as they came in, they discovered all 960 people had committed suicide rather than die at the hand of the Romans. And so the Jewish people see that as a, as a great Testament in there. It’s kind of their Alamo. Right. Yeah. Kind of thing where, where they, they stood knowing they were going to die, but they stood and fought until the last man. Right. It’s kind of that same idea here that these people knew that they were going to die, but they weren’t going to die at the hands of the Romans. And so that’s what that is. And even today, that fortress is still there right near the Dead Sea.

Chris:
Yeah, and by the way, I encourage all of our curious listeners who want to Google, it’s Masada, M-A-S-A-D-A, just Google a picture of that, and hopefully you’ll get an aerial view and you’ll see that the front, where you see all those little chambers, that’s where Herod built his fortress. And this fortress would have had rations of food, right?

Jeff:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. He had they had food up there for for months and months and months, maybe years. There was a cistern. They had water. They had everything they could be. And then there’s walls. If you look at it, there’s walls that go all the way around that whole mesa. Right. Where they had set up embattlements and things. It’s really neat. I’ve got a really great photo. My wife and I are standing there looking through this window out into the Dead Sea Valley, the valley where the Dead Sea is through this window inside of I think it was like some officers. borders or something. It’s pretty neat. It’s really, really humbling. Anytime you’re in a place like the Alamo or like Masada, where people died bravely, it’s a very humbling thing to make you think of the courage of humanity to stand against oppression, because that’s what that was. So, like I said, portions of these prophecies are all of them when Jesus said them were in the future, but he is referencing some of the things that had happened in the past that had been prophesied by Daniel. So Jesus is living in the flow of all these prophecies. Some had happened, some were going to happen very soon, some will happen in the end. And you just have to understand that. So one of these, it’s not in this passage, but it was in the other two, and I didn’t comment on them, is two times, once in Matthew, once in Mark, it mentions What was it, the religious object that causes desecration standing in the temple, remember? Where you should not be. And he said, the day is coming when you’re going to see that. So this happened several times, the sacrilegious object. Other translations would have it be the abomination of desolation, all those kinds of things. So it refers to the desecration of the temple by God’s enemies, and that happened many times. It happened repeatedly in Israel’s history. 597 BC when Nebuchadnezzar looted the entire temple and he took the Judean captives to Babylon. That’s in 2 Chronicles. In 168 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus, on the altar in the temple, right? That was, they would view that as this object of desolation, this horrible thing. In AD 70, when the Roman general Titus placed an idol on the site of the burned out temple. So after they destroyed it, knocked down everything, they set up an idol there in the temple that happened. And then later on, just a few years later, after Jesus gave this warning in AD 38, the emperor Caligula made plans to put his own statue of himself in the temple and then died. So it’s really interesting. And then now, if you go there, there’s the Al-Aqsa Mosque and there’s the Dome of the Rock, which is a sacred space for Islam. So for many, many, many, many times, non-sacred Jewish items are at the temple place. And Jesus said, that’s one of the signs of the end is that you’re going to lose control of this place. And from the day of the The Romans destroying the temple, there was no temple. And then in the 600s, 700s, you know, the Muslims took over that space and it’s been a fight back and forth, back and forth until finally during the Crusades, finally now you’ve got the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and all that kind of stuff there. So it’s really an amazing thing how Jesus described that it would happen and they immediately knew it was happening. And it happened over and over and over and over again. It keeps happening.

Chris:
Yeah, that’s pretty incredible. And so, again, it’s important to know, because we didn’t say this today, we said it yesterday, but when Jesus talks about the things that are going to be coming, it’s not for the purpose of scaring us, right? Because, because he said, he said, he said, don’t, don’t be fearful. Right. What did he say? He said, there’ll be a time you’ll be dragging the synagogues. He said, but don’t worry in advance about how you’ll answer against the charges against you. I’ll give you the right words and show you such wisdom. And then he also says, don’t be afraid at one point in this particular passage. So, so it is, it is a thing to, it’s a very fearful thing to worry about all the, persecution, and the fact that he said many of you will die. He even said there will be some who will even betray you, and some of you will be even betrayed by friends and relatives and brothers. I mean, those predictions are very scary.

Jeff:
But the reason why he’s saying don’t be afraid… But we shouldn’t be surprised when family members turn against us or when friends turn against us for our faith, right?

Chris:
Right? And so he says, when he says, don’t be afraid, what he’s really saying is, is that in the end, when you have God on your side, everything’s, you know, everything’s going to be okay, even if you lose your life, because you can’t threaten a Christian with heaven. And when it comes down to it, you know, I just got done reading, what was it? It was, The Apostle Paul who wrote, if God be for us, who could be against us, right? To whom shall we be afraid? Yeah, Romans. Yeah, in Romans. And so, you know, when it comes down to it, that’s really what he’s saying. He’s saying, stand with me, you know, be on my side, and if God is for you, there’s nobody that really can truly stand against you.

Jeff:
That’s right. That’s right. And that should be an encouraging time for us, or encouraging word for us. You don’t have to be afraid. He tells us these things so that we know he’s in control, but he didn’t tell us these things to be terrified. And then if you do face persecution that brings you to the end of your life, he says, you don’t have to be afraid there. You’re not going to go through this alone. And then it’s interesting. He says, not even a hair of your head will perish, which is interesting because he just said, and many of you will die. So clearly Jesus is understanding this world is not really home. This isn’t all there is. What he’s saying, because he goes on, he says, by standing firm, you’ll win your souls. He’s saying here, he’s talking about eternity. So that’s what you remember yesterday. You made that joke about me talking about cancer and saying, hey, you can’t threaten a real believer with heaven.

Chris:
Yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s a joke, but right.

Jeff:
Yeah. So so because that’s what I said. And I really believe that you can’t threaten a real Christian with heaven. Yeah. And so Jesus is not really concerned about this world. He’s concerned about you. But man alive, heaven is so much better. And he’s been there. So he goes, yeah, so this is going to be difficult. I’m not telling you to be afraid. I’m just telling you how good heaven is. And then all of eternity, not a hair of your head is going to be disturbed, nothing. You will be in paradise. So don’t, don’t worry about this piece too much. And I think that that’s the real lesson we can take here. He didn’t tell you these things to scare you. He told him so that you know that he’s in control and he wins.

Chris:
Yeah, and in the meantime, you know, until our lives, you know, possibly could get threatened, you know, you may get persecuted from your faith and it won’t be a life threatening thing, but it’ll be more like it’ll cost you maybe a little bit of a reputation or it’ll cost you a relationship. And so when our faith does get persecuted to the point to where it starts to cost us, this is an encouragement for us to stand strong and stay true to God because no matter the cost, standing up for Jesus is worth the price.

Jeff:
That’s right. So the next week we’re going to pivot back and read the second half of these three chapters that we read. And he talks about signs happening in the stars and Jesus’s return. And so it’s super exciting, right? So look up. That’s right.

Chris:
That’s right. All right. Well, hopefully you’ll tune in and we’ll see you then next time on The Bible Guys.