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Sermon #5397

The End of the World

A Sermon on Luke 21:34-36

Originally preached Jan. 8, 1961

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Scripture

Luke 21:34-36 ESV KJV
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying …

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Sermon Description

How will this world come to an end? The Bible teaches that Jesus will return in glory to judge the earth and consummate all things. Jesus tells that no one will know the day or the hour of His coming, and for this reason Christians are to be ever faithful and vigilant, called to be holy. However, some have ignored this teaching and attempt to predict when Jesus will return. This leads to speculation and creates division in the church. In this sermon on Luke 21:34–36 titled “The End of the World,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the biblical answer is to trust that Jesus will be faithful to His word to return and complete the salvation of all believers. The church is to look to Christ to make the world new at His coming and set all things right. This is the hope amidst the many trials and hardships that come from living in a fallen world. All are beset by the schemes of the devil from the outside and from sinful desires within. This is why Christians ought not to trust in themselves, but only in Christ Jesus. At His coming He will judge the whole world in righteousness and truth. Those who are still in sin and rebellion will be condemned, but those that believe are saved through His righteousness.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon focuses on Luke 21:34-36. These verses warn believers to be watchful and prepared for Christ's return.
  2. Christ knew he was going to die when he spoke these words. His words are very significant and important.
  3. The sermon deals with prophecy about the future. Christ looks into the future and gives a preview of what is to come.
  4. There are two main topics in the chapter: the destruction of Jerusalem and the end times. Verses 20-24 deal with the destruction of Jerusalem. The rest of the chapter deals with the end times.
  5. 50 years ago, preaching on the end times and Christ's return was thought of as ridiculous. Now, it is taken much more seriously.
  6. There are two fallacies in approaching this topic: 1) Spending all your time trying to prevent the end from happening. 2) Spending all your time trying to determine the exact time of the end.
  7. The end is certain and unavoidable. Nothing can stop it from happening. It will happen because of man's sin and God's judgment.
  8. The world cannot be improved because of sin. History shows a cycle of rise and fall, not steady progress.
  9. The only hope is in Christ. The world is doomed without him. He came to save us from destruction, not just improve the world.
  10. We must believe Christ's teaching about the end times. We cannot stop or evade it. We must be ready to stand before the Son of Man in judgment.
  11. To stand before Christ in judgment, we must believe in him. We must trust that he died to save us from our sins and give our lives to him.
  12. We must also watch and be on guard. The world will try to distract us and draw our attention away from Christ and our souls.
  13. It can be difficult to realize these truths, but the state of the world makes them hard to ignore. We must hold onto these truths and not let the devil steal them from us.
  14. For believers, Christ's return should be a joyful event, not something terrible. We should long to see him face to face.
  15. We must keep our eyes on Christ, not letting anything come between us and him. Then his return will be a glorious day.

Other Sermons

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.