Today's Passage - Luke 21:5-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 21:5-7   Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 'As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.'  'Teacher,' they asked, 'when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?'   The gospel that we are spreading is indeed the good news, because when one accepts Jesus to be his personal savior, he will receive peace from repentance, enjoy the joy from deliverance from fears and worries, and become satisfied deep down inside. His life will have new meaning, and his daily life will have new meaning.  On the other hand, the gospel we are spreading is the news on a crisis coming to the world, because the Bible clearly tells us that this world will end, and all the systems in the world established by men will collapse.  One day, our Savior Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died and resurrected for us, will return with His authority and glory, and bring forth judgment for this world.   As we live in this world of material abundance, it's hard to imagine the Lord's return, much like how the disciples could not imagine what the Lord has prophesied about how the temple will be torn down.  In this scripture passage, people were discussing the grandeur of the temple, but Jesus said: "the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."  Upon hearing this, disciples asked Jesus, please tell us when will these things happen?  They are wondering deep inside, how could such a majestic temple be torn down?  So, they secretly went to Jesus and asked: teacher, when will these things happen?  Is it going to be thousands of years from now?  Surprisingly, Jesus answered shortly in verse 32: "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."  Not thousands of years, but only within 40 or 50 years in this generation.  This was very hard to imagine from human perspective, but history tells us that in less than 40 years, back in 70 A.D,, the Roman army invaded Jerusalem, and not only robbed everything in the temple but also burned the temple down.  When the fire was burning, all the gold in the temple was melted in between the stones.  Therefore, the Roman soldiers had to take apart all the stones one by one in order to scrap off the gold, thus not one stone was left on another."  No matter how hard it was to imagine, not a single stroke of God's word did not materialize.   The Bible says that "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."  No matter how much people resent and deny such message, the word of the Lord will be fulfilled.  You need to trust in Him, because every stroke of God's word will be fulfilled.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are eternally a faithful God, and your promise is never made in vain.  May the Lord strengthen my faith and let me depend on you, and live for you everyday.  I thank and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!