The Signs of Christ's Coming & The Abomination of Desolation | Mark 13:1-23 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

I invite you to meet me in the thirteenth 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 wanna tell you upfront even with this teaching, lean in, pay attention, focus, jot these references down. I 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.

And 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 three overarching truths about this particular monologue. So you ready? Don't get distracted now. See? You can't get distracted already.

I wanna tell you about three 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 asked, 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 enormance and all its everything else coming to a place where will it'll 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 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 gonna be destroyed. And so the first question of the disciples is when is that gonna happen? When is that gonna 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 gonna 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 gonna break open at any time, any time, any second even. And so with urgency, they're saying, oh, when is this gonna happen? When is this all gonna 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's here in Luke nineteen eleven, as they heard these things he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed 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 gonna 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 would happen.

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 gonna 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 that 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 fourteen one, behold, a 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 one half 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 gonna 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 and 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 gonna come, then he's gonna establish his kingdom. So Jesus, when is this gonna 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 gonna happen all at his first coming, Jesus is about to explain will happen in the 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, in one coming, then there would be a period, undisclosed amount of time, and then another advent where Christ would return. But the Jews of these 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 gonna happen. It's not gonna 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 prophesies here already occurred and happened in the first century. That precisely by and around seventy AD, everything Jesus explains here is accomplished. Now why would some hold to that view?

You might be somebody who holds to that view. Well, because the temple was destroyed seventy AD by the Romans under the rule and, 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 two. 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.

In 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 first century, specifically seventy AD. They don't just look to history and say, look. The temple is destroyed. There's no temple today.

That happened. Jesus said it would happen. They also come to this verse and say, everything because Jesus said everything would take place, when? This generation. Generally, it's agreed upon that a generation is no longer than forty years.

And if that's the case, then Jesus predicting this, prophesying this around thirty three AD, seventy AD, you add close to forty 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 two main differentiating thoughts. The one is that. That again, this teaching, it's done away with. It's been accomplished.

Happened in seventy 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 right away and again, I believe the latter view provides greater clarity and assurance from the bible than the former. And we're gonna see that as we comb through the signs that Jesus presents that will precede his return. But let me give you two, 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 in 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 two main camps inter interpreting this passage? That it all happened in the first century. Because Jesus said, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Well, if you're gonna 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 seventy AD? So how do those who hold to the the first view that I explained explain 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. Okay. 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 of 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 seventy 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 gonna come back and in coming back, he's gonna 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 seventy 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 breadth 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 first 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 seventy AD records that 1.1 around 1,100,000 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 gonna go to history and we're gonna 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 gonna be here today, but hang tight.

I love this little phrase that Jesus includes in this teaching. It's in Mark thirteen fourteen. 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 gonna 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 gonna do so anytime now.

But the Lord Jesus is going to teach them what he's gonna teach you and I, that the complete manifestation of his kingdom, yes, it's going to come, there's gonna be a delay. And in 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. Number two, 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 gonna 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 mark account account, you won't find Satan being defeated.

You won't find, at least in great detail, the resurrection. You're not gonna find a detailed profile of the antichrist. You're not gonna 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 counsel of God to arrive to the strongest conclusions of whatever doctrine you're trying to study.

So not everything is gonna 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 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 in 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 in his kingly glory. Number three, this teaching not only what?

It not only provides us an answer to a precise twofold question. It 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. Third, 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 what I started. And that's supposed to infuse this grace and the strength in his followers Whether that endurance is necessary to what? Dodge 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 gonna do these quickly. Mark 13 verse five, and Jesus began and to say to them, see that no one leads you astray. See that no one leads you astray. Look at verse nine. 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'll be hated by all for my name's sake.

But the one who endures 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 or at midnight or 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 five signs that I want you to take note of. The first four, we will glance at, and I wanna spend the most time on the fifth sign, which speaks of the abomination of desolation. So let's read this together beginning. We read verse one to verse four.

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. Number one, 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 savior or the savior. 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 Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray even if possible, the elect.

But be on guard. I have 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 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 gonna do. What are they gonna do? False signs. They're gonna perform signs and wonders.

So as we move forward, we're gonna see people doing incredible things, not just saying strange things, but doing things that's gonna try to confirm their message to an undiscerning people who are swayed and given over to manifestations. Jesus here wants to warn us about sweeping deception. That's not the only sign. Let's read seven and eight. 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 arrive 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 gonna accumulate and they're gonna intensify and they're gonna be overwhelming. But notice also that 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. 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 wanna 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 gonna 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 nine and ten of Mark 13. But be on your guard, verse nine, 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 gonna 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's gonna prevail.

The gospel's gonna prevail. It's gonna reach the peoples. It's gonna reach the nations re 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 gonna 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 six. 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 gonna do? He's gonna 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 the supernatural manner. You're saying, well, that's that's very super 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 before the new heaven and the new earth come.

Worldwide evangelization, the fourth sign, verse 11 of 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 fourth sign is intense persecution. Intense persecution. He says you'll be hated by all. When he means all, he means all.

So there's gonna 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. He is my namesake. And that that's a given. The church has always known persecution since the deception, and it's only gonna 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 gonna 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 would speak to 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. Ain't that an incredible insight? Okay.

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 and 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 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 fifth sign and the one that we're gonna land on before we close.

First one was what? Sweeping deception. Second one, alarming devastation. The third one, worldwide evangelization. The fourth one, intense persecution.

The fifth one, temple desolation. Let's read these six 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 house top 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 the 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 have 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 seventy 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 gonna be left. These stones will not be upon one another. Is this something that was fulfilled in the first century?

I would say that what happened in seventy AD prefigures and previews. Yes, Jesus predicted it. He said in verse two, this this building is coming down. But what happened then is a foreshadowing of a greater desolation to a future temple. And I'm gonna give you two 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 gonna 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 wanna 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 gonna name you the references. You can look at it later, but I'm gonna read them to you as well.

In Daniel nine twenty seven, that's the first time Daniel mentions this abomination of desolation. Daniel nine twenty seven. The next one is Daniel eleven thirty one. 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 of desolation deserves its own sermon. But for the sake of our time, I just wanna 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 nine twenty seven. 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 gonna 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 gonna make this covenant, and at some point, he's gonna 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 gonna put an end to that forcefully. And not only is he gonna 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 eleven thirty one. 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 gonna invade the temple. He's gonna desecrate it.

He's gonna put an end to the Jewish worship and not just put it, he's gonna replace it with this abomination that will cause desolation. Daniel eleven thirty one. Well, here's Daniel twelve eleven. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Again, the same consistency here.

You have a very powerful figure, political figure. He's gonna invade Jerusalem. He's gonna desecrate the temple. He's gonna stop the worship of sacrifices and rituals and ceremonies, and he's gonna 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 wanna throw that in there to to just overwhelm anybody. And then there's seventy 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 desecration happen, 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 two. 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 second Thessalonians and Revelation. It's just, it's glorious. It's really glorious.

Okay. Second Thessalonians chapter two. We're almost done here. Chapter two 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. Okay.

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 a letter 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 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 gonna 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?

It fits 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 thirteen fourteen.

But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be. Where he ought not to be. Other translations 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 seventy 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 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 first 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 molds. 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 second Thessalonians two.

Look at verse eight. 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 gonna destroy him. Even if you don't consider that, look at the description of the man in verse nine. 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 does 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 realize Jesus fulfilled prophecy and now we're just waiting for his return, however that looks. Okay.

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 gonna 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 seventy AD? Did the destruction of the temple set into motion a great tribulation like the world has not seen? No.

Has it? 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 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 wanna say things are being fulfilled in history, why why won't we acknowledge Israel as being significant to bible prophecy? Do 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 gonna do now. Right? We're gonna 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 cleanse us 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 wanna rejoice and glorify you together now as a family.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.