Mark 13:14-23 "The Olivet Discourse: The Great Tribulation"
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsThe Olivet Discourse: Jesus' great teaching on End Times. These verses focus on the abomination of the desolation at the mid-point of the tribulation and the final 3 1/2 years (The Great Tribulation).
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Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!
Last week paused from our study in Mark… to look back to Resurrection Sunday… specifically the Emmaus Road scene… where Jesus came along two disciples… in their crisis of faith.
Jesus ministered to them through the word…
Expounding many OT Messianic scriptures… which caused their hearts burn within.
Today, we pick back up in Mark… Chapter 13… the Olivet Discourse…
Jesus’ great teaching on end times brought about because…
… at the Mount of Olives… Peter, James, John and Andrew… asked Him privately…
“… what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Now… if your just coming into this teaching… this is part three if you will… I recommend checking out parts one and two on our app or website…
In Mark’s gospel, the Olivet Discourse begins in V5… and from vv 5-13, Jesus describes general signs about the entire 7-year tribulation period.
Which is a time of great deception, war, earthquakes, famines, and persecutions…
Which… when people look around today… they think… “That sounds like the times in which we live today! Maybe we are in the tribulation?”
Not so… the Tribulation will be a time far worse then anything historically… or what is in the news…
It’s God’s fulfillment of Daniel’s 70th week spoken of in Dan 9…
It’s a time to fulfill God’s prophecies concerning Israel… and not for the church… we will be caught up to meet Him in the air… raptured.
The tribulation is a time where God pours out His wrath on the earth… through the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl judgments…
Supernatural judgments far different from anything today.
Jesus used the phrase the “beginnings of sorrows” in V8… “sorrows” meaning birth pangs.
The tribulation judgments will increase in frequency and intensity before Jesus returns… like a mother’s contractions in the final stage of pregnancy before her baby is born.
So, with that refresher… we come today to V14.
And, from vv 14-23… there is a shift in Jesus’ teaching… where now He focuses upon the final 3.5 years of the Tribulation…
Known as “The Great Tribulation”… our sermon title for today.
The Bible tells us about future events to comfort and bless us… and it should comfort us to know God’s prophetic plan and that Jesus wins in the end.
My additional hope… is as we study End Times…
I hope it inspires in you a sense of urgency to boldly share your testimony… and to share the Gospel… and to cling to holy living…
For time is short… Jesus is coming again.
Let’s Pray!
In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage today!
Mark 13:14-23 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.”
Praise God for His word! Please be seated!
Our passage today… begins in V14 with the mention of the ‘abomination of desolation’… which brings us to the mid-point of the Tribulation…
If you’re a newer Christian… or just not well versed on teachings about end times…
I want to encourage you for a moment. I remember how foreign end times teachings sounded to me the first few times I heard them.
And, even then… it took me a number of times to hear teachings on the end… before I truly understood them.
So, if you’re a bit confused… that’s ok… soak in what you can… and know we are here for you… to guide you… beyond Sunday if you want to press in deeper.
What’s so fascinating about our topic today… is we are reading a 1st Century writing… the Gospel of Mark written somewhere around 60 A.D.… where Jesus references in V14 the ‘abomination of desolation’… which… what is that?
If you’re reading a King James… or New King James… Jesus cites this as being spoke of by Daniel the Prophet… because Daniel is the original source of the prophecy about the Abomination of Desolation…
Now… Daniel was written in the 6th Century B.C.... somewhere around 530 B.C.
And, what’s so fascinating about this… is there are many prophecies… events foretold hundreds or thousands of years in advance that have literally been fulfilled.
Prophecy is a huge topic… and a key reason why you can trust your Bible.
Even earlier in the Book of Daniel… chapter 2… Daniel, through divine inspiration, interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream… of the statue with the head of gold, arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
And, Daniel explained these various elements represented various kingdoms that would come after Babylon.
And, he accurately predicted the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, the Roman Empire, and still yet future… the Revived Roman Empire…
The empire of Ten kings predicted in Dan 7… ruled by Antichrist during the Tribulation.
And, we are living in a time of preparation for these things to come… the European Union, for ex., could be a precursor to the Revived Roman Empire.
So, when Jesus references Daniel, and the Abomination of Desolation… the reader should understand… Jews should be able to decode… that this was prophetically foretold…
The bells should be going off in their heads… they should detect the signs… and interpret the time in which they lived.
And, truly… the Olivet Discourse is one of the kindest teachings from Jesus…
Not because of the content… but because of the honesty.
The Olivet Discourse is a divine “heads up” about difficult future events… and in that… I see the compassion of Jesus for Israel… because He tells them of many hard things to come… with intent purpose of preparing them…
In V23, Jesus says, “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.”
I don’t know about you, but I certainly appreciate honest news… even if it’s hard news.
What I don’t like is when someone sugar coats the truth… or lies to save my feelings.
Just give it to me straight.
And, because God’s word repeatedly tells it to us straight… I find great comfort in knowing I can trust the Bible.
Now… back in V14… If you’ve never heard the term “abomination of desolation”… let’s break it down…
An abomination is “something that causes disgust or hatred”; it’s root word means “to stink”; Mounce likens it to “idolatry with all it’s pollution.”
It’s the Gk word “bdel´-oog-mah, bdĕlugma,”… reminds me of a word Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings might say.
Desolation is “a state of complete emptiness or destruction.”
And, Jesus’ warning is Israel will SEE the ‘abomination of desolation’… someone or something that is idolatrous and detestable… which will cause devastation…
V14 states… It will stand “where it ought not”… which is a reference to the future Jewish Temple…
Matt 24:15 more explicitly states “standing in the holy place”… a definite reference to the Temple.
NOT the place for Antichrist or a sacrilegious object that he would set up and cause people to worship.
Rev 13 speaks about an image of the beast… that the world is forced to worship… is that what defiles the Temple?
2 Thes 2:4 speaks about Antichrist how he “… opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
From that verse you get the picture that Antichrist will declare himself as god… will violently oppose worship of the true God… and will only tolerate worship of himself…
He is anti-Christ… meaning “opposed to Christ”… He is a pseudo-Christ… a real person… empowered by Satan… and coming like Messiah, but he is a counterfeit.
And whatever he does in the Temple exactly… will be so detestable that it will cause the temple to be abandoned… desolate.
So, that’s the concept of the Abomination of Desolation…
And, the origin… once again… is found in the Book of Daniel… as part of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophesy.
Which I have a chart of at our info table… for further study.
Dan 9:24 declares the purpose of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks… Daniel wrote, “Seventy weeks [weeks lit. means a “period of sevens” be it days or years… so seventy sevens or 70 x 7 = 490 years. “Seventy weeks...] are determined For your people [Jews/ Israelites] and for your holy city [Jerusalem], To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, [speaking about general immorality in Israel] To make reconciliation for iniquity, [which points to the Crucifixion] To bring in everlasting righteousness, [Yet future, imagine a society where righteousness and justice match scripture… no where in history has that occured, but it’s coming and will be everlasting] To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” [all pointing to Jesus and His final fulfillment of all prophecies and His millennial reign].
That same passage speaks about how Messiah will be cut off [speaking of Jesus’ death]… then a prince [Antichrist] will come…
Dan 9:27 reads, “Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many [Israel] for one week [a week of years… 7 years]; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. [which will happen at a future Temple in Jerusalem] And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate...”
A future ruler, Antichrist, will make a treaty with Israel… the terms of the treaty will be for one week/ seven years…
The terms of this treaty will be for a “week”—which we take to be a period of seven years.
At the midpoint… this ruler will force sacrifices and offerings at the temple to end, and will desecrate the temple… committing the abomination of desolation.
As with much prophecy, there is typically a near and a far fulfillment.
The near fulfillment seems best to have occured in 167 B.C. when the ruler of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, erected an altar over the altar of burnt offering at the Temple in Jerusalem… where he sacrificed a pig to the pagan god Zeus.
Which sparked the Maccabean revolt from 167-160 B.C.
Now that’s the near, because it foreshadows what the antichrist will do during the Tribulation… in the far or final fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.
And, when Antichrist desecrates the Temple… it will remain in that state until the end of the Tribulation.
Jesus highlights this event of the ‘abomination of desolation’ in the Olivet Discourse… as warning to Israel…
Essentially, He is saying… “National Israel… when you see Antichrist desecrate your Temple… you’re at the mid-point of the Tribulation., and about the enter the final 3.5 years… the Great Tribulation.”
Because at that time… when that happens… what will Antichrist do?
Dan 7:25 reads, “He [Antichrist] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.” [“A time” meaning one year, “times” two years, and “half a time” six months or 3.5 years]
Once he profanes God’s holy name, and declares himself as god… Antichrist will turn on Israel and persecute them for the final 3.5 years… The Great Tribulation.
The Olivet Discourse as told through Luke highlights this persecution… Luke 21:20 warns, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains...”
Zech 14… which contextually speaks about the Day of the Lord when Jesus returns and splits the Mount of Olives in two…
Prior to that, God foretold, “I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken...”
“Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”
Zechariah… prophetically written in 520 B.C.
It should send chills up your spine hearing Scripture from various points in history… that all line up… that tell us the future.
I sure hope that prophecy stirs something in you… because it should.
At that time… when the Abomination of Desolation occurs… and Jerusalem is surrounded by armies of Gentiles… what should the people who dwell in the Israeli region of Judea do?
V14 says they should “flee to the mountains.”
How many Jews, during the Tribulation, will begin to see spiritually… and get saved… and pick up the Gospels… and read what Jesus said here?…
And, follow His command to flee? How many lives will be saved because Jesus’ words are recorded here?
At least 144,000… according to Rev 7.
Can you imagine… with all the turmoil… with nothing in the world making sense…
Discerning there is something wrong with your government… because the leader is Antichrist…
And, he just desecrated your temple, and now he’s coming after you and your people…
And, then you read Scripture that lays it all out… “this is what’s going to happen… and when this happens do this… go hear… I’m going to preserve you… it will be for 3.5 years.”
It’s like when Daniel was reading the scroll of Jeremiah, and discerned their captivity would be 70 years (Dan 9:2)…
How reassuring is it to find truth and direction in God’s word… and for it to so pointedly guide your life and your future?
And, we… we also have that blessed privileged… we can read the word… and it guides us in all areas of life.
And, it very practical ways…
We know from Scripture… God’s standards… how we can live and please Him… and what displeases Him…
He guides us in all kinds of relationships… marriage, parenting, single living, being a son or daughter…
He tells us how we can be in relationship with Him… how it begins with a step of faith… through believing that Jesus is our personal Savior and that He died for our sins…
He tells us of things to come for the church… and gives us glimpses of eternity… like how we live now… and our motives for serving Him now… these things are examined in eternity… and we are rewarded for our honest service to Him.
So many topics… don’t take it for granted…
In several places in Scripture… the idea of consuming the word is illustrated…
John wrote, “Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it...” (Rev 10:10)
Jeremiah wrote, Jer 15:16 “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”
And, that should be our heart posture… we should consume the word of God every chance we get… and it should cause us to feel joy knowing we are called by His name.
Well, back in Mark… Jesus gives the divine heads up to the Jews to “flee to the mountains”… which means… heading most likely in an east or Southeast direction…
If you’re in Judea, and you head west… you’ll run into the Mediterranean Sea… so, not that direction…
Rev 12:6 declares, “Then the woman [which contextually fits being Israel personified… “the woman”] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
1,260 days divided by a Jewish 360 day year comes out to be exactly 3.5 years.
So, the faithful remnant of Jews who flee Judea… and head into the mountainous wilderness… or desert… will be preserved by God during the Great Tribulation.
Rev 12:14 says she will be “nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”
How God will care for Israel during this time we don’t know?
Will it be like manna once again in the wilderness… and water gushing out from rocks… like how God supernaturally preserved Israel 40 years in the wilderness during the Exodus?
Isa 33:16 states, “His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.”
Which spoke about the Assyrian invasion, but also affirms… God will preserve His people supernaturally.
Which is a good reminder for us… who get anxious even in our present dispensation of time…
In Matt 6, Jesus said, "… do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’”
“… your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
If God cares for us now… and instructs us NOT to worry… this will also be true during the tribulation for the Jews… for Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
He will preserve them.
And, where will He preserve them? Where specifically will this place of flight be?
A strong theory… but it is only a theory…
… is to the Rock City of Petra in Jordan… which is South… Southeast of Judea.
Let’s pull up our slide of Petra… definitely a bucket list place to visit for me.
It’s one of the seven wonders of the world… and even appeared in various movies… like Indiana Jones.
There’s a good shot of Indy at Petra… bottom right…
Petra was originally the Edomite city of Sela… which appears in several OT passages… but later was renamed to Petra.
The mountains at Petra stand higher then those in Israel, and are of the most rugged and inaccessible mountain ranges in the world.
They are prophetically a place out of reach from Antichrist as foretold in Dan 11:41 “He [Antichrist] shall also enter the Glorious Land [Israel], and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.”
Again, Petra was historically an Edomite city… and will escape the hand of Antichrist during the Tribulation.
Historically, Josephus named Petra as a sight were Jews fled during both Babylonian and Roman invasions… perhaps leaning on that verse in Dan 11… and holding Petra as a relatively safe refuge.
And, Petra has also been declared a “world heritage site” that may not be attacked, bombarded or in any way damaged during times of war.
Another factor rendering Petra a safe place of refuge during future wars in the Middle East.
V14 in Mark 13… is a huge verse… there’s a great deal of OT and NT prophetic verses dedicated to the mid-point of the tribulation.
And, it’s written… so Jews will be prepared to know the times and seasons in which they live.
It’s important for them… and important for us today… to have an accurate understanding of God’s prophetic plan.
When we don’t… we run the risk of moving outside of God’s will for our lives.
Right now… Jesus has commissioned us to be light bearers of His truth… to share the Good News that salvation is available for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
That He died so we may live eternally.
And, prophecy should inspire urgency in us to share the Gospel… and prophecy should comfort us to know the time is not yet.
Therefore, we should be busy about the Father’s business… we should be doers of the word and not hearers only.
There was a time in Jesus’ ministry when Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Him… and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven…
Which was a ridiculous request… because He already cleansed lepers… which was a sign…
He gave sight to the blind…
His teaching ministry… teaching in parables… both signs…
Being born in Bethlehem… the virgin birth… the forerunner of John the Baptist… so many signs…
And, so in Matt 16:2-3 Jesus responded, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”
We need to make sure that we are not guilty of the same… looking at the weather apps on our phones to predict the weather…
But, missing the signs that we live in the last days…
This is why prophecy is so important…
And, why we are not just skimming over the Olivet Discourse…
Just the same… to Israel… Jesus tells them… once you see all these things the Antichrist is doing in Jerusalem… how he desolates the Temple with his false worship…
You better head for the hills… and do so urgently.
Look at the next several verses in Mark 13… and can you sense the urgency to flee?… for The Great Tribulation is now upon them.
And, kind of in a rapid fire succession, Jesus describes key features of what will happen during the Great Tribulation…
We’re going to cover vv 15-23 pretty quickly, because how Jesus describes the Great Tribulation is decently self-explanatory…
But, if you want to zoom in further, besides the Olivet Discourse… check out Revelation chapters 8-16…
Where the author of Revelation, John, especially breaks down the Trumpet and Bowl Judgments.
But, here in Mark… in vv 15-16, Jesus describes the Great Tribulation… with warnings, “Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.””
There won’t be time to gather one’s possessions… to save one’s life one must flee urgently.
You can imagine how this crisis comes upon them so quickly…
They thought Antichrist was a savior… he seemed to bring peace… and then quickly, he desecrates their temple and violently begins persecuting the Jews…
The crisis will come upon them so quickly… that they won’t have time to even grab a coat to protect them from the cold air of the night.
It’s that sudden…
V17 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!”
“Woe” is an expression of grief. And, Jesus expresses deep grief for pregnant and nursing mom’s because fleeing will be especially difficult for them.
Luke 21:23-24 explains why, “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
The Gentile army of Antichrist will kill and enslave the Jews who do not escape.
Zech 14 prophesies, the invading army will plunder the homes, and violate the women… which is especially grievous.
Indeed a most tragic time for mothers with babies.
V18 “And pray that your flight may not be in winter.”
In the winter, besides being cold… it is also the rainy season in Israel.
Fleeing in mud… or crossing streams and rivers swollen with water would pose a significant challenge.
Matthew adds “or on the Sabbath.”
Which is a key verse (Matt 24:20) highlighting the Olivet Discourse is a time specific to those in Judea… Jews in Israel.
Sabbath law prohibited long distances of travel… so fleeing on Sabbath meant violating the Jewish law… an extra burden for the Jews.
Not to mention… the whole city just about shuts down on any given Sabbath in Israel… making travel constrained.
V19 “For in those days there will be tribulation, [Matthew calls it “great tribulation”] such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.”
I’ve mentioned before that good Christians sometimes read the church into the tribulation time… especially the first 3.5 years because many of God’s judgments in that time seem like events the world has historically experienced already…
Rev 6 reveals there will be… war, death, famine, earthquakes, martyred saints… these are not foreign to the Earth’s history…
But, Rev 6 also reveals the unveiling of the Antichrist and cosmic disturbances such as many stars of heaven falling to the earth, every mountain and island being moved out of it’s place…
Those are unique signs to God’s wrath.
We have never seen these signs in earth’s history.
But, some Christians deny the rapture, and think the church will experience those judgments.
And, some Christians don’t even see those judgments at God’s wrath at all… they just think those are all a natural order of events that will happen in the tribulation.
Calvary Chapel doesn’t see it that way because in Rev 5… Jesus has the scroll and with each seal he loosens… there is a corresponding judgment in Rev 6.
So, we see that as God’s wrath… of which the Church will have no part because 1 Thes 5:9 state “For God did not appoint us to wrath...”
That aside… despite varying opinions about what the first 3.5 years looks like… most Christians… not all… but most Christians line up… here at V19…
Recognizing that the Tribulation of the final 3.5 years is just as V19 says, “… tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation...”
The Trumpet judgments bring…
Fire and hail mixed with blood where a third of all trees and grass are burned up on the earth.
Multiple other large objects… potentially meteorites also fall… destroying a third of the oceans and rivers.
A third of the sun, moon and stars are destroyed reducing daylight by a third.
Then demonic locust from the bottomless pit are released… targeting and tormenting ONLY people WITHOUT the seal of God on their foreheads… only unbelievers… for five months.
Then four demons are released from the Euphrates river who will kill a third of mankind through plagues of fire, smoke and brimstone…
Possibly, John is describing modern warfare…
Especially since these demons are linked to an army of lit. “twice ten thousand times ten thousand”… which is lit. 200 million men… or fig. an innumerable company.
So, and overwhelming army… led by demons.
And, that’s just the abridged version of the first 6 Trumpets… we could go on for hours on all of this…
Not to mention the Two Witnesses of God… who will prophesy 3.5 years… and mourn mankind’s degradation…
They will destroy anyone who seeks to harm them with fire from their mouths… and will stop rain… and turn water to blood… and bring plagues.
And, there is the 7 Bowl Judgments… loathsome sores on those who take the mark of the beast, the seas and rivers turn to blood, men are scorched with fire, darkness over the antichrists kingdom, and so forth…
And, why all this judgment? It’s because mankind in this time is greatly evil and won’t repent of their evil.
Rev 9:20-21 reads, “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
When the Two Witnesses finish their testimony and are killed by Satan himself, Rev 11:10 reads, “… those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another...”
Evil mankind celebrates the deaths of God’s Two Witnesses through the giving of gifts.
Happy Dead Prophets Day… I guess.
But, this is cut short… because 3.5 days later… the Two Witnesses rise from the dead… God puts breath back in their lungs… and they ascend to heaven.
“You can’t keep a good man down.” … Seems an appropriate saying.
When they ascend... their enemies witness this… then, a great earthquake kills 7,000 in Jerusalem.
And in a rare moment we read “… the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
But, so often that is NOT the case… mankind is more often hard hearted and unrepentant during the Great Tribulation…
Rev 16:9 states, “… they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”
Rev 16:11 state, “They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”
The Great Tribulation is not just a time of God’s wrath poured out on the earth… it’s also a time of tremendous hard heartedness…
I mean can you imagine seeing all of these supernatural plagues and your response is to shake your fist at and cursing God… instead of yielding to Him and repenting of sin?
Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
That’s a reflection of today… and it will be amplified in the Tribulation…
Evil mankind will mourn over the fall of Babylon… symbolizing the corrupt religious and political government systems of the Antichrist during the Tribulation.
Jesus sums up this time in one sentence in His Olivet Discourse, “… there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
A great book and a “go to” resource of mine for understanding the Book of Revelation is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” by John Walvoord.
Dr. Walvoord was a Theologian who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary… and wrote over 30 books.
He went home to be with the Lord in 2002 at the age of 92.
And, his book on Revelation is not only easy to understand, but also had tremendous depth.
I highly recommend it to complement your personal studies.
Continuing on in Mark…
V20 “And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.”
Now don’t take this verse to mean that there will be less then 24 hours in a day… a shortened day will not spare anyone from God’s wrath.
The idea here is God set a limit on the number of days for the Great Tribulation…
Which He spells out in numerous ways… all adding up to 3.5 years… “1,260 days… 42 months… ‘time, times and half a time’.”
If God did not limit the Great Tribulation to 3.5 years… then no flesh would be saved…
Saved as in… No flesh… No human being would physically survive.
Eternal salvation is not in view here…
Jesus is simply saying… mankind would not physically survive the Great Tribulation if it went on for more then 3.5 years…
And, how could they? Even the water sources alone being so devastated… the Earth could not sustain life anymore.
But, He set a limit on the time “for the elect’s sake...”
The Elect in this context certainly has Israel in mind… “Israel My elect...” (Isa 45:4)… the apple of His eye… those He was supernaturally sustaining during these final days…
But, truly any believer in Jesus Christ is elect… “as the elect of God” Col 3:12… and multitudes from every nation, tribe, people and tongue will turn to the Lord during the Tribulation…
And, so… God set a limit… a set time frame…
And, you just have to imagine one of those people… saved during the Tribulation… now consuming the Scriptures…
And, coming across verses like these… and doing the math like Daniel…
“Ok… so Antichrist came onto the scene on this date… that when the peace treaty was signed… 1,260 days later puts us at this date...”
Just imagine what hope that would give you!?
Knowing Jesus was coming back… and having some sort of idea when because you discerned the times and seasons.
But, knowing many would be anticipating His return… Jesus also warned against impostors…
V21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
The Great Tribulation will be marked by false Messiahs and and false prophets… who are somehow able to perform “signs and wonders”…
… miraculous deeds, likely empowered by demons…
2 Thes 2:9 reads, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders...”
And, these false christs will likely be empowered by the same…
They use these lying signs and wonders… to seemingly validate their claim as messiah or prophet…
With the intent to deceive and lead people astray… even elect… meaning “chosen ones.”
Regardless… they will fail… I love how Jesus adds the clause “if possible” because it shows these impostors will NOT succeed.
If it were possible for them to do this, they would, but it’s not possible.
And, then wrapping up… and worship team please come…
V23 “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.”
Again… that divine heads up. It is written… it will be.
And, so as you walk into your week ahead… what is your response to all this?
Are you going to eat it up?… will you consume scripture… so you can discern the signs of the times?
Don’t fall into the same mistake as the Pharisees and Sadducees who could discern the weather, but missed the Messiah.
We have God’s love letter to us… I pray you consume it in this week ahead…
And, feel the sense of urgency to share your testimony and proclaim the Gospel because time is short.
Jesus is coming again… Maranatha… come Lord Jesus!
Let’s Pray!
Our Elders and Prayer team are coming to the front and sides if you need prayer for yourself or a loved one.
There’s power in prayer… Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock… so please pray with someone today.
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
May you be comforted by His prophetic word… and be blessed in this week ahead!