I invite you to meet me in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of
Mark. We have now arrived at the most
extensive and lengthy answer that the Lord Jesus Christ gives
to any question that was asked of Him in the Gospel of Mark.
And the nature of this teaching, which spans, at least in Mark's
account, 37 uninterrupted verses, deals with the subject,
the exciting subject of the end of the age.
And as thrilling as this discourse may be, it has also
presented interpretive challenges for students of the
Bible, primarily when it comes to the timeline of the events
that the Lord Jesus unfolds before us.
But prayerfully, here's my goal, here's my heart, here's my
prayer, is that what will be presented to you today and in
the days to come is that this would be as clear as possible,
as simple as possible, as memorable as possible.
Because my desire for us is to all leave here with a greater
confidence about what we believe concerning the final moments of
human history and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so I want to tell you upfront, even with this
teaching, lean in, pay attention, focus, jot these
references down. I'm sure that by the end of this
teaching today, your heart will flutter as you realize of the
absolute brilliance of the mind of God.
When we see the harmonization of the Bible, that what we find in
the epistles and what we find in the Gospels and what we find in
the Hebrew Scriptures, they're all saying the same thing.
They're all pointing to the same truth.
And so my job will be to teach this as effectively as possible.
And I believe it is your responsibility to give a
listening ear and to really focus.
If you're prone to allowing your thoughts to just go with the
wind, try to hone in today because this will be a more
dense teaching than usual. Because it is a dense subject.
And in order for us to even begin to unpack this teaching, I
believe we have to consider 3 overarching truths about this
particular monologue. So you ready?
Don't get distracted now. See, you can't get distracted
already. I want to tell you about 3
overarching truths that will help simplify Jesus teaching
about the events leading up to his return.
Number one, this teaching answers a twofold question.
Let's read the first few verses of Mark chapter 13, beginning in
verse one. And as he came out of the
temple, one of his disciples said to him, Look, Teacher, what
wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
And Jesus said to him, do you see these great buildings?
There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not
be thrown down. And as he sat upon, sat on
rather the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and
James and John and Andrew asked them privately, Tell us when
will these things be? And what will be the sign when
all these things are about to be accomplished?
Now, this teaching is found in Matthew 24.
It's found in Luke 21. And I believe Matthew gives us
greater detail. And in fact, when you look at
Matthew's account, it's not just Matthew 24.
It spans into Matthew 25. It is an incredible discourse
that Jesus gives, but the way Matthew presents the question
that these disciples ask, I believe will help us have a more
accurate framework of Jesus's answer.
So turn with me to Matthew 24 and look at verse three.
And remember, as we're looking at this question or set of
questions, it was provoked by Jesus prophetic declaration that
this temple, Herod's temple, would come tumbling down.
And what a statement that was. If you just historically look at
how grand and spectacular and amazing that temple was, it was
very difficult to imagine how these giant stones with all its
enormous and all its everything else coming to a place where,
well, it will be dust essentially.
So listen to what they asked for in Matthew 24, verse three.
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
him privately saying, tell us, when will these things be and
what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the
age? That's different than how Mark
puts it. It's it's blossoms out a little
bit more. It's expanded.
There are two questions, I believe here you can say there
are three, but the last two are really one.
The first question that these curious disciples are asking is
when will these things be? What things?
Well, again, Jesus just said this temple is going to be
destroyed. And so the first question of
disciples is when is that going to happen?
When is that going to happen? But notice the second question
and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of
the age. Now you and I read that with
Christian lenses and you know what we would rush to in terms
of conclusion of what the nature of their inquiry is.
When are you returning? When is the second coming going
to occur? But that can't be what the
disciples are asking. They're not asking about the
second coming of Jesus Christ. You and I are seeing that in
this text because we see that as we read on in the New Testament
library that there is a truth. There is a doctrine known as the
second coming of Christ. We as a church are waiting for
Christ to come back. But these disciples at this
moment can't be probing about this.
How do we know that? Because you and I have been
studying over the past few weeks how these same disciples
couldn't even wrap their minds around what Jesus dying and
resurrecting and ascending. So how is it that they are
asking about his return when they don't even think that he's
going to go anywhere? They haven't even figured that
out yet. And so this is not asking them
about the second coming. The second coming is not even in
their theological framework, at least yet we see it that way.
The disciples are still under the impression, you know this
very well, that the Lord Jesus is going to manifest his
messianic Kingdom, his glory, his worldwide government any
moment now. And that anticipation has only
been building as we've been studying Jesus in the temple in
the final moments of his earthly ministry.
He's flipping tables, He's cleansing the courts.
He's challenging and he is overcoming the tricks and the
traps of the religious leaders. People are saying, Hosanna, I
mean, you can, you can just feel it that that they're
anticipating that this is going to break open at any time,
anytime, any second even. And so with urgency, they're
saying, oh, when is this going to happen?
When is this all going to occur? And if you need confirmation
that this is what the disciples believed, listen to this
commentary from Luke 19, verse 11.
You don't have to turn there, but listen, it says here in Luke
1911, as they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a
parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because they
suppose that the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
That's the angst that the disciples had, and Jesus
perceived that. So with this in mind, what's
really being asked by the disciples is when is this age
coming to an end? And when is the age of your
Kingdom going to start? When will the sinful epoch
cease? And well, when the glorious,
righteous and perfectly just government promised by God to
David arrive by your power and might, When's that happening?
Jesus? So they're asking really about
what the Old Testament said, what happened.
But here's the thing that you have to wonder, why are they
asking about the Kingdom of God? What triggered that?
I believe what triggered that is when Jesus said this temple is
going down because in their minds for this temple to
experience such judgment for for this edifice that symbolizes the
heart of the people and so many other things, for that to come
under that kind of effect certainly means that there is
going to be something new starting.
They saw Jesus prediction about the temple and his inauguration
of the Kingdom occurring at the same time.
That's how they perceived it. Where did they get that idea
from? From the Hebrew scriptures, go
with me to Zechariah 14. I want you to see this with me
again. Let me remind you, Jesus says
this temple is going down and that triggers something in the
disciples. Oh, if this temple is going
down, then certainly your Kingdom is going to come.
That is going to be the trigger of a new age.
And I believe that Zechariah 14 plays a part in their
understanding of that. Look at verse one of Zechariah
14, hundreds of years before the time of Jesus.
You would think that this is something written in the Book of
Revelation. It's not.
It says here in Zechariah 14. One, behold, the day is coming
for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided
in your midst. For I will gather all the
nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be
taken. Pause.
You know what's in the city of Jerusalem?
The Temple. So here's Zechariah saying
there's a time coming when nations will surround Jerusalem
and the city will be taken, and let's continue.
And the houses plundered and the woman raped.
Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the
people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as
when he fights on a day of battle.
On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies
before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be
split in two from east to West by a very wide valley, so that
1/2 of the Mount shall move northward and the other half
southward. Very detailed.
Here's the gist of it. Jerusalem will be surrounded,
the city will be taken, and at that time the Lord himself will
descend from heaven. Plant His feet on the Mount of
Olives, and He will defend Jerusalem and the people of
Israel. He's going to destroy these
nations, but not just destroy them.
Look at verse nine. What will happen?
And the Lord will be king over all the earth.
Three important words. On that day.
The Lord will be one and His name one.
The disciples, I know they didn't get everything right, but
they had some knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures.
So you understand here that this is one of the most hopeful
messages that the Jews of all time, especially the time when
they were under Roman oppression, something that they
can hold on to. And this was the promise of
Zechariah by the Spirit. Jerusalem one day will be
surrounded, the city will be taken, and God Himself will
defend the nation of Israel, and on that day He will establish
His Kingdom not just in that nation.
Read the rest of Zechariah for the whole world to behold and be
subject to so you understand where the disciples are coming
from. Now the disciples are hearing
Jesus saying this temple is going down.
Well that sounds like Jerusalem being taken in the city being
sieged. But with their background of
Zechariah, at least Zechariah and many other places, they also
think, well then the Lord surely has to come and if he's going to
come, then he's going to establish his Kingdom.
So Jesus, when is this going to happen?
We believe you're the Messiah. And don't you find it
interesting that Jesus is teaching this discourse?
Where, where did he teach it? On the Mount of Olives?
So you're, they're putting all the pieces together and they're
getting excited. What does the Lord do?
And I think this is important to understand right from the
beginning because what the disciples believed was going to
happen all at his first coming. Jesus is about to explain, will
happen in a distant future. Yeah, the disciples understood
these passages, but what they failed to understand was that
there was a gap. The Messiah would come, as you
know, and one coming. Then there would be a period,
undisclosed amount of time, and then another Advent where Christ
would return. But the Jews of this times
mushed all of those promises, all of that activity into one
arrival. And Jesus now in Mark 13 is
about to clarify it's not going to happen the way you think it's
going to happen. It's not going to happen when
you think it's going to happen. Establishing this again is
crucial because not for us to understand merely what's taking
place here, but because you have Christians today who hold to the
theological view that everything Jesus predicts and prophecies
here already occurred and happened in the 1st century.
That precisely by and around 70 AD, everything Jesus explains
here is accomplished. Now why would some hold to that
view? You might be somebody hold to
that view. Well, because the temple was
destroyed 70 AD by the Romans under the rule and the rather
the general Titus, the son of the emperor at the time who came
and attacked Israel and essentially fulfilled what Jesus
said in verse 2. And so because of that
historical landmark, it has brought people to believe that
surely what Jesus said here has been accomplished.
But they don't just go to history to find that, they
actually find something from Jesus teaching.
Look at verse 30 in our original text of Mark 13 and Mark 13
verse 30. Jesus says, truly, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place. So those who hold to the view
that everything Jesus spoke about concerning the events
leading to his return have occurred in the 1st century,
specifically 70 AD, they don't just look to history, say look,
the temple is destroyed. There's no temple today that
happened. Jesus said it would happen.
They also come to this verse to say everything because Jesus
said everything would take place when this generation.
Generally it's agreed upon that a generation is no longer than
40 years. And if that's the case then
Jesus predicting this, prophesying this around 33AD70AD
you add close to 40 years. That makes sense.
So they'll take this verse and say this generation will not
pass until all these things take place.
And it is this one verse that draws a hard line between 2 main
differentiating thoughts. The one is that that again, this
teaching, it's done away with, it's been accomplished, happened
in 70 AD and Jesus said this generation would not pass until
it all takes place. The second main differentiating
view to which I hold and I believe has the most biblical
weight to it, is that this generation refers to the
generation that will be alive to witness the events that Jesus
said would come. And So what you have here is
Jesus explaining that this generation, the generation he is
Speaking of that will experience these things, not the generation
he is speaking to. So the Lord is not referencing
here those who are surrounding Him in that moment.
He's speaking about the generation that will exist at
the time when all these events will unfold.
And some would disagree with me the right away.
And again, I believe the latter view provides greater clarity
and assurance from the Bible than the former.
And we're going to see that as we comb through the signs that
Jesus presents that will precede His return.
But let me give you 2, at least two or three from the beginning.
Look here again with me again, we're doing an overarching view
of this chapter. I know we haven't gone deep yet,
but we're just needing to clarify some things.
Look at Mark 13 and look at verse 24.
But in those days after the tribulation, that tribulation,
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the
powers and the heavens will be shaken, and they will see the
Son of Man coming in clouds from great power, with great power
and glory. And then he will send out the
angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
the earth to the ends of heaven. So Jesus here is speaking about
the culmination of the age after all these signs take place.
What's the climax of it? Well, we read it that the sun
will be darkened, the moon will not give it slice, the stars
will fall from heaven, the powers of the heavens will be
shaken. And what Verse 26, they will see
the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
So what was that verse? That is is drawing a hard line
between 2 main camps interpreting this passage that
it all happened in the 1st century because Jesus said this
generation will not pass away until all these things take
place. Well, if you're going to say all
these things take place, that includes what Jesus just
finished explaining here, that the sun, the moon, there will be
these cosmic celestial signs, and more than that, the Son of
man bodily returning. Did that happen in 70 AD?
So how do those who hold to the the first view that I explained,
explained this? Well, they'll say that this is
this is symbolic, that the signs in the heavens represent
governments and and they represent this and they
represent that. And Jesus did come back in a
phantom kind of way, invisibly, not in his return, but to judge
Jerusalem. So His coming was invisible, and
it was not to return but to judge this people.
And all these other signs are just apocalyptic language that
denotes judgment. OK, hypothetically speaking,
let's say that that is true. Let's say that this is all
symbolic and Jesus coming was invisible and it was just to
judge Jerusalem but not to fully return.
How do you explain verse 27? Look at verse 27 and Mark 13
after we're told that the Son of Man will come in the clouds with
great power and glory. And then he will send out the
angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
the earth to the ends of heaven. How did that happen in 70 AD?
Well, the Lord will bring his people to Himself when he comes
back. How does that fit in the idea
that Jesus is coming back invisibly and He's only coming
back to judge because you have to.
You can't tear up these prophecies because He's going to
come back and then coming back. He's going to gather his people
to him. This is very important to
consider. Let me move on to another point
that would prove, I believe, the futurist view, and that is the
global landscape, the global landscape of the events that
Jesus speaks of. What happened in 70 AD was very
local. It was regional, but when you
read Jesus teaching here and the characteristics of the end of
the age, it does not fit that notion.
The breath of His warning and His teaching goes beyond just
one specific place and one specific event.
All you have to do is read Matthew 24, read Mark 13, Luke
21, and look at all the times nations are mentioned and
kingdoms are mentioned and the magnitude of some of the
catastrophes. It does not satisfy the scope
that is limiting in that view that everything took place in
the 1st century. Here's an example.
Look at Mark 13 verse 19. For in those days there will be
such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of creation
that God created until now, and never will be.
And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being
would be saved. No human being, not just the
Jews, no human being would be saved.
But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, He shortened the
days. The historian Josephus in
writing about what took place in 70 AD records that 1.1, around
1.1 million Jews died, that Roman invasion, that is
heartbreaking. That is a catastrophe, that is a
tragedy. But as you know, in recent
history, Hitler killed how many Jews 6,000,000, just that alone.
If we're going to go to history and we're going to say that
things were fulfilled, how do we how do we make sense of Jesus
saying that in those days there will be such tribulation has not
been since the beginning of creation that God created until
now. The Holocaust alone eclipses a
lot in the past concerning this people group.
And so we have to understand the global landscape of this
prophecy. Yes, he does focus on Israel in
one particular moment, but it's not limited to Israel.
Here's another thought, just a final overarching thought before
we even begin. I don't know how long we're
going to be here today, but hang tight.
I love this little phrase that Jesus includes in this teaching.
It's in Mark 1314. Read it with me, please.
But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he
ought not to be, let the reader understand.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Don't you love that statement in parentheses?
Let the reader understand. You know what that tells me?
It shows that what the Lord Jesus and His teaching did was
anticipated, that there would be a coming reader who would see
this record and who would study it.
The Lord Jesus understood that there would be a larger audience
who would have this copy of these truths in their hands, and
He's calling them to understand what these things mean.
And this charge for the reader to understand would be
especially helpful for who? For the generation that would
witness the abomination of desolation coming to the place
that they would realize that Jesus teaching gives them
instruction of what to do in the very moment that they're
standing in the midst of. So to say let the reader
understand is not very necessary if Jesus is just speaking to the
12 who would see everything that would be fulfilled in their
lifetime. I believe Christ here has
another audience in mind, yes, his immediate audience, but a
reader to come. And I got giddy when I when I
read this. Let the let the Lord knew that
one day in 2024 you and I were going to read this.
So as a recap, the disciples hear that Jesus says this temple
will be destroyed. That caused him to ask about the
establishment of his messianic kingship promised by the Old
Testament prophets, thinking that he's going to do so anytime
now. But the Lord Jesus is going to
teach them what he's going to teach you and I that the
complete manifestation of his Kingdom.
Yes, it's going to come. There's going to be a delay, and
then that delay, it will be characterized and outlined by
false Christ wars, famines, earthquakes, persecutions, as
well as the preaching of the gospel, among other things that
you and I are going to examine. And remember I told you that
there's three overarching truths that we have to analyze before
we get in. That was number one.
I promise. The other two are very quick.
So this teaching not only answers a very focused twofold
question #2 this teaching is designed not to be an exhaustive
play by play timeline of the last days.
Because the frustration of some may not be whether you believe
it was all fulfilled in the past, or it's all going to be
fulfilled in the future, or some happy medium.
For some, it's studying Jesus discourse and feeling as though
they can't identify every piece in the timeline of the last
days. Because if you just take the
discourse alone, at least in market account, you won't find
Satan being defeated. You won't find, at least in
great detail, the resurrection. You're not going to find a
detailed profile of the Antichrist.
You're not going to see what Christ will do with death, what
Christ will do to the grave, or what even the Millennium will be
like. Those things are absent here.
And you know this. I'm sure that this Bible has
been authored in a way in which we are to investigate and we are
to collect and gather the truths from the entirety of the Council
of God to arrive to the strongest conclusions of
whatever doctrine you're trying to study.
So not everything is going to be fine here.
In fact, like many of Jesus teachings, they will be expanded
upon through the ministry of the apostles.
Not just about the last days, about many, many things.
And that's what the epistles are for.
And John is going to be the chief apostle who's going to
receive a revelation that will unpack with greater coverage the
very things that Jesus speaks of here.
In fact, it's so fascinating when you look at Jesus discourse
about the last days, it parallels so beautifully with
the timeline of the Book of Revelation.
So don't get frustrated if you don't get everything in and your
initial introduction here of Jesus discourse about the end of
the age. The Lord in His perfect wisdom
knew exactly what amount of data He should give at this time to
His disciples, and what He's doing here is just giving them a
general timeline of the signs before His arrival and His
kingly glory #3 this teaching not only what?
It not only provides us an answer to a precise twofold
question, and not only does not give us an exhaustive play by
play timeline of the last day so that you can be relieved in that
and not frustrated. 3rd. This teaching is prepared for
Christ followers to remain faithful and hopeful in
difficult times. Jesus doesn't answer this simply
to satiate the curiosity of his disciples.
He's kind enough to answer it, yes, but he has a purpose in it
by declaring to them and to the readers of this very same
teaching of the assurance of his victory right that that's really
this is all about I will, I will establish my Kingdom.
I will gather my elect, I will come and I will finish when I
started and that's supposed to infuse this grace and the
strength and his followers. Whether that endurance is
necessary to what dodged deception as false teachers will
arise or to remain intact and to remain hopeful when all these
disasters, whether they are humanly engineered or naturally
caused. You can remain anchored or
whether it is you and I feeling like we can't stand as growing
persecution comes. That's a word for America, by
the way. Christ here provides these
insights with the intent of energizing His people in
unpredictable times and to be pure for Him and to Him until He
returns. I just want you to look very
quickly at the admonitions that Christ gives throughout this
incredible teaching. Look at Mark 13, verse five.
We're going to do these quickly. Mark 13, verse five.
And Jesus began to say to them, see that no one leads you
astray. See that no one leads you
astray. Look at verse 9.
But be on your guard, for they will deliver you over to
councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will
stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness
before them. Look at verse 11.
And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be
anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is
given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the
Holy Spirit. Look at verse 13.
And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but the one who
endorsed to the end will be saved.
Look at verse 21 and if anyone says to you, look, here is the
Christ, or look, there he is, do not believe it. 23, But be on
guard. I've told you all these things
beforehand. 33 Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when
the time will come. 35. Therefore stay awake, for you do
not know when the master of the house will come.
In the evening we're at midnight when the rooster crows, or in
the morning 37 And what I say to you, I say to all stay awake.
So the Lord isn't just giving us puzzle pieces and wants us to be
burdened with cracking every code to our eschatology.
Yes, he, he does give us these signs, but for what purpose?
To do the very things that he told these disciples and us to
do. To stay awake, be on guard,
don't be anxious, don't believe it.
And so with that being said, I believe really the rest of this
teaching will be still an overview, but enough for us to
have a grasp of the events and the signs and the signals
leading up to the culmination of human history.
There are five. There are 5 signs that I want
you to take note of. The first four we will glance
at, and I want to spend the most time on the 5th sign which
speaks of the abomination of desolation.
So let's read this together. Beginning, we read verse one to
verse 4. Let's read verse five and verse
six. Here's your first sign that
Jesus gives leading up to his return.
And Jesus began to say to them, see that no one leads you
astray. Many will come in my name saying
I am he and they will lead many astray #1 The first sign that
Jesus gives about the last days will be sweeping deception.
Sweeping deception. That's the first thing I think
that is remarkable, that before he gets to natural disasters and
persecution and problems in the home, he speaks about liars.
He speaks about narratives and views and even people that will
deceive many. And there will be some, and
there have been some in history and and times to come who will
be as audacious and as convincing enough to say that
they are a Saviour or the Saviour.
Cults have come in and out. Some cults are still standing
today. But Jesus in teaching this also
wants us to know that the amount of wolves that will arise will
increase as we race towards the end.
Where do we get that idea? Well, he speaks about false
teachers. He speaks about false prophets
and messiahs here. But it's not the only place
where he mentions it. As he goes on and
chronologically explains the other events that will follow,
he revisits false teachers and false prophets and false
messiahs again, Scroll down to verse 21.
Then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or look there
he is. Do not believe it for false
Christ's and false prophets will arise and perform signs and
wonders to lead astray even if possible.
They elect but be on guard. I've told you all things
beforehand. So he introduces with false
prophets, right? Then he speaks about other
things and then he revisits how false prophets and messiahs will
come even as you're inching towards Christ crashing through
the skies. And what I find amazing is when
he mentions it in the first time, he says they will say I am
he. But then when he speaks about
them again, he doesn't just say they will say he says they're
going to do what are they going to do?
False signs, they're going to perform signs and wonders.
So as we move forward, we're going to see people doing
incredible things, not just saying strange things, but doing
things that's going to try to confirm their message to an
undiscerning people who are swayed and given over two
manifestations. Jesus here wants to warn us
about sweeping deception. That's not the only sign.
Let's read 7:00 and 8:00, and when you hear of wars and rumors
of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place.
But the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation
and Kingdom against Kingdom. There will be earthquakes in
various places. There will be famines.
These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
First sign, sweeping deception. Second sign, alarming
devastation, alarming devastation.
And he speaks intentionally about these natural disasters
and these wars, nations and kingdoms coming against one
another with a specific imagery connected to it.
Notice the last thing in verse eight is, but these are the
beginning of birth pains. So you know this.
I'm sure that birth pains arrive in a woman's pregnancy.
Do they arrive in the beginning of a woman's pregnancy?
No, they arrived near when the baby is ready to be born.
So Jesus being very specific here and to use the imagery of
birth pains also denotes that with those contractions, as you
get closer to the birth of that baby, there is an increase of
frequency and there is an increase in the power and the
ferocity of it. So we have to also understand
that that Jesus has in mind that these things, though they've
always been there throughout human history, when it comes to
that last chapter of human history, these things are only
going to accumulate and they're going to intensify and they're
going to be overwhelming. But notice also but that he says
that these are the beginning of the birth pains, right?
So he wants them not to be alarmed at the same time.
And you have a lot of people who are alarmed with every news
headline, every news headline of a war, every news headline with
an earthquake and a new YouTube video comes up.
And so we have to be responsible with how we interpret world
events. We have to be very responsible.
We have to be careful. We have to be discerning.
Jesus here highlights that when these things happen, they are
the beginning. And I love how when Jesus uses
his imagery of birth pains, it is validated by the testimony of
the Book of Revelation. So yeah, we've seen earthquakes.
And you can even make the case that in this century we've seen
more earthquakes than ever. We've seen more wars, We have
World War One, we've seen World War Two, right in the past
century. But look at Revelation.
I want to just give you an example how it will only get
worse. Revelation is given to us as a
chronology. And notice this earthquake among
other disasters. But hear this in Revelation 16,
verse 18, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals
of Thunder, and a great earthquake, such as there had
never been since man was on the earth, so great was that
earthquake. The great city was split into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And God remembered Babylon the Great, to make her drain the cup
of the wine of the fury of his wrath, And every island fled
away, and no mountains were to be found.
That confirms Jesus projection of the trajectory of these
natural disasters. Revelation speaks about not just
the last things, the last time of the last things we're talking
about right when we come up to Christ's return, the tribulation
period and the great tribulation period.
And doesn't that testimony affirm what Jesus said about
birth pains? That as you get closer they're
only going to get more intense, including this earthquake.
The world has never seen an earthquake like this.
So alarming devastation is the second sign.
But let's come to verse 9 and 10 of Mark 13.
But be on your guard, verse 9. For they will deliver you over
to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you
will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear
witness before them. And the gospel must first be
proclaimed to all nations. The first sign is sweeping
deception. The second sign is devastation,
alarming devastation. The third sign is worldwide
evangelization. Worldwide evangelization.
That is the third sign that Jesus gives us concerning what
will proceed before his triumphant return.
And what I love about this is Jesus also anticipates that his
people are going to stand before Gentiles.
How do we know that? Because he says you will stand
before governors and kings for my sake.
And not just that, I mean, if you didn't get it there, you get
into verse 10. The gospel must be first
proclaimed to all nations, to all nations.
Pause here and and note this, that with all these disasters,
you have this hope, this ray of hope tucked in the middle.
No matter what's coming to this world, the gospel is going to
prevail. The gospel is going to prevail.
It's going to reach the peoples. It's going to reach the nations
regardless of the natural obstacles or the human
obstacles. God here promises that the
gospel will go forth and the gates of hell will not be able
to prevail. And I think this is encouraging
because it speaks also in the midst of this catastrophe and
calamity and destruction, that God's heart is still to save and
to win people into his Kingdom. And so really this mention is
God mentioning and extending his grace even in the final moments
of human history. And so great is that extension
of grace and mercy. I'm persuaded that one of the
ways in which verse 10 the gospel must first be proclaimed
to all nation is fulfilled is in a supernatural manner that most
people don't consider the gospel will go to all the nations,
every tribe, every tongue. How is that going to happen?
Yes, through the church. The main vehicle is the church
has been the church will be the church and even the Saints
during the tribulation period. But I believe God, in great
longing and yearning, will do something with and through the
efforts of His people even during that time to make this a
reality. Can I show you where?
Go to Revelation 14 and look at verse 6.
John says. Then I saw another Angel flying
directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to
those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and
language and people. So as things are wrapping up,
you know what the Lord's going to do?
He's going to allow a heavenly creature to proclaim the eternal
gospel. John is so specific.
He wants to let us know it's the same gospel.
It's the same gospel that you and I believed on, the same
gospel that the prophets predicted and prophesied about.
And it will be the same gospel that will save at the end of the
age. And I just believe that this is
again, God's heart throbbing for even sinners at this time to be
saved where he dispatches an Angel to broadcast the gospel in
a supernatural man. You're saying, well, that's
that's very supernatural. Read Revelation.
It's all supernatural. It's all supernatural.
And again, this is, I would say, one of the final invitations
that God gives to the whole world before they enter into an
eternal hell. Here's an Angel to broadcast to
the nations. This is the gospel that you can
receive. This is the only gospel you can
receive to be saved for the new heaven and the new earth.
Come worldwide evangelization, the 4th sign, verse 11 and Mark
13. And when they bring you to trial
and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are
to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, For it
is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the Father,
his child, and children will rise against parents and have
them put to death. And you will be hated by all for
My name's sake. But the one who endures to the
end will be saved. The 4th sign is intense
persecution. Intense persecution.
He says you'll be hated by all. When he means all, he means all.
So there's going to be a shift as we approach the return of
Christ, of those who will turn against those who bear his name.
The name of Jesus Christ is my namesake, and that that's a
given. The church has always known
persecution since the deception, and it's only going to get more
intense again as the King comes. But what I love here again is
another message of hope. He says here that you will stand
before and you will be given over to, but don't even, don't
even be worried about what you're going to say in defense
of your innocence, in defense of your belief.
He says, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit, but
the Holy Spirit. This is Jesus saying this, by
the way, you know what Jesus is promising you and I that it is
possible for the Holy Spirit to speak through you.
That makes some people nervous. No, we have the Bible, and if
the Holy Spirit will speak for anybody, that would mean that
we're including into Scripture and we're adding to Scripture.
No, that's not what Jesus is saying.
Is that what Jesus is saying? No, He's saying that the Holy
Spirit will come to your aid and he will so enable you.
He will so equip you. He will so embolden you that it
won't even be you speaking, it'll be him speaking through
you. Isn't that an incredible
insight? OK, we're talking about end
times here. Can we just let's come here for
a second. I know this is speaking about a
particular time and I know that this is speaking about a
particular circumstance where you have to stand and speak on
behalf of the gospel and defending the gospel and the
hope that you have. But do you ask the Lord to speak
through you? Do you ask Him to so overtake
you in an influence you and move you where what comes out of you
would be the Holy Spirit as you're about to confront
somebody, as you're about to preach that message, as you're
about to meet with an unbeliever, He is.
There He is. He is ready to help us.
Holy Spirit is ready to help us. Intense persecution.
Here's the 5th sign and the one that we're going to land on
before we close. First one was what?
Sweeping deception. Second one, alarming
devastation. The third one, worldwide
evangelization. The 4th 1, intense persecution.
The fifth one, temple desolation.
Let's read these 6 verses together before we unpack it.
Verse 14. But when you see the abomination
of Desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader
understand. Then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the
housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out,
and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his
cloak. And alas, for women who are
pregnant, for those who are nursing infants in those days,
pray that it may not happen in winter.
For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been
from the beginning of the creation that God created until
now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut
short the days, no human would being would be saved.
But for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the
days. And then if anyone says to you,
look here is the Christ or look there he is.
Do not believe it. For false Christs and false
prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray
if possible to elect, but be on guard.
I have told you all things beforehand.
Out of everything the Lord mentioned, everything that we
just covered, you can say are pretty expected in general.
And they've characterized the activity in the world from the
beginning, wars and persecution and natural disasters.
But this is the most detailed sign that Jesus gives.
This is where he wants us to park.
This is where he he really wants us to see as being the most
prominent and significant sign of them all.
He speaks about something known as the abomination of
desolation. And some again, going back to
that view, the opposing view to the futurist view that we would
hold to is that this right here perfectly describes what
happened in 70 AD that it's, it's done.
This is exactly what Jesus was alluding to back in verse two
when he said that these great buildings are they're not going
to be left. These stones will not be upon
one another. Is this something that was
fulfilled in the 1st century? I would say that what happened
in 70 AD prefigures and previews.
Yes, Jesus predicted it. He said in a verse to this, this
building is coming down. But what happened then is a
foreshadowing of a greater desolation to a future temple.
And I'm going to give you 2 main reasons to why I hold to that
view. The first one is because Jesus
says the abomination of desolation.
What's an abomination? Abomination is an object or
practice that is associated with flagrant wickedness or gross
idolatry. Biblically speaking, it's used
to describe a belief or an act or a practice that is repulsive,
that is defiling in the sight of God and those who sees as He
sees. And So what the Lord is saying
here is that there's going to come this abomination that will
cause desolation, and it will happen in a place standing where
He ought not to be. Now it's Matthew's version that
gives us greater insight that helps us narrow what this
abomination of desolation is. So look at Matthew 24 and verse
15. He says in Matthew 24, verse 15.
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the
prophet Daniel, that's big spoken of by the prophet Daniel
standing. Here's another big one in the
holy place. That language is familiar to the
Jewish audience. It should be for the students of
the Bible. The holy place speaks of the
temple, the designated place of worship for the people of Israel
and for any Gentile who would want to be included in that
covenant. But notice here that Jesus
limits our understanding of the abomination of desolation.
You can define terms, but he limits the application of it to
what Daniel said. Here's another exciting thought.
You know the book of Daniel. Jesus believed Daniel wrote it.
I just think that's awesome. You have a lot of people who
think they're smarter than than Jesus and say there's no way
Daniel could have written those things.
That was a far later author because the accuracy of his
prophecy had to have been from somebody who had already
experienced history. No, Jesus said Daniel wrote it.
Daniel mentions this thing called the Abomination of
Desolation three times in his book.
I'm going to name you the references.
You can look at it later, but I'm going to read them to you as
well in Daniel 927. That's the first time Daniel
mentions this abomination of desolation, Daniel 927.
The next one is Daniel 11, 31 and the last mention of the
abomination of Desolation is Daniel chapter 12, verse 11.
You don't have to turn there, but what I'm asking you to do in
this final stretch of our time together is listen to the
descriptions of every reference to the abomination of
desolation. Daniel's mention of this
abomination. Desolation deserves its own
sermon, but for the sake of our time, I just want to at least
give you enough clarity to understand what Jesus is
Speaking of here. So listen, are you guys with me?
Good. You're doing great.
Daniel 927 Listen carefully now, students of the Word.
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,
and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice
and offering. And on the wing of abominations
shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end
is poured out on the desolator. So let's let's pick this apart.
Here we have somebody who's evidently a he and he's going to
make a strong covenant for this time period called a week.
It's not really a seven day week.
Another time. All we need to know is that
there's somebody he's going to make this covenant and at some
point he's going to put an end to the offering.
The offering. What offering?
Not the offering that we did here.
The temple offerings, the sacrifices, the rituals in the
temple, this person, he's going to put an end to that
forcefully. And not only is he going to put
an end to it, he's going to make desolate that very same place
with some kind of abomination. Is that consistent with the
other references of Daniel? Yes.
Listen to Daniel 1131. Forces from him shall appear and
profane the temple and fortress and shall take away the regular
burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that
makes desolate same thing. And again, when you read the
surrounding context, you have this very powerful political
figure who's going to invade the temple.
He's going to desecrate it. He's going to put an end to the
Jewish worship and not just put in, He's going to replace it
with this abomination that will cause desolation.
Daniel 1131. But here's Daniel 1211, and from
the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the
abomination that makes desolate is set up, there will be 1290
days. Again, the same consistency
here. You have a very powerful figure,
political figure. He's going to invade Jerusalem,
he's going to desecrate the temple.
He's going to stop the worship of sacrifices and rituals and
ceremonies, and he's going to set up this thing called the
abomination of desolation based on that that kind of data.
You can make these observations as we just did.
And here's the thing. There are many who try to say
that the description of this has been fulfilled.
So there's a time period in the intertestamental period where
the temple was desecrated. And I don't want to throw that
in there to to just overwhelm anybody.
And then there's 70 AD, another time where the temple was
destroyed. And they try to fit Daniel's
prophecies with some of the things that took place on that
day to say it was desecrated and some would say it was destroyed.
So that's desecrated. But it's not until you read what
the Apostle Paul says that you get the most clarity about what
Jesus said would happen. So Jesus says when you see the
abomination of desecrate, desecration happened,
desolation, according to what the prophet Daniel said, he had
something very specific in mind of what that would look like.
And Paul by the Spirit gives us it.
Where is it? Second Thessalonians, chapter 2.
Go there with me, please. I know it's a lot of scripture
today. It's good for you and me.
And the reason why I'm doing this too is because I want the
Bible to speak for itself. And again, I want you to see,
wow, Daniel connects to Matthew, Matthew connects to 2nd
Thessalonians and Revelation. It's just, it's glorious.
It's really glorious. OK, Second Thessalonians,
chapter 2, we're almost done here.
Chapter 2, verse one now concerning the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Pause.
Is that what we've been studying?
Have we been studying about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Yes, and are being gathered together to him.
Pause. Didn't didn't Jesus allude to
coming back and gathering his elect?
Yes, yes. OK, so far Paul is in line with
what Jesus is saying. Brothers, verse two, do not be
quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by spirit or
spoken word or letters seem to be from us to the effect that
the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any
way. Pause.
Remember how Jesus warned about deception and deceivers.
Do you know what one of the deceptions might be?
What people will say about Jesus and his coming that was
happening in the early church. I know that we can all be
friends and brothers and sisters if we hold opposing views, but
it's still an important truth to get right.
There are serious implications with how we believe this.
He says let no one deceive you in any way, for that time will
not come unless the rebellion comes first.
And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of
destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every
so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his
seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
When you see the abomination of desolation, come run for the
hills, run for the hills, that that event, that sign is going
to precede my return and my gathering of the elect.
Now Paul comes here and he says now concerning the return of
Christ and the gathering, us being caught up together with
him, he goes, why are you guys? Why are you guys shaken?
Do you not realize that before that happens, the man of
lawlessness must be revealed, and not only must he be
revealed, but he will desecrate. He will come into the temple of
God. And here's the abomination of
desolation. Declare that he is God.
Is that? Is that an abomination?
If it's the definition of abomination, he will make
himself the object of man's worship, and he will defy God by
entering into the place that is known as a temple to stand and
to make such a declaration. That's interesting because when
you go back to Mark 13, the ESV version would agree with what
Paul is saying. Let me read to you again Mark
1314. But when you see the abomination
of desolation standing where he ought not to be, where he ought
not to be, other transitions would say it.
But I believe the ESV Council translators saw that the he
there works grammatically with the idea of standing and it's
just an interesting insight where he ought not to be.
So here's the thing. You can also make the case
still, I guess, for people to say no, no, no, no, no, that did
happen at 70 AD. So and so went in and he did
that and he shouldn't have entered in when and looked
around. And, and this is already, even
if you take what Paul says, it already happened.
We're not looking for somebody else.
We're not looking for a man of lawlessness to come to arrive to
the temple in Jerusalem and to say that he is God.
That's already taken place in the 1st century or even
centuries before. We're not looking for that.
And they try to fit the description of this man of
lawlessness who is really the Antichrist into these moulds.
And here's the thing. All you have to do is keep
reading in Second Thessalonians. To eliminate any possibility
that what Paul is speaking about here already happened, or this
man already had arrived in history, let me prove it to you.
Look at verse eight. You're still in 2nd
Thessalonians 2. Look at verse 8.
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus
will kill with the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by
the appearance of His coming. It can't be somebody from the
past because we're told that Jesus himself is going to
destroy him. Even if you don't consider that,
look at the description of the man in verse 9.
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with
all power and false signs and wonders.
Anybody fulfill that in history, whether a Greek emperor or Roman
general, anybody did false signs and wonders and deceive the
masses. It doesn't work.
It doesn't make sense. The only thing that doesn't make
sense is that we are anticipating somebody.
There is one to come. Verse 10.
And with all wicked deception for those who are perishing
because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved, I'm still
not convinced I can hear it. I can hear it.
I'm still not convinced that what you're saying about the
abomination of desolation is to happen in a day to come.
I'm convinced that it already happened.
We look back to it. We realized Jesus fulfilled a
prophecy and now we're just waiting for his return.
However, that looks OK. If you think that it is in the
past, though, Paul gives a different profile of what that
abomination of desolation looks like.
Do you realize what this abomination of desolation will
set into motion? And you have to ask yourself
again, was that fulfilled in the past?
So Jesus speaks about the abomination of desolation and
notice what will follow that. I'm going to read this to you
and then we're done in Matthew 24 verse 21.
For then after the abomination of desolation, for then there
will be great tribulation. What kind of tribulation such as
has not been from the beginning of the world until now?
No and never will be. Did that happen in 70 AD?
Did the destruction of the temple set into motion a great
tribulation like the world has not seen?
No, hasn't. But it will.
It will, and it fits perfectly with the script of the Book of
Revelation, where you have a man in Revelation 13 who will be a
powerful figure, who will bring the world to its knees, Who Will
Win the devotion of most, the allegiance of many.
And he will demand worship. He will demand worship and later
he will be killed when the Lord Jesus does return.
Isn't it more simple than people have made it out to be?
I think it is. I think it's clear.
I think it's straightforward. And I think it just takes a
little bit of effort to put these pieces together to
understand the the glories of Jesus and his teachings for us,
even with something as complex and as intimidating as the end
of the age. But there is no temple.
So yeah, I know there is no temple.
There wasn't a nation of Israel too, for a very long time.
So if we want to say things are being fulfilled in history, why
won't we acknowledge Israel as being significant to Bible
prophecy? The people overdo it.
A lot of people overdo it. But is it not important?
No, that's also dangerous. That's also dangerous.
And So what are we to do? Well, one realize that the Bible
knows what it's talking about. Realize that Jesus is coming
back and we're called to stay awake.
We're called to be on alert. We're called to be careful.
We're called to not believe anything and everything we hear,
including things about his second coming.
And we are encouraged to realize that he will be victorious.
Everything will be made new and there is a new world to come
where He'll be king forever. And that's what we're going to
do now, right? We're going to eat and drink and
remember what He has done for us and what will come when He comes
back for us. Let's pray.
Lord, we do thank you from the bottom of our hearts that You've
given us the patience and the grace to receive all that you
have to say. And Lord, now as we eat and
drink, remembering not just what you have done in the past on the
cross, but how this points to a future time where you will eat
and drink with us again, May our hearts be prepared to fellowship
with you at this table. May you cleanses of all
unrighteousness, anything that would not align with the oneness
of this bread and the high calling that this blood calls us
to as a holy people. We bless you Lord, thank you
that you've told us of what's to come.
Thank you that the future is determined.
Thank you that we are victorious because we are in you.
And Lord, we want to rejoice and glorify you together now as a
family. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Amen.