Abomination of Desolation
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning
Have any of you heard of these great new pillows that just came out? They are made of corduroy and they are making headlines!
I want to thank Kyle for preaching last week. He did a great job. I appreciate him being obedient to God’s call on his life and his willingness.
It is never easy to get up in front of your friends and family and preach to them. There is also a heavy weight to preaching. There is a special punishment for those who don’t preach the truth of God’s Word. Thank you Kyle for standing and telling the truth.
Please be in prayer for Carolyn. She fell and cracked her hip. She is resting and hopefully she will be back next week.
Last time we were in Mark, we saw Jesus’ warning about being arrested and brought before the courts. He told them that they would be flogged in the synagogues. He told them not to worry about what to say when they were to speak to their accusers. Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. He didn’t tell them that they should prepare by studying God’s word, He told them when they had to stand before the religious leaders, that the Holy Spirit would talk through them, He would give them words to say. He then told them that families would turn against each other. Father against son, son against father. Mother against daughter, daughter against mother. Brother against brother. They would betray each other even to death. We can see glimpses of this in the Muslim countries. When someone puts their faith in Jesus Christ, their family turns on them and disowns them. It is a cruel picture of just how much Jesus is hated. He doesn’t tell them these things to scare them, He tells them these things so that they will know that when they happen and it seems like everything is out of control, they can remember that He told them it was going to happen and they will know that He is in charge and they He will provide and care for His own. Jesus tells them these things so that they can be ready for when it happens. He ends with a promise, those who endure to the end, will be saved. No matter how bad it gets, we must endure, just like Jesus did on the cross and leading up to the cross. All the beatings He took and the shame and agony of the cross, He endured it all so that we could endure our crosses. There is nothing that we will go through that Jesus didn’t go through. He understands and will provide for us in our times of need. We can take comfort in knowing that He is in control and that He has endured much worse than we do and will.
Today we are going to be looking at the Abomination of Desolation and what is going to take place when this happens. Jesus gives very specific instructions to those who are in Judea during this time. This will kick off the worst of the worst for the end times tribulation. Again we are told to be comforted by the fact that Jesus has fore told these things, He knows what is going to happen because He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the World. There is nothing the enemy can do to change that. He will try his hardest to make us believe that Jesus is not truly in control, but remember that Jesus told us what is going to happen, He tells us that these bad things are coming. When they happen, remember He is in control. He never has and never will lose one of His own.
Please stand as we read God’s Word
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.
Who or what is this Abomination of Desolation? This title is also used in the Old Testament. It is used in reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria, when he sacrificed a pig on the alter in the temple in 2nd century B.C. This is a similar event to what Jesus is referring to here. The phrase is used in Daniel and he predicted what Antiochus did in Daniel 11:31. Abomination means a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit. Desolation means to make barren or laid waste. So this is going to be an act that is so vile and shameful that is will lay waste to the land. Jesus is talking about a future event here. He is not talking about something that has already happened. He is explaining the end times. If we were to dig deeper into the eschatology, we would see that Jesus is talking the Antichrist. Not an antichrist, but the Antichrist, the last one that will sign a 7 year peace treaty with the Jews and then break it in 3.5 year into the treaty. He will allow Jerusalem to rebuild their temple and allow them to start sacrificing animals again. Then in the middle of the treaty, he will make them stop and He will enter the holy place and sit on the throne as god. This is the abomination of desolation. This is fore told in Revelation 13. This event is going to be so bad Jesus tells those who are in Judea to flee.
Let the reader understand - this is for those who have the written word. They won’t have the Bible for at least 300 more years. This is a future event that Jesus is talking about.
He is telling them to not come down off the rooftop and get their stuff. In the middle east, a lot of house don’t have porches, front or back, they will have a flat roof that has an external staircase and that is used as a patio. He tells them to not waste the time to go down inside and grab your iPad or cellphone charger. Just flee to the mountains. Run, get out of the area fast.
Jesus tells the one working in the field to not even go over and get his cloak! The cloak back in that time was an important piece of clothing. No Jewish man would have gone anywhere without their outer cloak. For them to rush off and not take it was something. Jesus is telling them to not even go and get it, the cloak would have been in the field with them, probably at the edge of the field where they entered to start working. Them must not go and get it, they need to just get out of the area, flee to the mountains.
He then let His compassion be felt, He says that it will be bad for those women who are pregnant or nursing. He says to pray that this does not happen in the winter. These women will not be able to move quickly like Jesus is telling them, and they will have a hard time since they are to leave everything and flee to the mountains. They have nothing and they have this child to care for along with themselves. Winter will only compound these issues. Babies do not do well outside in the cold.
I think it is easy to see the seriousness of this situation. When this desecration happens, they are to flee as fast as they can. The less they have to carry, the faster they will be. When the Antichrist sits on the throne, it will be bad for all who are believers in Christ.
Jesus tells us that in those days there will be tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation until now and that there will never be again. Countless people are going to die during these last 3.5 years. It will be like nothing the earth has ever seen. The Holocaust was horrible, but it will not compare to what is going to happen in these last days. Christians and Jews will be hunted down and killed. Jesus said that if God had not cut the days short, no human would be saved.
He loves His children so much that He shorted the He shorted the days. God knows what our limit is and He will not let us go past it. He will provide a way out.
Jesus gives more warnings. He tells us that people will say that the Christ is here or He is over there. He says to not believe it. These are tricks of the devil to draw us out and to persecute believers. We will know when Jesus comes back, no one will have to tell us, Hey, Jesus is over here. When Jesus comes back for His people, we will meet Him in the air. We will not miss His return. Those who say that they are the Christ, are liars. Jesus even warns that they will arise and perform signs and wonders. There will be many false Christ and false prophets. They will do marvelous signs and wonders, probably some of the same things that Jesus did when He was here. Do not be fooled. They are only trying to lead people astray, they will even try to lead believers away from God. It will be a tough time to be a Christian, especially if you do not know the Bible well. Those who do not know God’s Word, will be easily lead astray. These times are coming, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. We know they are coming, we must be ready, we must be prepared.
Jesus ends by telling us to be on guard. Keep an eye out for these things. Know what is going on around us. Be ready to flee. Be ready to know who is a false christ or a false prophet. Christ is coming in the air, not on the ground. Everyone who is His will know when He returns, know one will have to say to us, hey is that Christ over there?
Jesus loves us so much, He wants us to know what is coming. He wants us to be prepared for the bad things coming. They are coming, are you getting ready?
The more we know and understand God’s Word, the more prepared we will be. The harder it will be for them to lead us astray.
We must learn our Fathers voice, so that when He calls, we will recognize it and not be fooled by the false ones.
In these last days, community will be more important than ever before. We will need each other like we have never needed someone before. We have to develop our relationships now, so that when it is bad, we will be there for each other.
Jesus has told us, it is our job to be ready!
Are you getting ready?
Are you preparing your mind and body for what is to come?
We can’t say we didn’t know, because He told us.
Let’s make sure we are ready for what is coming.
Let’s glorify our King in these hard times to come.
Let’s pray.
