Darkened Stars, Bright Future

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Beth

9 How can a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed according to Your word.

10 With my whole heart I have sought You;

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You.

12 Blessed are You, O Lord!

Teach me Your statutes.

13 With my lips I have declared

All the judgments of Your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate Your ways.

16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Introduction

C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from his Diary, Letters, and Records, by his Wife and his Private Secretary: Volume 1, 1834–1854 II. The Minister’s Responsibility

The watchman holds a responsible office. If the sentinel, by sleeping, causes the death of a single person, he is a murderer. If the prisoner escapes from his charge, he shall be required to answer for his neglect. So, if the ungodly man is not warned, he shall suffer for his own guilt, but my unfaithfulness will lie as a crime on me. If the professing Christian falls, his fall is his own; but if I have not warned him, I also am guilty. If I do not utter the whole truth,—the threatenings, the promises, and the invitations of God,—I shall be a sleeping sentinel, a careless captain, a negligent railway guard, and I shall be the slaughterer of my fellow-creatures. Or if, to the professor, I give wine instead of medicine, a plaster instead of a lancet, or a stone for bread,—I shall be a guilty wretch, and God help me, then, for no one more requires help than an unfaithful minister!

Text

Mark 13:24–37 ESV

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 in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

This text chunk I believe talks about what happens after the fall of Jerusalem, an event yet to come.

The Day of The Lord (v24-31)

The Sun and moon not giving light is often associated with the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is:

DAY OF THE LORD -The expected consummation of the kingdom of God, often seen as the Lord’s anticipated intervention in a particular historical context.

This Day is mentioned in the OT 19 times 4 times in the NT and alluded to like in our passage today.

Look at this text with me

The First word in 24 is BUT. This is one of the Big buts of the Bible, This word in the Greek is a contrastive.

That means here is one thing, but now this is something else. In context we heard the soon to come siege of Jerusalem, but now here is something else and distinct to come.

Here is a few verses on the Day of the Lord

Joel 2:2 ESV

2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Zephaniah 1:15 ESV

15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Revelation 6:12–13 ESV

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

This image the Lord is giving is one for us to prepare, to know.

This is important. The Sun and moon are experinced by everyone. So this contrast from the local temple destruction to this future event is what we must see.

This world will end. It can happen at any momment, but the Lord will come to establish is kingdom. You must descide what you shall do with yourself.

The day of the Lord as a day of hope

A day of restoration for God’s people

Jeremiah 30:7–8

See also Joe 2:23–28

Joel 2:23–28 ESV

23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

God will gather his people

Is 11:11; Is 27:12–13; Mic 4:6–7; Mt 24:30–31

Matthew 24:30–31 ESV

30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

God will save his people

Zephaniah 3:14–20

See also Joe 2:32; Is 4:5–6; Is 26:1; Joe 3:16–18; Ob 17; Zec 9:16–17

Zechariah 9:16–17 ESV

16 On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

God will purify his people

Is 4:3–4; Zep 3:11–13; Zec 14:20–21; Mal 4:1–2

God will exalt his people

Ob 21; Mic 4:8; Mic 5:8–9; Re 22:5

Revelation 22:5 ESV

5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Obadiah 21 ESV

21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

God will complete his saving work

Php 1:6 The “day of Christ Jesus” is the NT equivalent to the “day of the Lord” which refers to Jesus Christ’s second coming.

See also 2 Ti 4:8; 2 Ti 1:12; Jn 6:40; 1 Co 1:8; Jn 11:24; Da 12:1–2

Verses 32-37

Listening TO Jesus on how to live while we wait

The commands of this text

Be on gaurd/ Watch - be vigilent in your days, you must live with your eyes open, alert. A solider who sleeps at his post is quickly discplined, you in your work must act as if the boss is coming at any momment, so don’t get caught being idle.

This has the idea in it of being unwilling to sleep. It is the diligent man, the aware man, this is the man you want gaurding your homes, your nation. Alert, prepared for something.

Application:

Are you prepared?

Keep Awake

Stay Awake

Stay Awake

M. Henry on what to do

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Mark 13:28–37

(1.) Our Lord will come, and will come as the Master of the house, to take account of his servants, of their work, and of the improvement they have made.

(2.) We know not when he will come; and he has very wisely kept us at uncertainty, that we might all be always ready. We know not when he will come, just at what precise time; the Master of the house perhaps will come at even, at nine at night; or it may be at midnight, or a cock-crowing, at three in the morning, or perhaps not until six. This is applicable to his coming to us in particular, at our death, as well as to the general judgment. Our present life is a night, a dark night, compared with the other life; we know not in which watch of the night our Master will come, whether in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore, as soon as we are capable of expecting any thing, we must expect death.

(3.) Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he do not find us sleeping, secure in ourselves, off our guard, indulging ourselves in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty, and thoughtless of our Lord’s coming; ready to say, He will not come, and unready to meet him.

(4.) His coming will indeed be coming suddenly; it will be a great surprise and terror to those that are careless, and asleep, it will come upon them as a thief in the night.

(5.) It is therefore the indispensable duty of all Christ’s disciples, to watch, to be awake, and keep awake; “What I say unto you four (v. 37), I say unto all the twelve, or rather to you twelve, I say unto all my disciples and followers; what I say to you of this generation, I say to all that shall believe in men, through your word, in every age, Watch, watch, expect my second coming, prepare for it, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

Verse 32- No one knows

the Moment of the Day of the Lord is not known to any, but God the father.

Noah and the second Coming

Matthew adds this to the text:

Matthew 24:37–39 ESV

37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

His second coming will be like that day. Men and women will carry on in there lives and the end will come.

Look at that text with me:

Genesis 7:11–24 ESV

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Notice, that Gen 7:11

It happened Suddenly - Verse 11, nothing indicated it other then God warning them it would happen ahead of time Gen 6:17

Genesis 6:17 ESV

17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.

Jesus in our text is doing the same thing, why because he is God. HE sees the future clearly in a moment the sun and moon will darken. It will happen suddenly this end times that is to come, it will be upon us at any momment

Every one is impacted Gen 7:17-23

Notice that in the flood, everyone experienced this judgement unless they where in the Ark. All men and women will experience this. Based on our text this event will hit our universe in total. God will collect his people and save them as this happens Mark 13:27

Mark 13:27 ESV

27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Elect in Christ will be saved. This is again like Noah. God shut the Ark.

Genesis 7:16 ESV

16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

Unless you are shut into Christ, you will not be gathered up.

He sends His angels to save them. This great calamity to come, can be on us in any moment, you will experience this unless you believe.

He knows the Future, he is trustworthy, You must be put into the Ark of Jesus to survive the coming Flood.