Things to Look Out For

Mark 13:14-23

14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Pray

There are things that we start telling our children at an early age before they comprehend why or what we are actually saying. We tell them to “be careful”. Isn’t that funny. These kids don’t have a clue what that means until they are at least five, but we tell it to them as soon as they learn how to crawl. “Be careful.” “Don’t hit your head,” “don’t eat that off the ground.” To help us feel better we try to teach with sounds. I remember with Louie, if we didn’t want him to touch the stove or an electrical outlet we would say, “Hot”. It would cause him to stop when we said it. I don’t know if it was that he knew that the thing would hurt him or just the shear confusion of both of his parents yelling “hot” at him at the same time. We teach children these words and then one day down the road they say, “Oh…… my parents said that so that I wouldn’t get hurt.”

There are epiphanies that happen and then it clicks. I sing Jesus Loves Me to Louie in the bath each night, he doesn’t have the slightest clue what it means but he asks for it and it is part of the routine. My hope is that he will hear the name of Jesus and have the song memorized so that when that light bulb moment happens, he will understand the simple truths of Jesus.

If we look back to the introductory verses of Mark 13, Jesus is talking about the temple in Jerusalem being destroyed. This is the place that God picked for His temple to be and where he would live amongst His people. When Jesus is crucified, he takes on the sins of the world and ends the sacrificial, Judaic system, once and for all. That is the slaughtering of animal sacrifices and the keeping on the ceremonial law. Once that is complete, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. Since He is our high priest, his work is complete. The priest job in the temple was to oversee the sacrificial system, since they were all types and shadows of Jesus. When he finishes his work, the shadows disappear since now we have the real thing. It is kind of like when you are engaged to be married and you live in separate houses and you would go to a place to see your fiance. There is this anticipation of the wedding day. When you are married it changes the relationship. No longer do you have to go to another address to see your spouse, they live with you. You do all things together. You share your life together. When Christ died and was raised, he sent His Holy Spirit to be with us. There was no need for us to go to Jerusalem any more. That time was over. When I am married I do not want to live in a separate location away from my wife. We are now one. This is really the end of the Judaic age. I think there is a case to be argued that when in Matthew’s gospel of this account when he says “What will be the signs of the end of the age?” that he really means the end of this Judaic age that they had been in since Moses and not the end of the world. There will be more on that in the next few weeks. The disciples, like our children, only know what they know and they are pretty dense, as we are also. They want to know when these things will happen and what will be the signs.

It is important to know that Jesus will tell them things that they will not understand at the time of the teaching. Just like when Jesus told them that he would be crucified and would be resurrected. They didn’t understand it. When he was crucified, they were dejected and went back to fishing. They didn’t hold on to the faith and tell everyone, “Just wait…He’s coming back…” They thought it was over. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to them after He was resurrected that they remembered what He said.

Jesus is telling the disciples and, I believe the receivers of this gospel, what will take place and what to look for to save them from the invasion of Jerusalem. He’s telling the disciples, “Keep these things in your mind so that you will know what to do.” He is showing us a fulfilled prophecy so that our faith can be strengthened by this evidence.

14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

When we read this language, it can be confusing. What is the abomination of desolation? I think a better understanding is in Luke’s gospel. In Luke 21:20, he records, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.” Jesus is warning them that when you see an army coming to surround Jerusalem, get out to the mountains. This might not seem important to you, but the instruction to run to the mountains is the opposite of what people would do at that time. If you saw an army coming, you would run into the city. Jerusalem was a fortress. Running inside the city would give you more protection from the raiding army. Jesus, knowing what will happen, gives them this warning to preserve them.

This “abomination of desolation”, what is that? What is an abomination?

If you spend any time looking at the first five books of the bible, you will see this word within the law of Moses. The word is tied to a great sin that usually results in death. Sometimes it has to do with sexual sin including; adultery, homosexuality or bestiality (Leviticus 18:22, 29-30). It is also used when speaking of idolatry. Which is elevating anything above God. Just in Deuteronomy a few examples would be 7:25, 13:6-16, 17:2-5, 18:9-12, 27:15, 32:16. Abomination of Desolation is found in Daniel 11:31, in his prophetic writings, “Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.”

Many scholars believe that this prophecy in Daniel is speaking of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who ruled Palestine from 175-64 B.C.

According to Dan Doriana, Professor of theology and Vice President at Covenant Theological Seminary, “Antiochus treated Israel with such violence and contempt that they rebelled against him. When he came to suppress the rebellion, his forces entered the temple, stopped the regular sacrifices, set up an idol of or altar for Zeus, and apparently offered swine there as a sacrifice. This is an abomination because it is idolatry, and it brings desolation because it defiles the holy place at the heart of Israel. This act was the abomination “of” desolation, or the abomination “causing” desolation.”

When we look at today’s text, these disciples would have known what that abomination would have been. Jesus is saying that another type like that will come and do something similar. When Rome comes in to destroy the temple, everything about the Roman armies and commanders were idolatrous. As one commenter put it, “They carried with them idolatrous images of the emperor, whom they worshiped. And those armies brought desolation because their commander leveled the city and entered the holy of holies, defiling it.”

Back to Luke’s account, since it was written after the destruction of the temple, he clears it up for us, “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.”

There is no guess work on who that abomination of desolation is. It is the Roman army. Jesus gives instructions to the disciples to tell everyone about this and to the believers hearing Mark’s gospel.

“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Like we covered earlier, this is the last thing that someone would do when an army came to attack the city. They historically would run into the walled city for protection. Jesus knows that the Romans will overthrow the city, he knows that the walls that were so heavily fortified would fail, he knows the lives that will be lost and so despite whatever earthly knowledge that the people of that time may have had, Jesus is telling them to do the opposite.

This has been the entire ministry of Jesus, flipping over the way of thinking of man. The first will be last, you must give up your life to keep it, the poor woman who gave two pennies gave more than the rich person, Jesus says of himself that he is God but that he did not come to be served but to serve. All of these things are wildly different from what the world was telling the disciples and what the world is telling us.

The church in Jerusalem, at the time of the destruction of the temple, heeded the words of Christ and they did flee to the mountains. Eusebius, the first great historian of the church, says that when the Romans fell upon Jerusalem, “the church at Jerusalem . . . left the city, and moved to a town called Pella.” This place is in what is now called the Transjordanian Mountains just 15-20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee. This trek is about 60 miles north of Jerusalem. So when Jesus says,

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter.

Jesus is telling them that they will not have time to prepare, it will be a long and hard journey and it will be harder if you are pregnant or the weather is bad.

Jesus tells them that the flight will be bad but then tells them why they have to take it.

19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

This disaster that was going to fall on the Jewish people would be unlike anything they had ever seen. Josephus, the Jewish military leader and historian recounts when telling of the destruction of Jerusalem, “Accordingly the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world.”

This was a calamity that no one saw or expected, so Jesus warns this early church because he is the great Shepard leading his flock away from danger. In Matthew 16, Jesus says that He will build his church, which means he will protect it and guide it and bring sheep into the fold. This means that we do not have to worry about the numbers or growth or or any number of if/than statements. He does it. The church is his bride and he has done and will do everything to protect her. Because He protects his church, Jesus is tells the early church that other people will rise up trying to steer you away from the truth.

21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

Jesus says, do not believe these people. They do not have the power to see the future and to warn you as I have. They do not have the way of life. They will tell you things that lead to death.

I was listening to a conversation this week of a Mormon missionary speaking with a man about the beliefs of the LDS church. The main reason that the Mormons have another testament of Jesus Christ is because they believe that after the death of the apostles, the church was corrupted. It was believing wrongly and really didn’t right itself until God and Jesus had a meeting with Joseph Smith in around 1820 in upstate New York. The job for the Mormon missionary is to tell everyone that the real Jesus is not what you have been taught, but better understood through this other way. Jesus warns us of this. The main message of the Gospel is that we are incapable of keeping God’s perfect law, we are incapable of bridging the gap between us and God so there needed to be a way made. Our God knows no sin, so Jesus comes to live the perfect life that we could never live and died on the cross, an innocent man, in our place. He became sin who knew no sin for us so that we can be made right with God. Our salvation has never been on account of our works but on the finished work of Christ. That being said, when we see Mormon missionaries telling us that it is faith in Christ plus works and they say that Jesus is not really God, but he will become one and you also can become a god. That is a different gospel and another Christ that Jesus was warning the first church and us about.

Jesus ends this passage with,

“23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.”

In this statement he is proving his deity. No one can tell the future except the one that writes and holds the future. His knowledge of future events are only his. These false christs and false messiahs will try to sway you but they cannot do what I do. They will entice you with any number of things, but hold on to what you have been taught.

So what are we to get out of this text for us today? We could take the extra biblical sources of Eusebius and Josephus to say that the prophecy that Jesus spoke was fulfilled within the time frame that he said it would be fulfilled and that would be solid evidence of a prophecy of Jesus being fulfilled which would add credibility to the Scriptures. I never want to discount these fulfilled prophecies because they are real, they happened and it should elevate our faith, but I think the biggest take away from today’s passage is that we have a Shepard that cares about His sheep.

Jesus had a mission on the earth and that was to redeem sinners back to God. His whole life was lived in perfection so that he would be a worthy sacrifice to the Lord. There was no blemish on him. There was no sin in him. Though he was tempted like we are tempted, he never dishonored the Father. He never stepped outside of the law. He is the perfect example to follow.

I have a few sheep now. Not many, but I’m learning about them. I inherited this little ram named Opie. He is really fun. He is a little guy right now, just a few months old. The other sheep are two big females and they really pick on Opie, so I found this little doggie dome and made him a bed in there so he could get away from these mean females. One day he will be bigger and have something to offer but right now he is pretty helpless. When he sees me, he runs to me. He knows I am the source of food and protection. He would live in my house and probably sit on the couch with me if I let him. This is who Christ is to us. He is our protector, our source of life, our redeemer, his life bought our life, he has laid down his life for his sheep. More importantly he is our friend. When was the last time you thought of Jesus as your friend. Church, you are a friend of God. He wants to be with you. He not only loves you, he likes you. He wants the best for you.

When we read the law of God in the old testament and the commandments of Jesus in the new testament, he is not taking fun things from you, he is protecting you and trying to show you which things lead to life and which lead to death. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses is about to die so he is giving the Israelites the last wisdom that God is giving to them. When he is finished he says, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days.” It was from the beginning about the love of God for man and it continues to be. Let those that hear His voice today, choose life.