Be on the Alert!!

Recap:

Jesus, His last week here on earth (Passion Week)

Being proved as the pure, spotless, passover Lamb of God

As the disciples are marveling at the temple and buildings, this begins an eschatological teaching by Jesus, to warn the disciples and those that follow to be alert, be on guard.

The Days of Tribulation

Mark 13:19–23 NASB95

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.

The Days Cut Short

Mark 13:19–23 “

“For those days will be a time of tribulation

Days of Tribulation

Tribulation= Thlipsis= To press, to squash

Translated into “affliction”, “distress”, “Tribulations”, “Trouble”, “persecutions”, “anguish”

These will be days of great tribulation

This is spoken of by Daniel

Daniel 12:1 NASB95

“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.

These will be days that no one has ever seen.

Many mock at the thought, that we have seen terrible days before, but not like these.

We read Revelation and Daniel, we realize just how horrific this time is.

Revelation 6:15–17 NASB95

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Who can stand, all the rich and poor and those on the earth are fleeing, begging to escape the wrath of the Lamb.

“Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved;

These days are limited… because of God’s mercy.

but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

For the sake of the elect… the chosen!!

Scripturally we see 3 groups of the elect

The Jews in the OT

The Church in the NT

The tribulation saints of the end days

How do you know if you are part of the elect? Are you a part of the church? Then you are the elect.

It is for the sake of those whom the Lord has chosen that these days will be cut short, specifically, the tribulation saints

“And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him;

From the time Jesus said this, there was no less than 64 men over the next 100 years who claimed to be Jesus or the Messiah. We still see it today!!!

The “I have a special revelation” or “ If you follow me you will be closer to God”

These are all false Messiahs, false Jesus. Jesus tells us how He is going to return starting here in v.24

for false Christs and false prophets will arise,

Many come in the form of politicians.

How many times have you seen a politician run on the slogan”HOPE” or the promise of a better future?

and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray,

They will do marvelous things, things that will be convincing, but these are things that lead astray.

Deuteronomy 13:1–5 NASB95

1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

if possible, the elect.

These things will be so convincing, even the elect can be deceived.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 NASB95

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,

1 Timothy 4:1 NASB95

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

“But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.”

Jesus tells us so that we know, and are not taken back by these things.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 NASB95

1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Signs of Jesus Return

Here to the rest of the chapter we see what the return of Jesus looks like. As opposed to those who falsely come, claiming to be Him, we see what the real return of Jesus will be.

After the Tribulation

Mark 13:24–27 “24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

The return of Jesus will come with a cosmic shift. Even though Jesus will reign for 1000 years on this earth, this won’t be as it always has been.

We see in Revelation the cosmic toll that is taken and the effect it has here on the earth.

However, we see a majestic entrance of Christ towards the end of Revelation

Revelation 19:11–15 NASB95

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

This will be the return of Jesus, right before He binds up Satan for 1000 years and Jesus rules this earth

26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.”

We already talked about the elect, the tribulation saints who will be gathered and welcomed to the wedding feast of the Lamb as talked about in Revelation 19.

The Fig Tree

Mark 13:28–31 “28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

This is something that has been debated for years, and the struggle we have is that the parable of the fig tree is not clear what Jesus is talking about.

However, since not too long ago, Jesus talked about the fig tree that He had cursed:

Mark 11:12–14 (NASB95)

12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.

13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

We talked about the fruit here that Jesus was talking about. A fig tree produces a fruit, or a nut, that can be eaten, in Arabic it is called the Taquash. The fig tree cannot produce figs without this.

“This fig tree was a type or symbol of Israel nationally, and its fruitless condition pictured the state of the nation—much religion but no fruit for God. So it remains barren and fruitless all through these centuries since Christ’s rejection”

- H.A Ironside

We see that summer is near!

Israel and Judah were wiped off the map, and they were scattered to all the ends of the earth. But on May 14, 1948, Israel declared the State of Israel and recognized by the US President Harry Truman. This was nothing short of a miracle, that after nearly 2000 years, Israel would once again become a nation.

Once we see that, we know that summer is near

29 “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.

Jesus says to recognize that He is right at the door

30 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

The question is: What is a generation??

Many have speculated that this is 40 years, because Israel wandered the dessert for 40 years.

But 1988 came and went, so then there was the thought of 70 years??

Psalm 90:10 NASB95

10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.

But 2018 came and went, How about 80 years??

Genesis 15:12–16 NASB95

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

Here, a generation is defined as 100 years!! So if the interpretation that we hold to on this scripture is correct, then 100 years will not pass until the Lord’s coming.

31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

The word of God is faithful.

This is why I could never be a replacement theologist, which means the church has replaced Israel.

If God could break His promise to the Jews, He could break His promise to us as well. And God is faithful, for He cannot deny Himself!! (2 Timothy 2:13)

No One Knows the Hour

Mark 13:32–37 “32 “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

The day and hour no one knows… but we can know the season.

This is in reference to the Galilean Wedding feast

After the bridegroom and bride are betrothed, or engaged, the bridegroom goes to his father’s house to build the room for him and his bride:

John 14:2–3 NASB95

2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

When the bridegroom is done and is ready, he still must wait. The father is the one who will come to his son and say “It’s time, go get your bride.” Then, the son goes. But he doesn’t know the day or hour, it is only the father who knows and sends his son.

33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

Nobody knows the appointed time, so we must be alert and ready!!

34 “It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 “Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’ ””

This is the most firm warning for all of us, be alert and be ready.

Jesus goes into greater detail in Matthew about these things and being ready. In fact, all of Matthew 25 is a warning to be ready:

Matthew 25:1–13 NASB95

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.