07.10.22 - Mark 13:24-27

Open your Bibles to Mark 13:24-27.  •We are continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark.  •We are in our sixth week of the Olivet Discourse.  •And for some of you, this is the week you’ve been waiting for.  This morning we come to what many believe is one of the most difficult portions of the OD for the interpretation I’ve been advocating these past five weeks.  •I’ve been teaching a Partial-Preterist interpretation of the OD.  •Preterism means “Past-ism.” It simply means that a prophecy has been fulfilled in OUR past.  •And, with regard to the OD, Partial-Preterism means that that the OD has been fulfilled up to v30 in the destruction of the Temple/Jerusalem in AD70 by the Romans.  But in the text before us, there is some strong language that, to many, sounds like the end of the world.  •And so, many have interpreted these verses to be a reference to the bodily Return of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of history.  •There is cosmic language in our text this morning. There is language about the sun and moon not giving their light and the stars falling from heaven.  •And then there is language about Jesus sending forth His angels to gather His Elect from all the world.  Because of this kind of language, many people automatically assume that it has to do with the end of the world.  •And I get that. If these verses are taken in isolation and removed from their context, they indeed sound that way. I think that’s a fair thing to admit.  •And most of us have had our minds conditioned by Dispensastionalism and the Left Behind books. And so, when we hear the kind of language in this passage, we instinctively think its the end of the world.  •I personally believe that many think this way because most of us are not very familiar with the OT. Particularly, with OT prophetic language and symbolism.  •But keep this in mind: Jesus’ original audience, His disciples, were Jews. And they would’ve been familiar with this language.  •And Jesus’ words in these verses are packed FULL of OT prophetic language.  •And I believe that once we see where Jesus is getting His language from, the meaning of His words will become incredibly clear and simple to us.  So then, as I’ve been doing, I plan to show you how the words of Jesus were indeed about the coming destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD70.  •But that’s not all I want to show you.  •As I’ve been saying all along through this chapter, there are beautiful things in this text.  •There are terrifying things for those who do not trust in and love the Lord Jesus. But there are beautiful things for us who do love Him. This text teaches us to fear the judgment of Christ.  •But it also reminds us that He has been enthroned as Lord of all, that He will save all of His People from every corner of the earth, and that we, His Church, are that People.  •There are many things in this text that cause us to bow down and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.  •And I hope to show you some of those things this morning, by God’s grace.  If you would and are able, please stand with me now for the reading of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.  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 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. (PRAY) Our Heavenly Father,  We come before you this morning and are excited for what you have for us in your Word.  Your Word is truth. And we have assembled to be instructed in the truth and to be changed by it as your Spirit works through it.  But we have not only come together to learn. We have come to worship. And your Word leads us to worship.  And so, we ask that you would reveal wondrous things to us in your Word.  Lead us to worship. Lead us us to stand in awe of the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us a sight of Him in His glory that knocks us to the ground in worship.  Glorify yourself in us today, Triune God.  We ask these things in Jesus’ Name and for His sake.  Amen.  1.) To begin, we will consider the CONTEXT of our passage.  •And, while this is always important to do, it is especially important for us to do this morning.  •We absolutely cannot forget the context of the OD. If we do, we will think that Jesus is talking about things that He isn’t and completely miss the point of His words.  1. Jesus has been constantly rejected by the religious rulers of Israel throughout His earthly ministry.  •They have been plotting how to kill Him since chapter 3 of Mark’s Gospel.  •They have opposed Him at every turn. They have debated with Him and looked for opportunities to have Him arrested and executed.  •Jesus has worked miracles that symbolize the judgment that will come on them for rejecting Him (Withered Fig Tree).  •Jesus has done physical acts that symbolize God’s anger with Israel (Two Temple Cleansings). •Jesus has also told judgment parables against Israel (Parable of the Wicked Tenants). Parables that tell of how God will punish the nation for rejecting Jesus.  •The judgment of Israel for their rejection of the Son of God is hanging over them.  2. All of that leads up to Mark 13:2.  •There Jesus, as He is leaving the Temple for the final time, says, “Do you not see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” •Jesus prophesies that the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. And it will be destroyed because the Jews have rejected Him in order to cling to their false religious system of works righteousness.  3. In response to this shocking prophesy, some of the disciples come to Jesus in v4 and ask,  “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” •In context, there is only one thing Jesus has been talking about: The destruction of the Temple.  •And so, the disciples are asking about that. And they want to know WHEN it will happen, and what the SIGN will be when it is about to take place.  •Again, the destruction of the Temple is the only thing they could be asking about. That’s the only thing Jesus has been talking about. And His words prompt their question.  •And in v5, Jesus begins to answer their question, as He has done so many times before when they ask Him to elaborate on things He has said.  •The disciples’ question about the destruction of the Temple kicks off the entire OD. And Jesus is answering their question “WHEN and what will be the SIGN?” •So then, vv5-30 are Jesus’ answer to their question.  4. And that brings us to v30 itself. The Time Text of the OD.  •There Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” •THIS GENERATION=The generation then living when Jesus spoke. That’s how the phrase is used throughout the Gospels.  •ALL THESE THINGS=All the things Jesus has said up to that point in the Discourse.  •Jesus very clearly says that everything He has said up to v30 will happen within that generation. And those things have to do with the destruction of the Temple and the theological and historical ramifications of that event.  •So then, our Lord has given us the interpretive grid we are to use. Everything He says in vv5-30 was to be fulfilled within the lives of the generation He was speaking to in the First Century.  2.) With that said, let’s dig into our text now: [24] “But in those days, after that tribulation, •Let’s stop there. This is important.  •“But in those days…”         What days? •Looking at what comes before this verse, Jesus is speaking of the days that He began talking about in v14.  •He’s talking about the time period when the Abomination of Desolation will surround Jerusalem. (The parallel in Luke 21:20 tells us that this is the Roman Armies surrounding the city to make war on it.) •These are the days when the Christians are to get out of Jerusalem and run to the hills of Judea where they will be saved from the Roman slaughter (v14).  •These are clearly the days of the Jewish War with Rome when Rome will ruin the city and temple.  •V19 even says, “For in those days…” And that is referring to the days of war with Rome.  •V24 is connected to the passage that comes before it. There is no reason to disconnect it. Jesus hasn’t changed topics.  And then Jesus says, “After that tribulation…” •What tribulation is He talking about?  •It’s the same tribulation He mentioned in v19: “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.” •Jesus is talking about the tribulation, the time of awful distress and suffering for Israel that will come from war with Rome. He’s talking about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.  •And in v24 Jesus is talking about what will happen AFTER that tribulation. He’s talking about what will happen immediately following the Jewish War with Rome.  •And the parallel text in Matthew 24:29 corroborates this: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened…” •Just as Mark says, “AFTER that tribulation.” Jesus is talking about what will take place after the war with Rome. NOTE: You CANNOT disconnect v24 from what comes before it.  •Jesus has not switched topics. And there is nothing in His words in v24 that would signal that He has begun to speak of something other than the destruction of Jerusalem. So then, in these verses, our Lord is talking about the RESULT of the Roman armies coming upon Jerusalem and waging war against the city.  •Jesus is NOT talking about some future time thousands of years later.  •The context hasn’t changed at all. •Jesus is now talking about the results of the Jewish War with Rome and Jerusalem being destroyed.  3.) So with the context even more firmly planted in our minds, let’s consider vv24-25 together: [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.  •Most Bible interpreters take this language to refer to the end of the world.  •And we see how you might think that, don’t we? •This is devastating language. This is de-creation language. (Just as God made the sun, moon, and stars, He is now putting them out.) •This is severe, serious judgment language from the lips of our Lord.  •And, if taken literally, it would signal the end of the world, wouldn’t it?  •The world won’t last long without the sun and moon. And if the stars are falling out of the sky, we would have a huge problem when they collide with the earth.  If interpreted in the most woodenly literal way, these verses would signal the end of the world.  •And they wold also be predicting the end of the world in the First Century, given the context of the chapter and the words of Jesus in v30.  •But I don’t believe that we should interpret them that way for two reasons: 1. Jesus wasn’t a false prophet. The world didn’t end in the First Century. So Jesus must have meant something else.  2. The language of the OT shows us how to properly understand the cosmic language of Jesus here.  So now we’re going to let Scripture interpret Scripture.  •We’re going to let clearer portions of Scripture interpret more difficult portions of Scripture.  •And we’re going to see if this kind of language is used elsewhere in the Bible and what it means in those places in order to understand how Jesus is using it here.  Brothers and sisters, the language of the sun, moon, and stars not shining, being shaken, falling out of the sky, and all the rest was used by OT prophets.  •And when this language was used, it symbolized the judgment of God on a nation or city.  •Let me give you four examples of this: 1. Isaiah 13:9-11.  •This chapter begins by saying “The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.” •So what follows has to do with the ancient capital city of Babylonia.  •And in Isaiah 13:9-13 we read, “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of His fierce anger.” •When God judged Babylon, Isaiah said that He would make the sun, moon, and stars not give their light. And God would make the heavens tremble and shake the earth.  2. Isaiah 34:4-5 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. •Here God says that when He judges the nation of Edom, the “host of heaven” (stars) will rot away, the skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and the host (stars) shall fall. 3. Ezekiel 32:7-8 •V2 of this chapter says, “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him…” •So what follows concerns Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt.  •And in vv7-8 we read, “When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.” •When God was going to judge Pharaoh and Egypt, God said that He would make the sun, moon, and stars dark. And the land of Egypt would be covered in darkness.  4. Lastly, consider Joel 2:10-11 •This prophecy actually has to do with ISRAEL. Particularly, it has to do with Jerusalem.  •Here, Joel is prophesying about a great army that would come against Jerusalem. And he says: “The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The LORD utters His voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; He who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” •God was going to judge Israel by bringing an army against Jerusalem. And when He did so, the sun, moon, and stars would stop shining.  If the above texts are to be understood literally, then the earth would have been physically destroyed thousands of years ago.  •Stars falling out of the sky, the sun and moon not shining, and all the rest would mean certain destruction for the whole planet.  •But since we’re still here, we should understand that language differently/properly.  This is all prophetic judgment language.  •It’s the language of de-creation. The language of utter destruction.  •This language is figuratively saying, “The lights are going out on you.” •We actually have a saying similar to this in our day: “I’m going to knock your lights out.” •What God is saying in these prophetic texts is that those who are being judged will be devastated.  •And notice this: All of these passages are speaking about judgments in HISTORY on NATIONS and CITIES.  •None of them are about the end of the world. They are about times of judgment in history on geographical locations and nations.  The cosmic language of these judgment passages is used to describe how earth-shattering the effects of God’s judgment will be.  •These judgments are serious and have significant consequences on those whom God is judging.  •The events described in these prophesies have catastrophic results for the nations and people spoken of.  •And this language also highlights something theologically significant: THESE JUDGMENTS ARE FROM GOD.  •God is the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars. He hung them and made them to shine. And only He can make them cease to shine and fall from heaven.  •So these judgments are not coincidences of history or one nation merely coming against another. They are DIVINE JUDGMENTS.  •And God intends those being judged to recognize His sovereign hand working against them to punish them for their sins.  So then, there is no reason for us to believe that those two verses in Mark MUST BE referring to the end of the world.  •And, given the context (v2-4) and the time text (v30), we MUST NOT take them to be referring to the end of the world.  •Rather, they are talking about the nation judgment of Israel. God Himself is taking their light away.  Consider this: If such language was appropriate to describe God’s judgment of pagan nations, how much more is it appropriate to be used against Israel who rejected the Son of God? •Israel has become like Babylon, Edom, and Egypt.  •They have become idolaters and enemies of God who have incurred His wrath by rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ when He came to them.  And while the words of Jesus definitely came to pass when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD70, I think there is more to see here: •I think there is a spiritual dimension to all of this that we are to understand: •Theologically and covenantally, the nation is finished. God is destroying it. God is taking their light away.  Remember, this is God’s judgment, Jesus’ judgment, on the nation for rejecting Him.  •As He said when He left the Temple, “YOUR house is left to YOU desolate.” The Temple is no longer God’s House. The nation is no longer God’s nation.  •Remember the Parable of the Wicked Tenants: The wicked tenants who murdered the vineyard Owner’s Son will be put to death. And then the vineyard would be given to a people who will give the Owner the fruit of it.  •This was about Israel and how they would kill the Son of God. And then how God would judge the nation and give the Kingdom to the Gentiles who believe.  Brothers and sisters, the judgment on Jerusalem was God making it internationally known that Israel is no longer the Covenant People of God.  •God has de-created the nation and it no longer has covenantal significance as a nation or ethnic people.  •Why? Because a New Covenant has come. And a new People has come. A new Nation is here.  Hear me: Only GOD can do this to Israel.  •The Roman armies destroying Jerusalem did NOT inherently dismantle the nation as a covenant people.  •This had happened to Israel once before in the Babylonian Exile and they remained God’s People.  •But now, this is different. God is finished with them and is de-creating the nation and people.  •The judgment in AD70 on that Jesus is prophesying through the OD was different from OT judgments on Israel in a big way: •This judgment had NO PROMISE of a restoration for the nation of Israel.  •The Babylonian Exile had such a promise. God promised through His prophets that the people would be brought back to the land and reestablished under the Old Covenant because they were still God’s People.  •BUT THERE IS NO SUCH PROMISE WITH THIS JUDGMENT. •It’s only judgment. The lights are about to go out in a monumental, unprecedented way for Israel.  •They are no longer God’s People.  •Why? Because they rejected Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They rejected God Himself when He came to them.    •As John said, “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” NOTE: This DOES NOT mean that there is no future for the ethnic descendants of Abraham.  •Romans 11 tells us that before Christ comes, huge numbers of Jews will be saved and brought into the Church.  •There is a future for the Jews. But not with regard to the Old Covenant.  •They, by faith in Christ, must join the New Covenant that was inaugurated in the blood of Christ. They must join the true People of God, the Church, by faith in the Savior.  •As Paul says, there is one Olive Tree, one People of God. And they must join the Church to be saved. And they will, before Jesus returns.  •The offer of salvation is still wide open to them through faith in Jesus Christ.  NOTE: And that goes for all men everywhere! •You personally    must repent and believe upon Christ or you will never be named among God’s People.  •If you do not repent and believe on Him, the wrath of God abides on you.  •If you do not come to Christ in faith, then you will have no Savior to save you from your sins and the wrath of God that is coming against all men for their wickedness and rebellion against God.  •You must repent and believe upon Christ!  •Believe that He is the Messiah and Son of God. Believe that He lived, died, and was raised from the dead in order to cleanse sinners from their sins. Believe that He is Lord and God over all! •And repent of your sins that have made His death and resurrection necessary! •If you will repent and believe on Him, He will bring you in and number you among His People. He will save you by His grace! Back to the text: •THE LIGHTS ARE GOING OUT IN ISRAEL.  •The old Nation is over and it’s Old Covenant is over. •And the light must go out in that nation and that covenant in order for the light of a new Nation and New Covenant to shine brightly for all the world to see.  •And this nation is the Church:  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”               (1 Peter 2:9-10) •As the Apostle says in Hebrews 12:26-27, the heavens and earth will be shaken so that what cannot be shaken, the Kingdom of God, the Church, will remain.  4.) Now we come to v26. And here the text gets brighter.  •For as negative as the first two verses are, the theme now switches to something glorious for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ.  •There is something of a transition beginning from judgment to glory.  [26] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  Jesus says that “they” (the Jews) will see something: “They will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” •The words of Jesus here are an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14 where Daniel speaks of the Son of Man: I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall be destroyed. It’s from this prophecy that Jesus gets His favorite self-designation: Son of Man.  •Jesus is identifying Himself as the person Daniel saw in his vision.  •And in that vision the Son of Man goes up the Ancient of Days (God). He came up to Heaven, where God is. And He came up “with/on the clouds of heaven.”  •And what happens to the Son of Man when He comes to God in Heaven?  •HE IS CROWNED KING.  •He is given a kingdom that will never perish. He is given sovereign dominion and lordship over everything that breathes.  •He is given utter sovereignty over the entire world. And He is given the promise that all peoples, nations, and languages shall serve Him.  •Jesus is saying, “THAT MAN DANIEL SAW IS ME.” Brothers and sisters, this prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled when our Lord ascended to Heaven.  •He sat down and was crowned King. He sat down at the right hand of God and was given His Kingdom.  •As Psalm 110:1 says, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” •Jesus is the enthroned Son of Man. He is seated at the right Hand of God the Father Almighty and is sovereignly ruling over all of creation as the God-Man, the Messiah, the Son of Man.  So what Jesus is saying is that the Jews will see that He has been enthroned as the Son of Man.  •In the destruction of Jerusalem, they will see. They will see that He really is the Messiah, that He really is the Son of God, and that He really is Lord of All.  •They will see Him “coming on the clouds” that is, they will see that He has come into His Kingdom, just as He said that He would.  But there may also be a hint of OT judgment language here again. •In many places in the OT (Ezekiel 30:3; Nahum 1:3; Isaiah 19:1, Psalm 104:3-4) God is said to come on clouds to judge nations.  •God is obviously not physically present in these judgments. But He metaphorically “rides the clouds” to execute judgment on the wicked within history.  •So Jesus might be highlighting that it will be clear that it is Jesus who has destroyed Jerusalem in His wrath (Psalm 2). It will be clear that it is Jesus, the Son of Man, who has executed judgment on those who rejected Him.  Either way, it will be abundantly clear that Jesus has come into His Kingdom will “great power and glory.” •Why do I say that? Because He has been able to execute this judgment against Jerusalem BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF MAN.  •The judgment will serve as clear proof that He is who He claimed to be and that all authority now belongs to Him.  •His prophecy against Jerusalem would be known to the Jews. And when the judgment falls, it will be a sign to them that Jesus is indeed King. That all nations belong to Him! And that all will bow to Him or perish under His wrath! •NOTE: Be warned and be wise! Kiss the Son! Trust in Him! Come to Him in faith! Believe on Him! Submit to Him in faith, lest you perish under His wrath! Brothers and sisters, our Lord is telling us something beautiful through judgment: •The judgment on Israel was part of His vindication as the Son of God.  •It is evidence to anyone who cares to understand, that He is Lord and this world is His.  •The Kingdom of Israel has been brought down. And the Kingdom of Christ has been established.  •The Son of Man has been enthroned. The Son of Man has received authority over all. And the judgment on Israel is the proof.  Worship with me, Church: •Jesus is the King!  •He is the Christ!  •He is the Savior of sinners!  •He is the Son of God! •He is the Son of Man! •He is everything He said He is!  •He is everything! Brothers and sisters, we are right to worship Him.  •We are right to sing His praises.  •We are right to pray to him.  •We are right to pledge our total allegiance to Him.  •We are right to preach His Word to the world.  •We are right to live our lives for Him and His glory.  •HE IS THE KING! •The Son of Man has been enthroned.  •And we gladly and rightly recognize Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  5.) Now we come to our final verse.  •And here we will see the glory of the Church that comes after Israel’s judgment.  [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. •Jesus says that after He executes judgment on Israel, then He will send out His angels to gather His Elect from all over the earth.  •Many people take this verse to be a reference to the end of the world because Jesus mentions sending angels all over the world.  •But I don’t think we need to interpret it that way.  1. “Angels” can mean “messengers” and not heavenly spirit beings. •The Greek word for “angel” is used this way many times in the NT. And when it’s used that way, it refers to human messengers.  •Examples of this can be found in Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24; Mark 1:2; James 2:25; and Revelation 2-3 (angels of the seven churches).  •The context is what determines the meaning of the word. And in those contexts, it’s clear that “messenger” is how it should be understood.  So, if “angels” should be understood as “messengers” here in v27, then Jesus is saying this: •After Israel is judged and Jerusalem is destroyed, Jesus will send out His messengers. He will send out His preachers.  •And the result will be that they will gather His Elect from the ends of the earth. And they will gather them into His Church through the preaching of the Gospel.  2. OR “angels” could mean literal angels (heavenly spirit beings that serve the Lord).  •And this reminds us of Hebrew 1:14 where we read, “Are they (the angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” •Here the Apostle says that the angels are sent from God to minister to those who are to be saved. That is, they are to minister to the Elect of God. •If Jesus means literal angels here in v27, then that means that Jesus is going to send out His angels to supernaturally gather His People into the Church.  •In other words, as the King, Jesus will send forth angels to minister to His Church and aid them in their mission of Gospel preaching.  •The angels will help gather the Elect. They will have some kind of supernatural missionary role to help spread the Gospel.  I personally think that “angels” should be understood as messengers/preachers.  •But, either way, it doesn’t undo how we understand the text entirely.  •The main point is this: The enthroned Christ will send forth His messengers or angels and the result is this: The Elect will be gathered together.  •And since the context tells us Jesus is not talking about the end of the world, we know Jesus means that His Elect will be gathered together INTO HIS CHURCH.  And don’t miss this: THE ELECT WILL BE GATHERED FROM THE NATIONS.  •From the four winds. From the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.  •The Elect will be gathered from ALL OVER THE WORLD!  •Brothers and sisters, this is even more extensive of a mission than Jesus had spoken of in v10.  •There He mentioned the habitable world, the Roman Empire.  •Now He is talking of something more extensive than that! The four corners of the world.  •Jesus’ Church is to be huge! The Gospel is to be declared throughout the literal whole world.  •And the Elect will be found throughout the entire world! •The nations will come in! Brothers and sisters, do you see the glory here? •The New Covenant and the Church is so much greater than Israel and the Old Covenant! •And that is because Jesus Christ is greater than everything in that Old Covenant! •As God said to His Messiah, Jesus, in Isaiah 49:6,  “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” •The Church is worldwide! It’s huge! It’s international! The Gospel of Jesus Christ will go out to the world. And the Elect of God will be brought in.  •This verse predicts the worldwide growth of the Church. •And this growth will explode after the Jews are judged.    •Once the Jews are no longer bringing confusion to the Church (Judaizing), the Church will grow.  •Once the Jews are no longer a hindrance to the Church through leading persecution, the Church will grow.  •Once the Jews are judged there will appear a great distinction between Christianity and Judaism.  •And the result of all of this will be the explosion of the growth of the Church throughout the world.  •These things will certainly happen! Just as certainly as Israel would be judged, Jesus’ Church will grow! And the Scriptures speak to this very clearly: •“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” (Psalm 22:27) •“The princes of the peoples gather as the People of the God of Abraham.” (Psalm 47:9a) •“And people will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29) •“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Psalm 2:8) Brothers and sisters, this is exactly what we have seen throughout history since AD70.  •Through many sufferings and many trials, the Church has continued to grow and be blessed by the enthroned Son of Man, Jesus Christ.  •Our King is on the march. He is saving His Elect.  •And, by His great power, He will save them all.  •Everything. Just as Jesus said it would be.  6.) For application, I want to put three things before you very briefly: 1. We see in this passage that the Judgment of Christ is very severe.  •Fear Him! •Look what happened to Israel. He put out their light because they rejected Him.  •This is a picture of the Final Judgment when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.  •Fear this King.  •And then RUN TO HIM FOR SALVATION AND SAFETY! •He promises to take in every single sinner who confess their sin, turn from it, and look to Him for mercy and salvation.  •Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.  2. We see from this passage that Jesus has been enthroned.  •His reign began with His Ascension to Heaven.  •Adore and worship Him! •He is the King of kings! Bow down! •“All hail, Redeemer, hail!” •The nations belong to the Lord Jesus Christ! •He shall have dominion! •And He is most worthy of our worship! •Bow down at the feet of your King and worship! 3. We see from this passage that Jesus is saving His People through the preaching of the His Gospel.  •The Church has grown. And it will continue to grow until He comes.  •All of Christ’s Elect will come in. Believe that! •And those who believe, His Church, they are His People. They are the true Covenant People of God.  •Rejoice in your salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord! •By His grace, you are His! •At one time you were not His. But now, by grace, you are! •Be glad in Christ! May God grant each one of us to fear, worship, and glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Son of Man, and Lord of All.  •Amen.