Luke 21:8-18 - Don't Be deceived, or Terrified, and Don't Worry

8 And He said:"Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name,saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go afterthem. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified;for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not comeimmediately." Todaywe're looking at Luke chapter 21. Jesus has been asked by His disciples inverse 7, "When will these things be, and what will the sign be when thesethings are about to take place?" In Matthew 24:3, they also asked,"When will be the end of the age?" As they were looking over at thetemple, Jesus had said, "This temple will be destroyed. Not one stone willbe left upon another." This took place in 70 AD, when Titus, the Romangeneral, moved into Jerusalem, slaughtered the Jews, tore down the temple, andscattered them. Only in 1948 did the Jews return to the land of Palestine. Jesuscontinues to answer their question, but we must remember that the signs andevents He talks about here in Luke 21, Mark 13, and Matthew 24-25, are notprimarily about the rapture but the return of Christ seven years after therapture. Most of these signs and events relate to the events that take place inthe Tribulation that we read about in the book of Revelation, starting inchapter 6.  Therewe find out that the Tribulation is divided into three parts: the first threeand a half years, the middle of the Tribulation (read about that in Danielchapters 9 and 10), and the last half of the Tribulation, which Jesus calledthe Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:21; “For then there will be Great Tribulation,such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, norever shall be”. Which also last three and a half years, a total of sevenyears. These signs point to His return when He comes in great glory, judges theearth, and sets up His millennial kingdom. Too many of us are looking for signswhen we should be looking up for the Savior, living for Him, and reachingothers. InLuke 21:8-19, Jesus gives three main messages in response to the disciples'questions. In verse 8, He said, "Take heed that you do not bedeceived, for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The timehas drawn near.' Therefore, do not go after them. When you hear of wars andcommotions, do not be terrified, for these things must first come topass, but the end will not come immediately." Two key points here: donot be deceived, and do not be terrified.  Mostof us are very interested in end-time events, and as these signs intensify, itindicates the end of the tribulation is near. Since the rapture happens seven yearsbefore then, Jesus says, "Lift up your head; your redemption drawsnigh." We need to be living, working, and serving, not deceived, becausethere have always been false Christs, persecution, and wars. Inverses 12-13, Jesus also talks about persecution. In verse 14, He says, "Thereforesettle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you willanswer." Jesus is encouraging those who are true believers during thistime that as they see these things happen, “don’t be deceived, terrified,afraid, or fearful, but also don’t worry”. I love what He says: "Not ahair on your head will be lost." This doesn’t mean people won’t die.In the tribulation, believers may die by the hundreds of thousands, perhapsmillions, under the persecution of the Antichrist.  But,my friend, when you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you donot die—you simply change places. He takes care of you, and not a hair of yourhead will perish. In your patience, possess your souls.Weall need this message today! Don’t be deceived, terrified, or worried. Keeplooking up; Jesus is coming soon, and we look forward to that day.