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Mark 13:14-27 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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We dealt mostly with verses 1-13 last week.
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I'm going to address it in brief a little bit this morning as well.
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! We're going to read together all of chapter 13 just to lay out some context
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and deal in definitive answers and absolutes, loves, resolution, completely right understanding,
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then you just may not like the sermon this morning.
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Because there are some challenges in this text.
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Now, we of course believe that Scripture can mean only one thing,
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but there's quite a divergent number of understandings about what Jesus means in all of chapter 13.
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And there are certainly some exegetical challenges.
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We avoid eisegesis.
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Eisegesis altogether is a problem, reading into the text what we want it to say.
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But there are certainly here some exegetical challenges.
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We try to understand what does this text mean?
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What did Jesus mean when he said it then?
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What did Mark intend for us to understand by it when he recorded it?
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And how does it apply to our living today?
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So, we're going to jump into the midst of it all.
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And I hope, by God's grace, we'll come out the other end of it changed from one degree of glory to another.
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So, follow along with me as I read all of chapter 13 to you.
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And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him,
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Look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
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And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings?
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There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
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And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple,
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Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
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Tell us, when will these things be?
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And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?
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And Jesus began to say to them,
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See that no one leads you astray.
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Many will come in my name saying, I am he.
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And they will lead many astray.
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And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.
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This must take place.
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But the end is not yet.
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For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
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There will be earthquakes in various places.
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There will be famines.
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These are but the beginnings of the birth pains.
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But be on your guard, for they will deliver you over to councils,
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and you will be beaten in synagogues,
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and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them.
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And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
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And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over,
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do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say,
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but say whatever is given you in that hour,
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for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
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And brother will deliver brother over to death,
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and the father his child,
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and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
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And you will be hated by all for my name's sake,
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but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
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But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be,
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let the reader understand.
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And let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
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Let the one who is on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out.
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And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
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And the last for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days.
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Pray that it may not happen in winter.
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For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation
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that God created until now, and never will be.
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And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.
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But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days.
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And then if anyone says to you,
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Look, here is the Christ.
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Or look, there he is.
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Do not believe it.
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For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders
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to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
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But be on guard.
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I have told you all things beforehand.
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But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened,
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and the moon will not give its light,
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and the stars will be falling from heaven,
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and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
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And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
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And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds,
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from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
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From the fig tree learn its lesson.
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As soon as its branch becomes tender and put out its leaves,
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you know that summer is near.
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So also, when you see these things taking place,
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you know that he is near at the very gates.
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Truly I say to you,
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this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
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Heaven and earth will pass away,
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but my words will not pass away.
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But concerning that day or that hour,
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no one knows,
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not even the angels in heaven,
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nor the Son,
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but only the Father.
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Be on guard.
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Keep awake.
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For you do not know when the time will come.
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It is like a man going on a journey
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when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge,
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each with his work,
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and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
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Therefore stay awake.
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For you do not know when the master of the house will come,
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in the evening,
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or at midnight,
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or when the rooster crows,
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or in the morning,
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lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
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And what I say to you,
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I say to all,
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stay awake.
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What a text.
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A couple weeks before Christmas.
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Let's pray together.
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Father God,
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we do praise you this morning for your written word.
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We thank you that it has meaning and bearing for us today,
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and we pray that by your Spirit,
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you will help us to wrap our minds and our hearts around that meaning,
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that we might understand it
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and give it application in our lives
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to the glory of your name.
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We also thank you this morning for the word who is Christ,
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the embodiment of all that you are,
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the physical representation of you here on earth,
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and we thank you that we can behold him in the scriptures.
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And I pray,
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Father,
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that as this endeavor is before us,
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and as we labor to know and to understand,
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I pray that in all of it,
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the great end will be the exaltation of Jesus.
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And it's in his name that we pray.
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Amen.
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Now,
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I hope that you picked up a little bit
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as you were following along on the complexity of chapter 13,
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that maybe even your mind went in one direction,
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but then something else Jesus said caused your mind to go in the other.
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It's certainly a prophecy.
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He's talking about things that are going to happen.
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He begins with an interpretation,
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a prophecy that the temple will be destroyed.
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So something that did in fact happen in 70 AD in the Jewish-Roman War.
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It's an event that really happened.
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But then he also seems to talk about the end of all things,
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the end of the age,
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the end of history itself.
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And there's three ways in which general categories that we can understand this text.
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Firstly, that the entirety of the text is referring to the end of this age,
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that it is an eschatological text.
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It's all about the end,
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and quite a few people hold this to be true.
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Secondly, we can believe that the entirety of the text is referring to this Jewish-Roman War
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and the things that would happen in that time.
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This is the year 70 AD, if this takes place.
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And many people hold that view as well.
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So the third option is to understand the text is referring to both things.
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And that's the position I'll attempt to argue for today,
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although I don't know how well I'm going to do that for you.
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And let me again reiterate to you that I may be totally wrong.
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I'm going to do my very best to give you the evidence
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as of why I think this is the case,
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and then give us an application for this.
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But I'm certainly willing to talk about this afterwards.
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Some of you may already know all the answers to this
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and can inform me on the matter.
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I will tell you, I started way too late in this week doing my studying on this.
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The reason that I think it refers to both,
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there are some evidences,
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and I just want to kind of give you through the chapter,
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some evidences that it's talking about the end of this age.
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Like in verse 7, there will be wars and rumors of wars.
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Jesus tells the apostles,
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do not be alarmed.
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This must take place, but the end is not yet.
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Seems to be talking about something further out and beyond
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what will happen in 70 AD.
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In verse 8, he says,
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these are but the beginning of birth pains.
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The wars themselves are just the beginning of the birth pains.
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And then in verse 10, he says,
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and the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations,
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which is not something that had happened by 70 AD.
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In fact, it's still not a thing that has occurred.
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And so I think we can rightly understand that this chapter,
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at least in part, is about the end of all things,
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the end of ages.
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I also see some evidence that it is, in fact,
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about the Jewish-Roman war.
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The apostles ask a very specific question
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about when they'll know that the temple is about to be destroyed.
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And it seems to me that he doesn't just leave them without an answer.
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He doesn't say,
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well, let me talk about something else altogether.
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You're looking for a sign.
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Let me give you a sign of something that's beyond
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what I've already predicted would happen.
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So we see that prediction in the beginning of the chapter.
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And then in verse 29 and 30, he says,
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so also when you see these things taking place,
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you know that he is near at the very gates.
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Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away
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until all these things take place.
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Now upon some study, the phrase translated here in ESV
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and probably in most of your translations as he is near
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is a single Greek word,
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and it is a gender-neutral adverb.
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It's not a masculine adjective.
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It's a gender-neutral adverb which forces the pronoun
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to be drawn from the context.
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So a translator who rightly thinks that this is about the end of all things
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thinks that this is referring to Jesus' return
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when in fact I believe,
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and many other commentators do believe,
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that it's referring to the destruction of the temple.
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It could be rendered,
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it is near.
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And I think verse 30 is the evidence of that.
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Truly I say to you,
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this generation will not pass away
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until all these things take place.
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Those who believe that the entire chapter
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is about the end of all things
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believe that this generation is the generation
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that sees this begin to happen,
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sees the abomination of desolation come onto the scene,
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and then all of this will complete it
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in that generation's time frame.
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I believe a much simpler reading of it
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is that he's referring to those he's speaking to.
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This generation will see this come to pass in 70 AD.
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So I think it's talking about both.
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And then the task before us then is to figure out
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which is talking about what
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and how this could be the case.
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I think that the way he presents this
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is from a very broad sense at the beginning.
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They ask a specific question.
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He broadens his answer to speak about the end of all things
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and the experiences that are going to happen
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in the process of getting to that end.
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So the suffering that will take place,
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certainly the destruction of the temple is part of that.
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So he broadens it out.
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And then our text before us today,
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verses 14 through 27,
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he narrows it down to talk specifically
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about the Jewish-Roman War
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and what will happen in that time
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before once again broadening back out
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to talk about long-term end of all things.
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Everybody with me?
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All right.
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I'm sure you are.
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So let's start looking in verse 14.
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We see a very interesting character presented to us
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when you see the abomination of desolation
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standing where he,
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and the pronoun is in the original,
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where he ought not to be,
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and then Mark's parenthetical statement,
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which is in the original text,
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let the reader understand.
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So Jesus didn't say this.
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When Mark's writing it down,
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he adds,
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let the reader understand.
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So this is something that people beyond
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just the apostles were meant to understand.
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Now I'll tell you,
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I quickly scrambled to remember
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when it was that Mark's gospel was recorded
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because if it had been recorded after 70 AD,
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that would be very interesting, would it not?
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It seems that he would be giving us some future information
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out beyond the Jewish-Roman war,
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but that's not the case.
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It was pinned somewhere in the mid-50s to 60s,
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depending on the opinion out there.
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Likely the mid-50s is when it was pinned.
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So those beyond the apostles were meant to see
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and understand this very thing he's about to tell us.
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So the abomination of desolation
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is an individual,
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a person that's being drawn from the book of Daniel.
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9.27, 11.31, and 12.11.
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These are the mentions of them.
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Let me just read to you the first two.
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Daniel 9.27,
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And then Daniel 11.31,
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And then Daniel 11.31,
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And then Daniel 11.31,
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Now those who think that the entire text
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is about the end of all things,
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suggests that the abomination of desolation
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is what we know as the Antichrist.
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I don't think so.
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I can't tell you exactly who he is,
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but here are some suggestions for you.
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And I think that as Mark says,
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let the reader understand,
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I think the implication he's making,
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again, I think my opinion,
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is that he's making the implication
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that these people already knew
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who the abomination of desolation was.
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He adds that parenthetical to go,
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uh-huh, pay attention reader,
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we already know who this is.
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I think, more than likely,
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it's Antiochus Epiphanes,
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right, who is the ruler of the Seleucid Empire.
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This man, his name,
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he changed his name,
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actually means God manifest.
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And he, in 168 BC,
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erected an altar to the pagan god Zeus
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over the altar of burnt offering.
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And then to add insult to injury,
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he sacrificed pigs on it,
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which was a horrible desecration
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of what was meant to happen there.
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You remember back in Daniel 11, 31,
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forces from him shall appear
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and profane the temple and the fortress
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and shall take away the regular burnt offering.
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There are some other suggestions, too.
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It could have been,
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the Roman emperor Caligula
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had planned to build a statue of himself
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on the same altar.
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It never came to pass,
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but it was a project in the works
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before the Jewish-Roman war took place.
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And two years before the temple was destroyed,
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Jewish zealots,
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who was the kind of political group
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that started the war,
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committed various atrocities in the temple
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and actually put in power
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as the high priest,
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kind of a joke of a man named Fanny.
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The pun is certainly intended in this case.
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So these things seem to be things
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that are leading up to the Jewish-Roman war
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and likely, it's my suggestion,
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that that's what he's referring to.
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He goes on in the rest of verse 14
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to give some very real,
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like very modern,
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for their day,
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things to do.
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Then let those who are in Judea
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flee to the mountains.
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He's predicting this war that's about to come,
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this tribulation that's about to happen,
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a judgment on apostate Israel,
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and he's saying to them,
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flee.
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Those who are in Judea,
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in this region,
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flee to the mountains.
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Let the one who's on the housetop
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not go down or enter his house.
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He's saying,
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don't take any time to pack stuff up.
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Let the one who's in the field
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not turn back his cloak.
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Alas for women.
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It's going to be a horrible,
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horrible thing
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for women who are pregnant
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or nursing infants
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who are slowed down by that process.
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Pray that it doesn't happen in the winter.
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It's going to be this atrocious judgment
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that's going to come.
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Verse 19,
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For in those days,
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there will be such tribulation
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has not been from the beginning of creation
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that God created until now
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and will never be.
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Now I believe,
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as I said,
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that this tribulation
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he's referring to
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is not what many would call
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the tribulation
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at the end of all things,
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but rather a tribulation.
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Such a horrible tribulation.
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And I believe this is brought on
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at the Jewish-Roman war.
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The Roman army,
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under command of the future emperor Titus,
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killed approximately
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one million Jews.
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They besieged the city
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for five months.
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There were hundreds of thousands
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of crucifixions,
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spearing,
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all kinds of killing.
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Many people died
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of starvation
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in the process of this.
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It was a difficult,
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difficult time
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for the Jews.
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And Jesus is warning them,
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flee.
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Get out of the city.
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Go to the mountains.
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Get away from
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this judgment
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that is coming.
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But there's an interesting
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little phrase there
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in verse 19,
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is there not?
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Even as I'm speaking,
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if you're an astute listener,
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the level of tribulation
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seems to be heightened
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at first,
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as Jesus says,
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and has not been
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from the beginning
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of the creation
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that God created
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until now.
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That means that there's
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nothing worse
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that's ever happened,
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this tribulation is,
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and never will be.
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This seems to be
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the great height
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of trouble
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for the world.
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And so most of us,
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for our upbringing
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in church,
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would run quickly
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to what we call
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the tribulation
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at the end
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of all things.
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However,
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a little bit of study,
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you can find
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that this phrase
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found at the very end
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and never will be
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is an Old Testament
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stock expression
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of great suffering.
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It was a common way
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people referred to
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great suffering.
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Two examples
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from one book
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in the Old Testament.
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You can also find it
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in Joel 2.2,
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I believe,
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if I'm remembering
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that correctly.
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Exodus 10.14,
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the locusts came up
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over all the land
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of Egypt
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and settled
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on the whole country
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of Egypt.
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Such a dense swarm
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of locusts
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as had never been
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before nor ever
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will be again.
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Exodus 11.6,
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there shall be
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a great cry
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throughout all the land
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of Egypt,
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such as there has
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never been
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nor ever will be
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again.
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So it seems to be
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just this stock
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expression
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to really heighten
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the suffering.
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Suffer,
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they're going to suffer,
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they're really,
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really going to suffer
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is what he seems
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to be expressing
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as he says this.
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In verse 20,
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he goes on to say,
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And if the Lord,
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speaking of God the Father,
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had not cut short
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the days,
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no human being
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would be saved.
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And upon some word study,
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this saving is not
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speaking of the
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spiritual saving
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that we're so familiar
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with as a term
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in our church today,
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but of physical salvation.
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He's referring in verse 20
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directly back to verse 19,
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this great tribulation
20:16
that would take place
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that's cut short
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so that people are saved,
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so that people live on.
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But in the rest of the verse,
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he says,
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But for the sake
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of the elect,
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those who God has chosen,
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whom he chose,
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he shortened.
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The days.
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The Jewish-Roman War
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lasted about five months,
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as I previously mentioned,
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and it would seem
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that God cut short
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the days of this
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so that all of Israel
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wasn't destroyed,
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so that the gospel itself
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could be carried
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outside of
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this smaller circle,
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this smaller people group,
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to all nations.
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You remember what verse 10 said,
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that the gospel
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must be preached first
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to all nations.
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And so,
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God stayed his judgment
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over Israel
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so that not everyone
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would be destroyed,
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and so that the gospel
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could be preached
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out and beyond.
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Are you tracking with me?
21:13
Let's keep moving.
21:14
Verse 21 through 23,
21:16
he gives once again
21:17
some warning
21:18
that people are going to come
21:19
and claim to be him.
21:21
And this has happened
21:22
all throughout history.
21:23
This is not just a thing
21:24
that will happen
21:25
at the end of all things,
21:27
but this is something
21:27
that has been happening.
21:29
people claiming
21:30
to be Christ.
21:33
Antichrist,
21:33
lowercase a.
21:35
It's the repeated warning
21:36
of chapter 13,
21:37
verse 5 and 6.
21:39
He says,
21:39
see that no one
21:40
leads you astray.
21:41
Many will come
21:42
in my name saying,
21:43
I am he,
21:44
and they will lead
21:45
many astray.
21:50
All right,
21:51
we get to verse 24 through 27.
21:53
Are we ready for it?
21:55
And all this has
21:56
real application,
21:57
I promise I'm getting there.
21:58
But in those days
22:00
after the tribulation,
22:01
the sun will be darkened
22:02
and the moon will not
22:03
give its light
22:03
and the stars will be
22:04
falling from heaven
22:04
and the powers in the heaven
22:06
will be shaken,
22:07
which has such imagery
22:10
of the world
22:11
coming to an end,
22:12
does it not?
22:14
And so,
22:14
on our first reading of this,
22:16
that's where my mind
22:17
immediately goes,
22:19
but we have to recognize
22:20
that Jesus was speaking
22:21
to a Jewish audience.
22:23
A Jewish audience
22:24
that would have had
22:25
a good understanding
22:27
of the Old Testament Scriptures.
22:29
Sadly,
22:30
we really don't
22:32
as American Christians,
22:34
and so,
22:34
we have to study
22:35
and we have to go
22:36
and look
22:37
and figure out
22:38
what is he saying here.
22:40
This language,
22:41
again,
22:41
being borrowed
22:42
from the Old Testament.
22:45
Two places,
22:46
let me show you.
22:47
Firstly,
22:48
in Isaiah 13,
22:49
verse 10,
22:50
speaking of the judgment
22:52
of Babylon,
22:53
for the stars
22:54
of the heavens
22:55
and their constellations
22:57
will not give their light.
22:58
The sun will be dark
23:00
as it's rising
23:01
and the moon
23:02
will not shed
23:03
its light.
23:04
Speaking simply
23:06
and specifically
23:07
about the judgment
23:07
of Babylon.
23:09
And then later
23:10
in Isaiah 34,
23:12
speaking of the judgment
23:13
of all nations
23:14
in verse 4,
23:15
all the hosts
23:16
of heaven,
23:17
the stars
23:17
in the heaven,
23:18
shall rot away
23:19
and the skies
23:20
roll up
23:21
like a scroll.
23:22
All their hosts
23:23
shall fall
23:23
as leaves fall
23:24
from the vine
23:25
like leaves
23:25
falling from the fig tree.
23:28
So,
23:28
I believe that in verse 24,
23:30
what Jesus is trying
23:31
to communicate
23:32
is there going to be
23:32
a great disruption
23:33
in world power.
23:35
We've already talked
23:36
about wars
23:36
and rumors of wars.
23:37
There's going to be
23:37
a great turning over
23:39
of world power,
23:41
which we certainly
23:41
saw happen
23:42
with the Jewish-Roman war.
23:47
Verse 26.
23:49
And here's our kicker.
23:52
And then they will see
23:53
the Son of Man
23:53
coming in clouds
23:54
with great power
23:56
and glory.
23:58
Now, Jesus has established
24:00
that He is the Son of Man
24:01
repeatedly
24:02
all throughout
24:03
the New Testament.
24:04
In Mark's Gospel account,
24:06
nine times already
24:07
it's been recorded.
24:08
Chapters 2, 8, 9, and 10.
24:10
He has called Himself
24:11
the Son of Man.
24:12
And what He's doing
24:13
is He's connecting
24:13
all of His listeners' minds
24:15
to the book of Daniel.
24:17
So, turn with me,
24:18
if you will,
24:18
to Daniel chapter 7.
24:19
Alright, Daniel chapter 7.
24:32
I'm going to set up our text,
24:33
which is going to be
24:34
verses 13 and 14 specifically,
24:36
by reading to you
24:37
before that,
24:37
beginning in verse 9.
24:39
This is Daniel's vision.
24:40
As I looked,
24:41
thrones were placed,
24:43
and the Ancient of Days,
24:44
which is God the Father,
24:46
took His seat.
24:47
His clothing was white as snow,
24:48
and the hair on His head
24:49
like pure wool.
24:50
His throne was fiery flames,
24:52
its wheels were burning fire.
24:54
A stream of fire issued
24:55
and came out before Him.
24:57
A thousand thousand served Him,
24:58
and ten thousand times
24:59
ten thousand stood before Him.
25:01
The court sat in judgment,
25:04
and the books were opened.
25:05
So, this picture is God the Father,
25:07
seated in a heavenly place,
25:09
reigning over all things,
25:11
a throng serving Him.
25:13
And then verse 13,
25:14
I saw in the night visions,
25:17
and behold,
25:18
with the clouds of heaven
25:19
there came one
25:20
like a son of man.
25:22
And He came
25:23
to the Ancient of Days
25:24
and was presented before Him.
25:26
And to Him was given
25:27
dominion and glory
25:29
and a kingdom
25:29
that all peoples,
25:31
nations,
25:32
and languages
25:32
should serve Him.
25:33
His dominion
25:34
is an everlasting dominion
25:35
which shall not pass away,
25:37
and His kingdom one
25:38
that shall not be destroyed.
25:41
Now, the thing that's really important
25:43
for us to see here
25:44
is that if we take this text
25:46
as an eschatological text,
25:48
as an end-of-all-things text,
25:51
then what that's referring to
25:52
is Jesus coming back,
25:56
coming in clouds,
25:57
coming back to the earth
25:59
to judge the earth.
26:01
But that's not what the text says
26:02
in Daniel 7, 13, and 14, is it?
26:06
We see the Ancient of Days
26:08
seated in heaven,
26:09
and then we see
26:10
the Son of Man
26:11
presented before Him,
26:14
brought up to Him.
26:17
He comes to the Father,
26:18
not coming from the Father,
26:19
but going to the Father
26:21
in Daniel 7, 13, and 14.
26:26
And so my suggestion to you
26:27
is that what Jesus is saying here
26:29
is that while the world
26:31
is going to be going
26:31
through this great tumult,
26:34
like world power
26:35
is going to be shifting,
26:36
things are changing,
26:37
don't worry
26:38
because my kingdom
26:39
is being established forever.
26:42
I have come as the Christ,
26:45
I have ushered in the kingdom of God,
26:46
and I'm going to go sit
26:47
at the right hand of the Father,
26:48
and I'm going to reign over
26:50
everything that happens.
26:53
I think that's what Jesus
26:55
is trying to communicate
26:56
to us here.
26:58
And what will He do
26:59
when this happens?
27:02
Not that He'll judge all things,
27:05
as we know He'll do
27:06
when He returns,
27:07
but rather,
27:07
verse 27,
27:09
He will send out the angels
27:10
and gather His elect
27:13
from the four winds,
27:14
from the ends of the earth
27:15
to the ends of the heaven.
27:17
Now, interestingly,
27:20
the Greek word used here
27:21
for angels
27:22
is translated using
27:24
its secondary meaning.
27:26
Its primary meaning in Greek
27:28
is simply messengers.
27:30
Simply messengers.
27:33
And so I would argue
27:34
that part of what
27:35
He's communicating here
27:36
is that when He goes
27:37
and ascends
27:38
and He's with the Father
27:38
is that He'll send out
27:40
messengers,
27:42
which includes the apostles,
27:43
and now includes us.
27:45
To do what?
27:46
To travel to the ends
27:48
of the earth
27:49
to gather the elect,
27:50
to build the church,
27:51
to advance the gospel.
27:54
Now, I wouldn't exclude
27:56
angels from that number.
27:58
In fact, the Greek word
27:59
is most often translated
28:00
angels throughout
28:01
the New Testament,
28:02
and I believe rightly so.
28:04
I wouldn't exclude that.
28:05
In fact, I think that God
28:06
in many ways,
28:07
by angels,
28:08
is still about the work
28:10
of advancing the kingdom.
28:11
Hebrews 1.14,
28:13
speaking of angels,
28:14
are they not all
28:15
ministering spirits
28:16
sent out to serve
28:18
for the sake of those
28:19
who are to inherit salvation.
28:21
So it seems that angels
28:22
have this place still
28:24
as the heralds of God.
28:29
He says that He'll send out
28:31
the angels,
28:31
His elect from the four winds,
28:33
the farthest reaches
28:34
from the ends of the earth
28:35
to the ends of heaven,
28:37
which would have drawn
28:38
the apostles' minds
28:39
to a text like Deuteronomy 30,
28:42
verse 4.
28:44
If your outcasts are
28:45
in the uttermost parts
28:46
of heaven,
28:47
from there the Lord your God
28:48
will gather you,
28:49
and from there He will take you.
28:52
So it doesn't matter
28:53
how far you go.
28:54
Imagine the furthest place
28:55
the elect of God
28:56
could possibly travel to.
28:58
It doesn't matter.
28:59
Even to that place,
29:01
God will gather them.
29:04
We're about to send,
29:05
if you don't know,
29:05
2030, I think they're saying,
29:08
possibly,
29:09
manned mission to Mars.
29:11
There's a big test
29:12
that achieved that.
29:13
Even there, right,
29:15
we get men on Mars
29:16
that are the elect of God.
29:18
God will gather them
29:19
to Himself.
29:22
So, that's why
29:24
all these things
29:25
that I've said,
29:27
I believe He's speaking
29:28
specifically of this time,
29:31
and then He'll get
29:31
here in a moment
29:33
as we move on in the text,
29:35
next week,
29:36
He'll advance it
29:37
back out again
29:38
to the end of all things.
29:41
Kyle has the job
29:42
of doing that next week,
29:44
and I've already told him
29:45
he has permission
29:46
just to get up
29:46
and say I'm crazy,
29:47
and I don't know
29:48
what I'm talking about
29:49
and set me straight
29:50
in these regards.
29:52
But I think
29:53
that's the trajectory
29:54
of this text.
29:57
If that bothers you,
29:59
I want you to know
29:59
it bothers me too.
30:01
I really, really want
30:02
all of the scholars
30:04
and the commentators
30:05
to agree on what
30:06
these things mean.
30:07
I really want to wrap
30:09
my mind around it
30:10
and get it in its completion.
30:11
I believe the Word of God
30:12
is incredibly valuable to us.
30:14
Every single word in it
30:15
is valuable to us,
30:16
so it confounds me
30:18
a little bit
30:18
when I can't quite
30:19
understand something
30:21
like this.
30:22
But there are some things
30:23
we can understand
30:24
from the text,
30:25
and here's our application.
30:26
This is why it's important
30:28
that we don't just neglect
30:29
a text like this
30:30
altogether.
30:31
Here's our application,
30:32
and I want you to
30:33
take special note
30:34
of three things
30:35
from the text
30:36
this morning.
30:38
First of all,
30:39
note the reign of Christ.
30:43
When exactly
30:44
is he referring to here?
30:47
We're not sure.
30:48
Maybe some of you are.
30:50
I'm not sure
30:50
exactly what he's talking about
30:52
in this case,
30:53
but something we know
30:54
to be sure,
30:55
without a doubt,
30:56
is that Jesus Christ
30:57
does in fact reign,
30:59
and will in fact reign supreme
31:01
forever.
31:03
We looked at verse 24-26
31:05
to see that.
31:06
Some other texts.
31:08
Hebrews 1-3
31:09
says,
31:09
After making purification
31:10
for sins,
31:11
he, being Jesus,
31:13
sat down at the right hand
31:15
of the majesty on high.
31:17
He was given the place
31:17
of honor to reign
31:19
and to rule
31:20
at the right hand
31:21
of God the Father.
31:23
Colossians 1,
31:24
verse 13-14.
31:26
Paul writes,
31:26
He has delivered us
31:29
from the domain of darkness
31:31
or the kingdom of darkness
31:33
and transferred us
31:35
to the kingdom
31:36
of His beloved Son
31:39
in whom we have redemption,
31:41
the forgiveness of sins.
31:42
It's a kingdom that exists now
31:44
that if you've placed
31:45
your faith in Christ,
31:46
you are part of.
31:48
And it is a kingdom
31:48
that He reigns over.
31:52
Hebrews 12-28.
31:54
At least the very first part of it.
31:57
It says,
31:58
Therefore,
31:59
let us be grateful
32:00
for receiving a kingdom
32:02
that cannot be shaken.
32:04
A permanent kingdom.
32:05
A kingdom that has been established.
32:08
The kingdoms of the world
32:09
are being shaken.
32:09
The kingdoms of the world
32:10
are being all mixed up.
32:12
There's lots of tumult.
32:13
There's lots of turmoil.
32:14
There's lots of war.
32:15
But we have received a kingdom
32:17
that cannot be shaken.
32:19
Why?
32:19
Because Christ reigns supreme.
32:21
In fact,
32:23
the writer of Hebrews
32:24
is likely referring to
32:26
another text from Daniel.
32:29
A fulfillment of a prophecy
32:31
in Daniel 2-44.
32:33
And in the days of those kings,
32:36
the God of heaven
32:37
will set up a kingdom
32:38
that shall never be destroyed,
32:40
nor shall the kingdom
32:41
be left to another people.
32:43
It shall break in pieces
32:45
all these kingdoms
32:46
and bring them to an end,
32:48
and it shall stand forever.
32:51
Let's say to you, beloved,
32:53
that this kingdom
32:54
has already been established
32:57
and Jesus Christ
32:58
reigns supreme over it.
33:01
So firstly,
33:02
Christ's reign.
33:03
Secondly,
33:05
notice in our text
33:06
and previous to our text,
33:09
the love of God
33:10
for us.
33:12
Those who are part of His church,
33:14
the elect,
33:15
the ones whom He has chosen.
33:17
Right?
33:18
In spite of us,
33:19
not having done anything
33:21
to deserve His favor,
33:23
He has called us His own.
33:24
Look at verse 5.
33:27
The warning.
33:28
See that no one leads you astray.
33:30
Jesus is prepping us
33:31
for the challenges
33:32
that will face us.
33:33
Verse 9.
33:33
Be on your guard.
33:35
Verse 14.
33:37
Flee to the mountains.
33:39
And just as an aside
33:40
at this point,
33:41
God has given us common sense.
33:44
He has said to us
33:45
that there will be suffering
33:46
if we desire to live
33:48
righteous lives,
33:49
we will be persecuted.
33:52
But He hasn't taught us
33:53
that we should seek it out.
33:54
We should thumb our noses
33:56
at those who may persecute us.
33:58
In fact,
33:58
in this case,
33:59
He says,
33:59
flee to the mountains.
34:00
It's okay.
34:01
Get away from such a thing.
34:04
Verse 20.
34:06
For the sake of the elect,
34:08
He shortened the days.
34:10
For our sake,
34:11
for our good.
34:12
Verse 23.
34:12
Again,
34:13
the warning to be on guard.
34:16
In verse 27,
34:17
He's sending out the angels.
34:19
And whether you want this
34:20
just to be heavenly beings
34:22
or that's us
34:23
or both combined,
34:25
He is sending out ones,
34:27
messengers,
34:28
heralds,
34:29
to gather us
34:30
from the farthest reaches
34:32
of the earth.
34:34
He loves us
34:35
so incredibly.
34:37
Even as He's invited us
34:38
into His kingdom,
34:39
which brings so much trouble
34:40
because the world
34:41
has hated Jesus,
34:42
He pours out
34:45
a great deal
34:45
of compassion on us,
34:47
gives to us instruction
34:49
for how we should live.
34:50
He's going to tell us
34:51
in the coming text
34:53
to be on guard,
34:54
to be aware,
34:55
to be awake,
34:56
to be waiting
34:57
and watching,
34:58
prepared for His return.
35:01
So secondly,
35:02
the love of God for us.
35:04
Thirdly,
35:06
notice the mission
35:07
we've been given to.
35:10
Notice the mission
35:11
we've been given to.
35:12
Now,
35:12
I say that intentionally
35:14
in that way
35:14
because I think it's wrong
35:17
for us to think
35:19
that we exist
35:20
as the church
35:21
and God has granted
35:22
to us a mission
35:24
because it's His mission
35:26
ultimately
35:27
and He's really given
35:28
us to the mission.
35:29
Right?
35:30
It's a thing that
35:30
He'll accomplish.
35:31
If you've been here
35:32
long at all,
35:33
you've heard me say
35:34
that God doesn't need you.
35:36
Don't belittle God
35:37
so much in your mind
35:38
to think that He needs you
35:40
to accomplish
35:41
His will.
35:43
But you're precious to Him
35:44
and He loves you
35:46
and because of His great love
35:48
for you,
35:49
He's given you
35:50
to His mission.
35:52
Right?
35:52
The things that He cares
35:53
most about,
35:54
He's invited you into
35:56
to work within,
35:58
to pray prayers
35:59
and to share your faith,
36:01
to minister
36:01
to the needs of people.
36:03
This is the things
36:04
that God cares about
36:05
and He wants you
36:06
to be part of that
36:07
so that you'll experience
36:08
Him.
36:10
Right?
36:10
So,
36:10
He's given us
36:11
to the mission.
36:13
Note that mission.
36:15
Verse 27,
36:15
as I said again,
36:16
He'll send out the angels,
36:17
gather His elect
36:18
from the four winds,
36:19
from the ends of the earth
36:20
to the ends of the heavens.
36:21
Verse 10,
36:22
and the gospel
36:23
must first be proclaimed
36:25
to all nations.
36:27
God has chosen
36:28
to use His church
36:29
as the means
36:30
to that great end.
36:32
Could He have done it
36:33
another way?
36:33
He sure could have.
36:35
But He's chosen
36:36
to use us
36:37
to accomplish
36:37
that goal.
36:39
Why?
36:41
Why?
36:42
Do we not join Him?
36:43
Why do we not
36:44
make our joy complete
36:46
in pursuing the things
36:47
that God cares about?
36:50
We pursue
36:51
pithy things
36:52
compared to the greatness
36:54
of what we can pursue
36:55
that God has for us.
36:56
The mission
36:56
that He's given us to.
36:59
Turn to 2 Corinthians 5.
37:18
I'll begin reading
37:19
in verse 17.
37:19
Therefore,
37:21
if anyone is
37:22
in Christ,
37:24
that is,
37:24
has placed
37:25
saving faith
37:26
in Him,
37:27
His person
37:27
and His work,
37:28
He is
37:29
a new creation.
37:31
The old
37:32
has passed away.
37:33
Behold,
37:34
the new
37:34
has come.
37:35
This is that picture
37:36
of us.
37:36
Our citizenship
37:37
has changed.
37:38
We're no longer
37:38
citizens of the world.
37:39
We're just sojourners here.
37:41
Now we're citizens
37:41
of the kingdom
37:42
of heaven.
37:43
The old,
37:44
our identity
37:44
has changed
37:45
completely.
37:46
Verse 18,
37:46
All this
37:48
is from God
37:49
who through Christ
37:51
reconciled us
37:53
to Himself
37:53
and gave us
37:54
the ministry
37:55
of reconciliation.
37:56
Reconciliation
37:57
is the making right
37:59
of a schismed relationship.
38:02
A relationship
38:03
that's been torn apart
38:04
and it's been torn apart
38:05
in this case
38:05
because of sin,
38:06
because of our rebellion
38:07
against God,
38:08
totally separated from Him.
38:10
The ministry
38:11
of reconciliation
38:12
has brought us
38:13
back together
38:14
because what of Christ
38:14
has accomplished?
38:16
Verse 19,
38:17
That is,
38:18
in Christ,
38:19
God was reconciling
38:21
the world
38:21
to Himself,
38:23
not counting
38:23
the trespasses
38:24
against them
38:25
and entrusting
38:25
to us
38:26
the message
38:27
of reconciliation,
38:29
the gospel,
38:30
the good news
38:30
of Jesus Christ.
38:32
Verse 20,
38:33
Therefore,
38:34
we are ambassadors
38:35
for Christ,
38:36
God making His appeal
38:37
through us.
38:40
We implore you
38:41
on behalf of Christ,
38:42
be reconciled
38:43
to God.
38:46
And there,
38:47
Paul gives us
38:47
this great gospel message
38:50
at the very end
38:51
of verse 20,
38:52
We implore you
38:53
on behalf of Christ,
38:54
be reconciled
38:56
to God.
38:57
If you have been
38:58
reconciled to God
38:59
in Christ,
39:00
you should want
39:02
to share
39:03
that good news
39:04
with others.
39:07
Beloved,
39:07
what's going on
39:08
in our hearts
39:09
that causes us
39:10
to do the things
39:11
we do
39:12
and talk about
39:13
the things
39:14
we talk about?
39:16
Out of the outflow
39:17
of your heart,
39:19
your mouth speaks.
39:21
Do you love
39:22
the gospel
39:24
of Jesus Christ?
39:25
Have you been
39:25
reconciled by it?
39:27
Have you understood
39:28
the schism
39:30
and the relationship
39:31
that existed
39:31
and the way
39:32
in which Christ
39:33
has brought that
39:33
back together?
39:34
That ought to well up
39:35
in us a great deal
39:36
of joy
39:37
and we ought to share it
39:38
every opportunity
39:39
we get.
39:42
We can't simply
39:43
act it out,
39:44
display it.
39:45
We have to
39:46
proclaim it.
39:47
It's necessary.
39:48
This message
39:49
comes by our mouths.
39:51
Not because God
39:52
needs us,
39:53
but because
39:54
He loves us.
39:56
So we've been
39:57
given
39:57
to a mission,
40:00
a wonderful mission,
40:01
the greatest
40:02
of missions.
40:03
Some people call it
40:04
the Great
40:05
Commission.
40:06
In Mark 16,
40:08
verse 15,
40:09
we see a very short
40:10
record of it.
40:10
Go into all the world
40:11
and proclaim the gospel
40:13
to the whole creation.
40:16
Beloved,
40:17
this is our high calling
40:18
in Christ.
40:19
Christ who reigns
40:20
over all things
40:21
and loves us
40:22
immensely,
40:24
has given to us
40:25
this task,
40:27
made us ambassadors,
40:29
given us the ministry
40:30
of reconciliation.
40:32
Let's pray together.