HG139pt4 Matthew 24:15-22, Mark 13:14-20, Luke 21:20-24 Signs of the times
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15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
This morning we saw that persecution will arise and that there will be 144,002 witnesses during the tribulation after the Church is raptured and the Gospel will be spread around the world and some will become believers and most who do will be killed as a result. Then we briefly met a man named Antiochus IV Epiphanes who partially fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy on the abomination of desolation but we did not get to any of the details.
Unlike previous kings Antiochus did not allow the Jews to practice their religion: In an act of brazen disrespect, Antiochus raided the temple in Jerusalem, stealing its treasures, setting up an altar to Zeus, and sacrificed pigs on the altar. When the Jews expressed their outrage over the profaning of the temple, Antiochus responded by slaughtering them and selling others into slavery. He issued decrees such as ‘performing the rite of circumcision was punishable by death’, and Jews everywhere were ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and eat pig flesh.(GotQuestions).
It was over 6 years before the temple was purified and sacrifices to God could resume.
When the Jews saw this they revolted against Antiochus in what is called the Maccabean Revolt.
By the way, Antiochus also enforced the Greek culture and language throughout his empire and this prevailed in Israel at the time of Jesus and His disciples. As a result it made it possible for the whole Roman Empire to hear the Gospel within a short period of time.
But Antiochus was extremely antisemitic and tried to exterminate the Jews. He was at least as bad as Hitler. He duped the Jews into a peace treaty but we are told in their history in
29 After two years of time, the king sent a chief tribute collector to the cities of Judah. And he came to Jerusalem with fierce force. 30 And he spoke to them peaceful words with cunning. And they trusted him. But he fell upon the city suddenly and attacked them with a great slaughter and destroyed many people from Israel.
So, we see that he very much is a forerunner to the actual Antichrist and this should serve as a warning to Israel, especially as every year they celebrate the defeat of Antiochus by the Maccabees with the Feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.
But history will repeat itself and they will be deceived again by the Antichrist. He will set himself up as God in the temple and this will cause desolation. And this desolation comes in the form of judgements and in the comparative passage we are told by:
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
This attack is still future as the context makes clear. It comes as a direct result of the Antichrist setting himself up as God and king of the world. He is he, according to Paul in:
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The abomination bit is the Antichrist making himself out to be God. Antiochus put a statue of Zeus in the Temple and this was an abomination. Worse, the Antichrist will put an image of himself in the Temple.
The half way point is delineated by the man of peace revealing himself to be the Antichrist and setting himself up as god to be worshipped. Satan has always craved worship when he used to be the worship leader in Heaven. And it was his downfall:
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
As a result things are going to get even worse:
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And it is here that this time really comes into its real name: the time of ‘Jacob’s Trouble’:
5 “For thus says the Lord:
‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
And we also find Daniel speaks of it:
1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
The first half of the tribulation is based around Revelation 6:1-11 and the seal judgements. The next 3.5 years are going to be when those birth contractions are coming thick and fast and the pain will increase exponentially. And the halfway point is when the abomination of desolation is put into the temple. This is when the Antichrist declares himself to be God and demand worship in a massive betrayal of the people of Israel for the one they trusted will turn to slaughter them.
Indeed we are told about him again in
1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.
The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.
42 months is 3.5 years and it is at this point that Satan really captures the heart of this man of sin and he will seek to destroy the Jews after his self-declaration of being God.
We see the result in
8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
Two-thirds of those who trusted the Antichrist in Israel will die. Two-thirds. And as I’ve said before the tribulation will be a time of judgement on the Gentiles and a time of the purification of the Jews and Zechariah continues:
9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
When it comes to the calling and choosing of God we cannot transfer the promises made to Israel to the Church. These are made to Israel and Israel alone. And this Romans 11 makes abundantly clear. Israel will be saved in the end but it will be at the cost of many lives.
Indeed Zechariah again tells us:
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
They will finally recognise the true Messiah and put their trust in Him. How will they look on Him, how will they see Him? Not until they bless Him:
39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
But before all that happens the whole world will worship the beast aided by the false prophet revealed in Revelation 13 and Revelation 17 because it will appear that the Antichrist will die but get resurrected. It is interesting to see Satan copy Jesus. The world will marvel that he is still alive - we don’t know how any of this will happen but there will be signs and wonders done, perhaps aided by technology and there will something like a statue made of the Antichrist that will come to life and also do signs and wonders. Whilst Satan does have power my suspicion is that these are counterfeit signs and wonders in that it will be like a sleight of hand. But maybe not. It will God’s judgement that people will come under the power of this man. By the way we are also told that once the false prophet has done his bit the Antichrist will kill him.
Going on in Matthew 24:16-20 we are told that as soon as the Antichrist goes into the Temple then run for your lives. This is plainly to the Jews of the time. And we can read into this that the religious Jews are in charge for it speaks about praying it is not on a Sabbath for there will be strict rules in place for travel and there will not be anyone working the transport system or taxis - so this is a run on foot time. Not only that, if you are pregnant or have young kids then you are likely to be overtaken and killed just as with Herod, just as with Pharaoh. History repeats itself. Remember, that even now forewarned, two-thirds will die trying to escape.
Jesus has already said when you see the Antichrist proclaim he is god in the temple then run for your lives. There is a parallel passage to this also in Revelation 12. Whilst 2/3rds die in the aftermath of this we find in Revelation that God is not looking to destroy Israel but purify them.
1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Briefly, as we are looking specifically looking at Revelation now: The woman is Israel, the twelve stars are the tribes of Israel, the child is the Jew Jesus. Satan tries to kill Jesus once He is born but this is the one who is destine to rule the nations but beforehand He has ascended back to His Father. When Antichrist arises a remnant of Israel will be able to flee and those who are left will escape to the desert to a special place where God will protect them from the Antichrist for 1260 or 42 months or as put here a time, times and half a time - a time is a year, times is two years, and a half - making 3.5yrs or as it says elsewhere 1260 days. Very specific as Scripture is confirming over and over the length of time left after the Abomination of Desolation. But any Jew or Christian anywhere else in the world will be in mortal danger. We find the survivors in:
20 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,
To the Mighty God.
Even during these incredibly turbulent times a third of the Jews will live protected in the desert by God just as Elijah did when he was on the run from Jezebel. God looks after the people who turn to Him. They will then be looking expectantly for the day of Christ when He shall return to rule on the throne of David, the throne of Israel for a thousand years. I’ll let you know!
All this is to bring all things to consummation. All this is to bring true worship to the living God. There is only One God and He will destroy any impostors. And His name is Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords!
Benediction
Benediction
12 saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
Bibliography
Bibliography
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Davies, W. D., & Allison, D. C., Jr. (2004). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Vol. 3). London; New York: T&T Clark International.
Elwell, W. A. (1995). Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Geisler, N. L. (2005). Systematic theology, volume four: church, last things. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
Grudem, W. A. (2004). Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2014). John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Panorama City, CA: Grace to You.
McCune, R. (2010). A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity: The Doctrines of Salvation, the Church, and Last Things (Vol. 3). Allen Park, MI: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.
O’Donnell, D. S. (2013). Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
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Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:47 12 October 2019.