The Tribulation of the End Times

October 31, 2021 Preacher: Ace Davis Series: The Gospel According to Mark

Topic: Tribulation, End Times (Eschatology) Scripture: Mark 13:14-23

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55:28

Resource: Map of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Jesus, great tribulation, temple, God, believers, people, verse, worse, abomination, tribulation, Daniel, Christ, desolation, sacrifices, world, disciples, flee, understand, Jews, tribulation period

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

  1. The Consideration. - 5 -
  2. The Evacuation.. - 9 -
  3. The Devastation.. - 10 -
  4. The Protection.. - 11 -
  5. The Deception.. - 12 -
  6. The Exhortation.. - 13 -

Application.. - 14 -

The Gospel - 15 -

 

Introduction

Mark chapter 13 is going to be our text this morning. And you can see the title of this sermon is The Tribulation of the End Times, we'll be talking about the end times here this morning. I read an article this week, that was published on June 3 of this year. And the title of this article was, "Things are Getting Better, Really, They are." And the author went on to say that, although most smart people tend to believe that the state of the world is getting worse, to which he then went on and gave a bunch of statistics, he proceeded in the rest of the article to argue how the world is actually getting better. And he concluded that the way that the world is going to continue to get better is through human progress and freedom of expression.

 

Well, I have news for this man. The world isn't getting better. In fact, it is getting worse and worse. And the future of the world before Christ returns is going to be so bad that it will be worse than the time of the flood. It's going to get to a point where the tribulation on earth will be the worst tribulation that the world has ever seen. That's what Jesus is going to tell us in our passage here this morning.

 

So, if you haven't already, I would encourage you to open your Bibles to Mark chapter 13. And let me read our passage here for us beginning in verse 14.

 

“But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; 16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter. 19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. 20 Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance. (Mark 13: 14-23)

 

Now, if you remember from last week, Jesus is on the Mount of Olives. And He's giving the 12 here, a glimpse into the future. Remember how Jesus went into the temple to teach on Wednesday morning, this is Wednesday morning of the Passion Week. Jesus goes into the temple there. And He goes to teach and then He has an encounter with the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, as they tried to trap Jesus, about being the Messiah, because of what Jesus claimed to be. While they're there on the temple, the disciples then begin to look around and they point out how marvelous the temple was. And it was it was a marvelous structure, an amazing building. They wanted to point this out to Jesus, and they said, Look, Jesus, how amazing and how marvelous it is.

 

And Jesus began to tell them that, well, guys, the temple is going to be torn down. The temple will be torn down and not one stone will be left upon another. And we saw the fulfillment of that in 70 A.D., where the temple was completely destroyed. If you go to Jerusalem today, guess what you won't find? A temple. It's not there. Because Jesus said, It will be torn down. And it was.

 

Map: https://i0.wp.com/www.israelandyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Bethany-Bethphage.jpg

 

And then as they're leaving the temple ground, they reach the Mount of Olives as they're making their way back to Bethany for the night. It's Wednesday evening now and they're making their way back to Bethany where they would stay every night of the Passion Week. That's where Jesus and the disciples would go to sleep. And as they're on their way there, Jesus then sits down, He sits down on the Mount of Olives. And they're there on the Mount of Olives. And as they're looking out, off of this mountain there, they would be looking down and they would be able to see the temple that's there.  It’s a massive structure, with gold siding on it glowing, as it is there in Jerusalem.

 

And the disciples come to Jesus as He's sitting there, then on the Mount of Olives, they come there and they ask in verse 4, look at what He says in verse 4. They say, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”  (Mark 13:4) And Jesus then begins to give them the longest recorded answer to any question that was ever asked of Him.

 

This is what we call the Olivet Discourse, because Jesus is giving it there on the Mount of Olives. We saw last week how Jesus told these disciples that life was going to get a lot worse. Not just for them, but for the entire world, it was going to get worse. Jesus said the world is going to experience wars, and earthquakes and famines. Then He tells these guys says to His disciples, that they're going to experience a lot of persecution. Persecution is coming upon them, they will be arrested, they will be beaten, and they will be hated by all people. That's your life, guys. Now go.

 

Jesus says that brother will betray brother and father, his child, and children will rise up against their parents, and they will have them put to death. It's going to get worse. But Jesus said, all of that was just the beginning of birth pangs. It's just the beginning. And Jesus used an illustration of, of a woman who was about to give birth. The contractions are weak at the beginning. As she comes to her due date, those contractions are weak. And there's a longer period of time between each contraction. And as it gets closer to the time of delivery, those contractions get worse. And the time between them gets smaller and smaller until that child comes.

 

Well, in our passage this morning, this is what Jesus is talking about here. That time when it comes. And in our passage here, Jesus is giving the signs that the disciples asked about over in verse 4, He tells us literally the sign that the end has come and what it will be like at that time. They want to know...what's the sign of the end, Jesus? He says, here it is now. This is what it's going to be like in the church age for you guys, it's going to be bad, persecution is going to come, but in the end, here's what it's going to be like.

 

(For a larger view see this link: https://www.faithtwincities.com/end-times-timeline )

 

The period of time that Jesus is talking about here is what we call the tribulation. This is the tribulation, this is the last seven years before Christ returns. Well, what we're going to see here in our passage this morning, is even more specifically what we would call the Great Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, which is the last three and a half years of that seven year period before Christ returns.

 

So let's look at our passage here this morning, we're going to break it up into six parts, six parts just to help us work our way through this passage. We'll look at our first point here. Point number one, we'll call the consideration.

 

1.     The Consideration.

 

Look at verse 14, and what it says there. "But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand.)" (Mark 13:14)

 

Let's stop right there. Now notice as Jesus is talking about seeing something here. Notice He says, He's talking about seeing the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. What's this all about? What's the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION? Well, first of all, notice that you can see it. You can see whatever it is, whatever the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is, it's visible for people to see it. Notice Jesus doesn't give us the exact time, the month, day, or the year of when it will be seen. But He does say "when you see it", when you see this, which means it will be a time in the future, and it will be visible for people to see.

 

Whatever this ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is, it's going to happen in the future and it will be visible for you to see. Jesus doesn't say "if you see it", but Jesus says, "when you see it." So whatever the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is, it is promised that it will be seen in the future.

 

Second, Jesus says it will be standing.  Notice that it will be standing. And while we understand that we can use this phrase stand here to refer to objects, we say things like, we have standing water in our basement, right? Standing usually refers to what though? A person. What a person does. And in the NASB, if you're reading out of the NASB, it seems like it's referring to an object because the translators have translated that phrase, there "standing where it should not be." But in the Greek standing is in the masculine form, which would translate to a personal "he." Some of you might even have that your translation if you have an ESV. It says "standing where he ought not to be."  "He"... that's how the translators translated that word standing -- masculine "he."

 

Now why would we think that this ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION would refer to a person? That's how we should understand the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION -- referring to a person. Why would we understand that?  Well, hold your finger in Mark and turn over to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The church at Thessalonica, they were really concerned about end times, some false teachers had come in and taught them that the rapture had already happened. They missed it all. And they are without hope now. But Paul writes, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians, to fix their theology, help them out and understand the times.

 

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, look at what it says in verse 3. “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.“ (2 Thess 2:3)

 

Now, notice, Paul tells us here that this is a person. There's a person that is coming, the man of lawlessness, he calls him the son of destruction. And what is this man going to do? He's going to exalt himself. And he's going to take his seat in the temple of the Lord. What Paul is writing for the Thessalonian church here, is he's saying, 'Listen, the day of the Lord has not come, judgment has not come yet, the end hasn't come yet, because the man of lawlessness needs to come.'  He's going to exalt himself, and he's going to take his seat in the temple of God.

 

Turn back over to our passage in Mark 13. And look at what it says, verse 14, look at what it says there again, what does Jesus say?  "The ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION will be standing where it" (or where he) "should not be". So, who is this person then?  Paul tells us it's a person. Jesus says, this ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION will be standing where he should not be. Who is this?

 

Well, in order to understand this, we have to understand what the disciples would have thought at this time. This phrase ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is not new to the disciples. It's not a new phrase for them, because it's actually found in the Old Testament. It's used in the book of Daniel, and in Matthew's account of Jesus telling the disciples about this sign here on the Mount of Olives and Matthew's account of what we're studying in Mark. Matthew tells us that Jesus said, therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, Jesus says this was spoken of by Daniel, what does Daniel have to tell us about the abomination of desolation?

 

Turn over to Daniel chapter 9 with me. Daniel chapter 9, hold your finger in Mark and go to Daniel chapter 9. We're going to see a few verses here in Daniel to help us understand and get a better grasp of this ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. And Daniel, chapter 9, and verse 27, look at what it says there.

 

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (Daniel 9:27)

 

So you see there in Daniel, there's a "he" that's that he's talking about one who is coming. He who is coming. Look at Daniel 11, in verse 31. And what it says there, Daniel 11:31 "Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up..." notice this, "the abomination of desolation."

 

There's that exact phrase that Jesus used over and Mark 13. Now turn over to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel 12 and verse 11. Look at what it says there. "From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days". (Dan 12:11)

 

We see that phrase there again, the abomination of desolation, which Jesus says, Daniel spoke about it right? As He's, as He's there, teaching His 12 disciples on the Mount of Olives, He says, Hey, guys, this is spoken of by the prophet Daniel. And so their minds would go there to Daniel, they would understand these verses here. The abomination of desolation will be set up, and Daniel says that he is going to stop sacrifices and grain offerings when he comes to take a seat there. He's going to stop the sacrifices and grain offerings.

 

Now, what is interesting is that an abomination to the temple has already happened in Israel's history at this point, that Jesus is teaching the 12 disciples, there's already been an abomination. In 167 BC, a man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes came in and he erected an altar of Zeus and defile the temple and the worship of the Jewish people. Think about that. The temple was a sacred place. That's where the Jews went to worship. And Antiochus Epiphanes comes in and he sets up an idol there in the temple for the Jews to come in and worship.

 

What is he just done? Desecrated their temple, defiled their temple. In fact, he also decreed that swine and other unclean animals were to be sacrificed there. Now, if you know your Old Testament, you know, for pigs to go in and be killed, there are pigs to even enter into the ground. That's a no no, right? You don't do that. They were unclean animals. But he decreed that swine and other unclean animals come and be sacrificed there. He also decreed that the Sabbath was to be profaned. And he decreed that circumcision was to be abolished.

 

Everything that the Jews stood on everything that the Jews believed he came in and desecrated it all fact, in 1 Maccabees 1:54 It actually describes this event as an abomination of desolation. Now, 1 Maccabees is not inspired scripture. It's not inspired scripture. But we learned some history from them. And it describes this event as an abomination of desolation.

 

But Jesus, as He's teaching these 12 disciples is not referring to that event in 167 BC, because that's happened in the past. But He says Daniel is telling us about an abomination of desolation that's going to happen in the future. Jesus is referring to the future here and a future event that Daniel is describing. And so, in one sense, Daniel was fulfilled by the abomination of desolation by an Antiochus Epiphanes, but Jesus says that Daniel is speaking of a future event, from this moment of when Jesus is teaching these disciples there on the Mount of Olives. Daniel tells us in Daniel 9:27, that there will be a covenant made with Israel for one week, which we know to be seven years, that one week there is the last seven years, the tribulation period. And Daniel tells us that during the seven years, there will be sacrifices going on in the temple.

 

Listen to Daniel 12:11, again, From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.“ (Dan 12:11) if you do your math, 1290 days is how many years? Three and a half years, half of seven. So right in the middle of the tribulation period, you're going to have the abomination of desolation set up coming into the temple, coming into the temple. Because in order to have sacrifices and grain offerings, you have to have a what? A temple. You got to have a temple, which means that there will be a temple that will be constructed and will be built in Jerusalem.

 

There isn't one there today. But they have the plans for it. And there will be a temple that will be built there in Jerusalem. And they're going to build the temple and the Jews are going to come in, and they're going to start the sacrificial system again. Start up the sacrifices. But the abomination of desolation is going to come in and he's going to stop those sacrifices at the three-and-a-half-year mark, in the middle of the tribulation period, in the middle of that peace treaty that he's made with them because he makes a peace treaty for seven years. He comes in and he makes a covenant with them and says "Peace, there will be peace in Israel."

 

Is there peace in Israel today? No. So guess what they want... Peace, right? He comes in and he offers them peace. And he says, Peace is here making this covenant with you. And they say, Yes, wonderful. That's what we want. Three and a half years into that he comes in and he stops all the sacrifices that are going on in the temple. What will he do? He's going to set himself up as the object of worship in the temple, which is exactly what Paul told us, right?

 

In 2 Thessalonians 2, he is going to display himself as being God, he's going to exalt himself and put himself there in the temple, so that the people will come and worship him. Who is this person, this abomination of desolation? The antichrist. It's the antichrist. This is the antichrist who will come and make a peace treaty with Israel for seven years. But in the middle of those seven years, at the three-and-a-half-year mark, he's going to turn on Israel and stop their sacrifices and set up worship of himself in the temple for 1290 days.

 

Now notice, Jesus says back in Mark, chapter 13, there in the middle of verse 14, he says, "let the reader understand". Let the reader understand this. This is a command, a command for those who read the passages of Daniel, and who read Matthew's account, and who read our account here in Mark to understand what Jesus is talking about. And notice, Jesus doesn't say, you guys need to understand. He doesn't say that. But he says, what? Let the reader understand this. Why? Why would he say that? Because the 12 aren't going to be around then.

 

The reader of Scripture needs to understand this. Believers who are reading this passage during the Tribulation, need to understand this text and what is going on? What do they need to understand? Let me just simplify it for you.

 

  1. First, they need to understand that there is tribulation coming. There’s tribulation coming, there's a seven-year period that is going to get really bad.

 

  1. Second, understand that in the middle of the seven-year period, the Antichrist will come and set himself up in the temple, and he will set up worship of himself there, which is called the abomination of desolation.

 

And when you see this happen, know that you are now in the Great Tribulation. And as you're there in the Great Tribulation, there are some things that you're supposed to do. As a side note, let me just comfort you. We won't be there. As a church, believers, we will not be there. We won't be in the tribulation, because we will have been raptured before this seven-year period, that's our hope. That's the next event for us as a church is the rapture of the church. That's what we look forward to.

 

But there will be people who are living in the tribulation period. And in fact, there will be believers who are living in the tribulation period, people will be saved during the tribulation. So, what are they supposed to do? What should they know? And what are they supposed to understand? And what are they to do?

 

2.     The Evacuation

 

Well, that leads to our second point. Point number two, what we'll call The Evacuation, the evacuation look at the middle of verse 14, Jesus says, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; 16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter.(Mark 13:14-18)

 

Now, what are those who are in Judea, which includes Jerusalem where the temple will be the rebuilt temple? What do these people need to do? Flee, run, escape, get out of there, they need to evacuate. Now, who are these people that are supposed to flee?

 

As I said, the church will have been raptured at this time. So who are these people? Who are these believers that need to flee? Well, these people will be those who will come to faith during the tribulation. The church, we will have been raptured. But then God turns his attention on Israel to save Israel. That's His future promise for Israel, He is going to redeem them, He is going to save His people and whom He made a covenant with back with Abraham. Remember that? The Abrahamic covenant, when God makes covenants, He doesn't break them.

 

But the Abrahamic Covenant has not been fulfilled, yet. There's a future fulfillment of that God is going to save His people. And He's going to turn His attention on Israel. And Revelation 7 tells us that there will be 144,000 people saved.  12,000 from every tribe who will be saved. And then in Revelation 11, it tells us there will be two witnesses who are going to show up and who will preach the gospel. And then in Revelation 14, it tells us that an angel will come and will proclaim the gospel to all of those who live on the earth. Basically, a giant announcement to the entire world, repent and believe in Christ, it's coming to preach the gospel.

 

And this is going to happen during that tribulation period during those seven years. And so, while this is going to be a terrible time on earth, there will be people who will be saved, both Jews and gentiles will be saved. Those who are believers who are living in Judea, especially in Jerusalem, where the temple is where the Antichrist will be, at that time of the Great Tribulation, when they see the abomination of desolation set up, which is the antichrist there in the temple.

 

Jesus says to them, Run! Get out of there! Evacuate. Why? Because there's going to be a great massacre that's going to happen, specifically toward the Jews there in Jerusalem and in Judea, but also toward all believers who are living during that time. Jesus says that those who are on their house top that would be up on the roof of the home, that would be accessible through an outside stairwell, would be a stairway that would go up outside and you could get up onto the roof. From there. It didn't have stairs inside of their homes like we have today. It was on the outside and He says if you were up on that house top if you're up there. Jesus says Get out of there. Flee to the mountains. Run! Don't stop and go downstairs for clothes or for family pictures, or for food. Just get out of there. You got to run!

 

Then Jesus says to the one who's out in the field, who goes out to work that day. And as this person would have gone out to the work, they would go gone out to the field to go and work, they wouldn't have brought their jacket with them. Because their plan was what? To go back home. But evening time comes, it gets cool. They need a coat, need a jacket, Jesus says, Look, if you're out in the field, and you see this happening, don't go back and get your coat just get out of there. Flee, go. And with this, here's this the sense of urgency that Jesus is giving these people they need to get out of Dodge, leave, you got to go. Why? Because things are going to get really bad.

 

Then Jesus shows pity on the pregnant women and nursing mothers in verse 17. Look what He says there. "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days." (Mark 13:17) Now, this "Woe" here is not a woe of condemnation, like Jesus pronounces on the Pharisees, right? We see those woes, as Jesus pronounces woes on the Pharisees. But this is not the same woe that Jesus uses here. He's not condemning them, he was condemning the Pharisees, but he's not condemning the pregnant women and the nursing mothers here. This is a woe of pity, because Jesus feels compassion for both pregnant women and those women who are nursing. Why would Jesus feel compassion for them? Because they're not going to be able to move very fast. Anyone who has a baby, or who has had a baby, you know, babies slow you down, right? They slow you down. And while this is supposed to be a joyous time, for these mothers, these pregnant mothers and these mothers who have just had a newborn baby, it's supposed to be a wonderful time, joyous time.

 

When the abomination of desolation comes, it's going to be a time of difficulty, of great difficulty and urgent escape. They got to flee. Look at what Jesus says in verse 18. He says, Pray that it might not happen in the winter (Mark 13:18), in a time where the weather is going to slow you down. Pray that you won't have the dangers of cold weather and storms. Because travel is going to be a lot harder with the harsh winter conditions as you flee fast to the mountains. Which you must do because the time is going to be terrible.

3.     The Devastation

 

Which leads to our third point, point number three, the devastation. Look at verse 19. Jesus says, "for those days will be a time of tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation, which God created until now, and never will." (Mark 13:19)

 

Jesus says it's going to be bad. That's why for this author, I can tell him, it's not getting better, buddy. It's going to get a lot worse. It's going to be a horrible time. And this right here, just proves that post millennialism is not right. It's not accurate. Post millennialists think that the world is going to get better, that we as the church are going to make everything get better. We're going to reform everything. And then that way, we just usher in the kingdom and Jesus has it all perfect. So, He can just walk in as the King and establish His kingdom. Sorry, guys. That's not what my Bible says. Things are going to get a lot worse.

 

Jesus clearly says here, it's going to get really bad. How bad?

  • Worse than the time of the flood of Noah's day. That killed everyone except for eight people. Pretty bad time. Right? Of God's judgment upon the entire world where this whole planet was underwater, flooded. Jesus says, this time the Great Tribulation last three and a half years, it's going to be worse. Worse than that.

 

  • It's going to be worse than the Black Death in the 14th century that killed an estimated 50 million people. It's going to be worse than that.

 

  • Worse than the Shaanxi earthquake in China in 1556 that killed 830,000 people and listen to this just 20 seconds. 20 seconds. That earthquake killed 830,000 people. Jesus says the Great Tribulation is going to be worse.

 

  • Worse than COVID-19, it will be worse.

 

It'll be the greatest tribulation that the world has ever seen. Remember that picture of the birth pangs. This is why Jesus uses that illustration, the wars, the earthquakes and the famine are just the beginning. But it's all going to get worse and worse. And it will culminate in the worst time in human history ever.

 

But I love this in verse 20. How God still shows His care for His people in such devastating times.

 

4.     The Protection

 

Which leads to our fourth point, point number four, the protection. Look at what Jesus says in verse 20,  "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days." (Mark 13:20)

 

First, Jesus says how bad this time it's going to be, it will be so bad that if it was not for God's intervention, to cut it short, every single person would die. That’s how bad it's going to be… the depravity of man on display. And it's going to be bad, but God will intervene. And God is going to show His sovereignty over the entire world by cutting those days short. God were to let those days go on the display of the depravity of man will be so great that every human being would be wiped out. The evil passions of man will be so bad that if God let it go, God, let it go on. They would kill everyone.

 

But God won't let that happen. Why? Notice what it says there…not to stop the Antichrist. Not to stop Satan and his demons. But what does God say? For the sake of the elect. For the sake of His children. 

 

If you don't believe in election, your mind should now be changed. Jesus says it right here. For the sake of the elect whom He chose. He chose them. It's clear that God elects, and God will save His people. And God will make sure that His people will make it all the way through the Great Tribulation.

 

Now, does this mean that no believers will die during the tribulation? No, that's not what it means. There will be believers who are martyred during the tribulation. Listen to Revelation 7:13 “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:13-14)

 

There will be believers who die during the Great Tribulation. But there will also be believers who will not die. They're God's elect. And they will be the ones who will then enter into the millennial kingdom and repopulate the kingdom. Because God is going to protect His own, because He always does, right? And even those who die as believers during the Great Tribulation, where are they going to end up? In the presence of God? Does God protect His own? You bet He does.

 

5.     The Deception

 

But there's going to be something that happens during the Great Tribulation that Jesus says will also help those who were alive during the time to identify that they are in it, which leads to our fifth point, point number five, The Deception, the deception.

 

Look at verse 21.  And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect." (Mark 13:21-22)

 

Jesus says that there is going to be two types of deceivers, false Christs and false prophets. Now the false Christ will announce that they are the Messiah. They're going to come in announcing they're the Messiah, to Israel to the Jews. They're waiting for their Messiah. And they will come in and say, well, here I am. I'm the Messiah. I'm him. And we saw Jesus warning of that last week in verse 5, where He says, Many will come in My name saying I am He and will mislead many. And we talked about how that's happened already during the church age, where people have come in to mislead the Jews claiming to be the Messiah.

 

But in this time, there will be false Christs, false messiahs, there will also be false prophets. These people will be people who claim to have a message directly from God. Oh, this thing that you have here? Well, don't worry, I'm the Prophet. I've got it all for you directly from God. You don't need this anymore. False prophets. We have them around today. Many false prophets who are claiming to speak for God. Jesus says they're going to rise up during the Great Tribulation. And you will have people who will try and point you to a false Christ, saying, Behold, here's the Christ. Here he is. Go worship him, or Behold, he's over there. Okay, so that guy's not... alright, I got that one wrong. Well, this one actually is... he's over there. And these false Christ and these false prophets are going to be great deceivers.

 

Notice what they're going to do. Jesus says they're going to show what? Signs and wonders, signs and wonders. They'll have the power of Satan behind them to perform signs and wonders. And they will be very convincing to people that they are either the Messiah or a prophet from God. And it's not new. We have people doing this today, right? Claiming to perform signs and wonders, false prophets.

 

Their deception is going to be so great during that time, that they will even try to lead astray God's elect. But will they succeed in it? Nope, they won't. They'll never succeed in that. They can't lead astray God's elect. That's why Jesus says, if possible, if possible, but implied in that is it's not possible to lead astray God's elect. It's not going to happen. True believers in Christ are secure in Christ.

 

Listen, if you're here this morning, and you are a believer in Christ, you have been born again, you cannot lose your salvation, do you realize that? You cannot lose it. Because your salvation is not dependent upon you in the first place. It's dependent upon Christ and what He has done for you. It's by God's grace that you have been saved. Not of your own works, so you can't lose it.

 

Then, Jesus says, though, these deceivers are coming in, and they're going to try and deceive, if possible, the elect, but hey, it's not possible. They won't succeed in that. Because those who are God's children, are always God's children. And listen, this is glorious news for us. This is glorious news to know that even though Satan's power will be on full display, and these last three and a half years of the tribulation, God's power is still greater. And He won't lose any of His children. That's how great and glorious our God is.

 

6.     The Exhortation

 

Well, Jesus gives one last command so that those who go through the Great Tribulation won't be led astray. Which leads to our sixth and final point, the Exhortation. The exhortation. Look at what He says in verse 23. "But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance." (Mark 13:23)

 

Jesus says here “take heed”, which means to look or to be aware of. This is a command from Jesus. Be aware that all This is going to happen. Because those believers who go through the Great Tribulation, they will be attacked, and will try and be deceived. But the loving voice of Christ warns them, right? Warns us. This is the loving voice of Christ for His own sheep here where He says, Take heed. Listen, I've warned you... have warned you. And His loving voice warns all of those who will go through that time of the Great Tribulation. These people have Christ's words, and we have Christ's words today, right? Right here, right here, the words of Christ, loving words of Christ for us. Christ through His Word warns of what is going to take place.

 

But he also promises then this, that He will lose none of His own. What a glorious promise. Friends, tribulation is coming. Tribulation is coming. Time of terrible tribulation is coming. The world is not getting better, the world is getting worse. And while it will be a terrible time, it's also a time of when God's wrath is going to be poured out upon the world. And that's why it's going to be so terrible. God is going to be pouring his wrath out in these last seven years known as the Tribulation. And especially for these last 1290 days, that Daniel tells about us, in Daniel 12:11, the last half of the Tribulation is going to get really, really bad.

 

Application

So, what do we learn from this? What do we learn from this?

  1. First as believers, this should cause great expectancy from us. And it should cause us not to live for the things in this world that are going to perish. Do you realize this world is going to perish? Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 6:19 and 20.

 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal." (Matt 6:19-20)

 

Believer, brothers, sisters, do you have your minds focused upon heaven? Do you think about heaven? Are you a heavenly minded believer? We must be heavenly minded. Because when we think of heaven, that causes us then to go out and to live for God's glory and to proclaim the gospel to everyone to say, come to heaven with Me. And let me tell you how you can get in.

 

We're not here to reform this world. That's not our job. Our job is not to reform America. That's not our job. Now you can vote that's a good thing, vote. But our job is not to reform America. Our job is to go out and proclaim the gospel of Christ. So that those who are lost in America can enter into the kingdom of heaven. But we must be heavenly minded. Don't fix your mind on the things of the earth that are going to rot and rust and be destroyed. But fix your minds upon heaven.

 

  1. Second, while the Tribulation is going to be terrible time for those believers who live through it. And for the unbelievers. Those of us who are living now in the church age who are believers, we can rejoice that we won't endure it. Because our next event is the rapture. How do we know? Turn over the 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, I want to show you this. This is a glorious text. Again, Paul's writing to the Thessalonian church to help them with their end times understanding. And look at what he says in 1 Thessalonians 1:9. In verse 9, he says, "for they themselves, report about us what kind of a reception we had with you and how you You turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead. That is Jesus." Notice this, "who rescues us from the wrath to come." (1 Thess 1:9-10)

 

Do you see what Jesus is going to do? He's going to rescue His church from the wrath that is to come... from that seven years of tribulation. Paul is writing here to the church and he says, You who are believers in the church age, you will not have to endure God's wrath because Jesus is going to come and He's going to rapture you. Then after that, there's going to be seven years of Great Tribulation, where God's wrath is going to be poured out on this earth. Listen, only those who are in Christ Jesus will be able to escape God's wrath. Only those who are in Christ.

 

The Gospel

If you're here this morning, and you don't know Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior, God's wrath abides upon you today. Did you know that?  God's wrath is upon you now. But God sent His own son, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. To offer you eternal life, so that you won't have to endure the eternal wrath of God. Because if you think the wrath of God is bad now, if you think the wrath of God is bad, in the Great Tribulation, oh, it's a lot worse in hell. And if you're here this morning, and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you, I exhort you, repent of your sin, and come to Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for your sin that you could not pay. Your good works cannot earn you salvation, He paid the price on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for all who would believe in Him. And He calls you today. And He says, Come to me, and you will find rest for your soul. Come to me, and I will give you eternal life. Don't leave here this morning, without responding to that call. Cry out to God and beg Him to forgive you of your sins, and to cleanse your heart, and to give you the free gift of eternal life. And He'll do it, because He's a saving God. He's a great and glorious God. And He offers you the free gift of eternal life. Come to Christ today.

 

And for those of us that are believers, may we take this message to the world and tell them, Look, it's only getting worse. It's only getting worse. But let me tell you how you can have hope, how it can be better for you. Because for us as believers, it's only getting better, right? Because our hope is eternal life with Jesus Christ forever. And that's what we look forward to.

 

Let's pray. Father, thank You. Thank You for Christ who is our Redeemer. Thank You for Christ who came and died on a cross to pay the penalty for sinners like us. Thank You for the amazing gift of salvation that You have given to us that we could not earn . It's a free gift by Your grace. Lord,  I pray for anyone who is here this morning that doesn't know You.  God, I pray that You would open their hearts to understand this truth of the gospel. Pray that You would grant them the gift of repentance and faith that they would be saved this day, this moment, that they would be saved from eternal wrath and that they would receive the gift of eternal life. I pray that You would help us, as a church, to go out and proclaim this message of the gospel, that we would be those who would be bold and unashamed because we believe in the power of the gospel. As Paul said, it is the power of the gospel that leads to salvation. God, give us confidence in the gospel. May we be bold to proclaim it to lost souls. For Your glory alone, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

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