Mark 13, 14-23. This is God’s Holy Word. 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. Let the one who is on the housetops not go down nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
And, alas, for women who are pregnant, and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that it may not happen in winter. 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. 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. And then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or look, there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard, I have told you all things beforehand.”
Thus far, God’s holy, inspired, and infallible word. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray again, just a moment. Lord, we do remember James this morning, and whatever needs he has, if he’s still with us, we pray your mercies upon him. We also now pray that as we study the scriptures together, they’ll be clear and understandable, or that they will become that as we study together, that your Holy Spirit would be our teacher and helper, and we pray, Lord, that even as we read and hear, that you would be glorified. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Well, we’re continuing with this Discourse of Jesus and I last time I went over that it’s a it’s a kind of a statement or a Teaching that is presented. That’s a discourse, but Jesus is just Coursing is that right? He’s discursing He’s on his way to the Mount of Olives and then he gets there and he begins to get in full gear in terms of what he’s teaching and he’s looking to the future because his disciples are going to be facing some difficult times and there’ll be things that they scratch their heads about and say we don’t understand quite what’s happening and then Also, we see in this that it goes on beyond just that generation of people, but out through history until the end of the world. But everything, everything he says is applicable wherever we are in our lives, so we want to pay attention to that. So we continue.
In part one, Jesus responds to a disciple’s admiration of Herod’s temple. Now, Herod wasn’t a particularly godly man, but he decided he was going to build a temple that was the equal of or greater than Solomon’s temple. And he had been working on that, or at least his workers had been doing that for years. And this was then the latest iteration, if you will, of the temple for God’s people, the temple in Jerusalem. Now Solomon’s temple, you see, had been completed in the general area of 1000 BC. So it had been a long time since Solomon oversaw the building of the temple that his father David had provided all the materials for, just about all of them anyway. But time has gone by, and Herod has been at work, and he’s been at work for some 40 years or so on the new temple.
So there’s quite a bit been done, and when this one disciple and some others join in, when they see what’s been done, they say, oh, isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that beautiful? And then Jesus responds, you see, to that. The temple itself, of course, followed a pattern that God had given to Moses on the mountain, Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai, many years even before Solomon.
So there’s a lot of history that goes in just to the idea, the concept of the temple. But we’re going to see that that’s going to be radically changed in that it’s not going to be brick and mortar anymore. It’s going to be a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Jesus shocked His disciples as He continues this discourse by telling them that the last days would see His temple destroyed. And it was His temple. They would see it destroyed. And I’m sure that gave them pause.
And that Jesus Himself, this is the great news, Jesus Himself would become the temple. where they would find a relationship with God. It would be a temple for believers, that is, those who put their trust in Christ and thus came to rest in Him. And in that temple, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s people would dwell with the Lord forever and ever.
So today Jesus goes on to describe some of the signs associated with these last days. Signs that many of his disciples would encounter before they died. But I want to emphasize for you again, the last days started with Jesus’ resurrection and they’ve just continued on. We haven’t reached the last day yet, so we’re caught up in this as well. So here are the points that we’re going to look at today.
First we’re going to talk about the abomination of desolation, or another way to translate it is the abomination that brings about desolation. Then we’ll talk about this plight to the mountains. Thirdly, we’ll talk about something that is for the sake of the elect. What was Jesus talking about there? And finally, that all things regarding the temple and its subsequent matters that affect the whole world, that this is something Jesus wanted his disciples to have beforehand. In other words, they needed it in order to be prepared for what’s coming and you and I need it also to be prepared for what’s coming. So let’s talk about the abomination that brings desolation. What it simply means is that God’s holiness is violated.
Because the temple, you see, had these three parts. There was the outer part that’s kind of outdoors and has an altar there that sacrifices were given. Then there was the holy place where the table of the showbread was and the lamp that never went out. And even the altar of incense was there as well. And then the most holy place, the innermost part of the temple, was where the mercy seat was, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. And even in front of the Ark of the Covenant, there was the manna, the bowl of manna, and the staff of Aaron.
It was a very holy place. And when he says here that the abomination is going to be where it should not be, that’s where he means it’s gone from just the outer part to the inner part of sort of the holy place and then the holiest place. And that’s where you see God’s holiness is violated. And when that happens, then the day of judgment, not necessarily the final day of judgment, but the day of judgment is at hand when God’s holiness is so violated.
You and I have driven the highways very often, especially in Northern California, sometimes here in Southern California too, there’s often a sign by the side of the road that says deer crossing. deer crossing. Now, it’s good for you to know that, right? Because around the next curve, there might be a deer crossing. And you don’t want to hit the deer. I’ve had some relatives and in-laws that have hit deer. Not a very pleasant experience to hit a deer in the road.
But you’ve got the warning. You’re prepared for it. Unless you’re careless. And so, Lord here is saying to the disciples and to any of us who are listening, He’s saying be prepared for what’s coming. Matthew tells us that the abomination of desolation was first mentioned in the book of Daniel, chapter 11, verse 31. I’m just going to read that for you. It says, forces 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.
So all the way back to Daniel, there was some indication that this would happen. Now, in Daniel’s case, there came along, shortly after Daniel anyway, the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was one of the most vile men, men of savage character and so forth. And he actually took a pig into the most holy place of the temple and slaughtered it there. But he didn’t destroy the temple. So as much as Daniel would have been shocked by it and upset by it, there was something worse coming along.
And that’s what’s mentioned here as Jesus talks to the disciples on the Mount of Olives. He says there’s coming in something even worse than Antiochus. There’s coming a spoiling, a turning away from the holiness of God, the likes of which there’s never been before. All right. So, it is an abomination. Now, what does that mean? It means it’s something that is just irrevocable. Turn it back. It’s an abomination because it profanes the holiness of God. It discounts the holiness of God. And it’s coming.
Now, it’s likely, it’s likely, there’s certain things that we’ll not find out for sure until we get to heaven, but it’s likely that what is meant here is the Roman eagle. You know, the Roman armies, they carried these long staffs with an eagle on top, and usually had this SPQR abbreviation there, or things that indicated, you know, certain wording and it meant the Roman Republic is what it meant but the whole idea was that the Roman Emperor who thought he was God everyone from Augustus on thought that they were God that they’ve taken the place of the Hebrew God Jehovah and now you should worship this God and many a Christian lost his life because he refused to acknowledge that Caesar was God well the Roman Emperor was one thing, but the follow-up on that, how God deals with it, is quite another. And evidently Titus, who was the Roman general who oversaw the destruction of the temple, he threw open the doors and took away the curtains and everybody could see this Roman eagle that represented the emperor inside the most holy place. And that was Titus’ way of saying, look who’s in charge now. Interestingly, Titus was a son of Vespasian, So Vespasian was the one that Titus was representing there, but then Vespasian died and Titus took over and became the emperor, so there’s a connection there. And they both represent the abomination that makes things desolate.
And the Lord said, every stone here is gonna be thrown down. Remember, Antiochus, as evil as he was, he didn’t tear down the temple, but the Romans did. And the only thing today that’s left of that great temple of Herod, the one that Herod oversaw construction for, the only thing that’s left there is something really that belonged to Solomon, the foundation stones that they call the Wailing Wall. That’s all that’s left. Everything else is just flattened and they’ve built a Muslim mosque there in that place.
The last days, is meant, through these illustrations and things that happen, to show that there are persons who want to conquer God and his people, and who want to replace the true God. more recent times in the German church in the days of Adolf Hitler, he had his picture, Hitler’s picture was placed there in the churches.
Now it wasn’t the same as the temple exactly, but the churches where usually it would be an altar, it was a Lutheran sort of set up there. And he had his picture placed there as well. So you see it’s not just way back there with Titus and Vespasian or even Antiochus, but even today people want to take God’s place. And so the whole purpose of Jesus telling this is to say, always be on the lookout for the abomination that makes desolate. That’s when people profane the holiness of God and seek to take God’s place.
Alright. whatever form it may take in our time. Be on guard and then, this is important, be on guard and flee. And flee. So we come to the flight to the mountains here. Now, you see, God made the mountains, yes, for beauty, for part of the earth here. You can say, well, when the flood came and the mountains arose and so forth and all that natural part of it, but God made the mountains and He made them to represent Himself, to represent His strength and His hiding place for His people.
There are times to stay put. Jeremiah is a good example of that. Everybody was carried off to Babylon, but Jeremiah said, I’m staying. And later on he got carried to Egypt against his will, but I just want you to see there’s a time to stay. Not every time is the time to flee.
But it seems as though whenever this abomination of desolation, when God’s holiness is profaned, that the wrath of God is about to fall, and it’s a good idea to get out of the way of it. The abomination of desolation essentially means that God’s patience is ended. God’s patience has given out. And that suffering is going to ensue.
When David wanted to flee from Saul, well, yes, at one point he went over to the Philistines, but before that, and later also, he fled to the mountains. He fled to the hills. He lived in a cave. Saul tried to find him, never was able to get him. But David fled to the mountains.
Remember Psalm 121, I will lift up my eyes to the hills, or the mountains. From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And it goes on in that psalm to talk about how God is there as your refuge for him. In fact, Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble.
But the mountains, you see, represent that refuge, that hiding place. that place that you can flee. And there are times when God says, flee to me. Now, it may only be in the sense that we just trust in the Lord and let what happens. But nevertheless, there’s a time to stay and stand up and speak against fleeing, but there’s a time also to flee. And in this case, the Lord says, there may very well be in your lives, your disciples, but you people beyond the disciples, there may be a time that you should flee.
Remember that the Lord is like the hills, the everlasting hills, where you can go and hide and find His help and His strength. There’s also an example in Saul of Tarsus. Now that was kind of his name for a long time, Saul of Tarsus, but when after he became a Christian, he was very much opposed by those who didn’t believe in Jesus, he had to flee. I think he was a little reluctant to do that. Let me stay, let me fight, let me stand up for the Lord, I’m willing to die. But the word from the Lord was, get out of here and go where? Go back to Tarsus. And so Tarsus, you see, becomes a place of refuge for Saul. And he stays there for like 14 years or something, and then comes back and starts the ministry that we read about mostly in the book of Acts. But that’s another example of finding a place to flee to.
Now, when you have a city or a village, it can offer hope for you. As long as there’s a city, then things are, at least in your viewpoint, your perspective, okay. But just think about Venezuela in the last couple of weeks. This terrible thing that’s happened there. That city got wiped out. Suppose, and I don’t know if this is true, but suppose that somebody had come and said, get out of Caracas. Get out of that city now. It’s going to be flattened. And we might have said, oh, I’m staying no matter what.
But it might have been a good idea to get out because you don’t want to be around when the wrath of God comes. Any city, any village can offer hope until the Lord says, but let me give you a sign. And the sign, of course, is the abomination of desolation. When you see God’s holiness profaned, when you see God attacked personally and people trying to take over from Him, then it’s time to move on in that situation. In Psalm 42 it says, put your hope not in your city, Not in any equipment or people that you have that you think are going to protect you. It says hope thou in God. Hope in God. So the flight to the mountains you see is representative of that. We may not always go directly to the mountains.
But it is a way of telling us that when God’s wrath is imminent and you’re clear in that, then it may be time to flee in that situation. Now, where did these people actually flee to that were disciples in Jesus’ time? Well, there was a city, it was across the Jordan, way up in the north called Pella, not Pella, Iowa. But it was a city there in Jordan. And from history we know that many people took seriously what Jesus said. When they saw that the Romans were destroying their temple and taking over, they fled north. They fled across the Jordan to the city of Pella.
Two things then for us. First of all, look to the mountains. Look to God as your strength. And then, go where He gives you His refuge. However He may make that obvious to you, go to that place. When we realize judgment is at hand, flee to God. Because that’s where you want to be. Where God is, you want to flee to Him. And do it without any hesitation. The Bible has a very interesting verse that says, Remember Lot’s wife. Well, who was Lot’s wife?
We don’t have her name, but they were supposed to flee to the mountains. And Lot and his family were moving, but the wife said, wait a minute. And she looked back and it says she was turned into a pillar of salt. Now, exactly chemically or miraculously, even how that happened, I can’t tell you, but she shouldn’t have looked back. And don’t waste any time. Remember Lot’s wife, when God says it’s time to flee, Don’t necessarily go to a geographical spot.
Oh, that may be what God wants. But go to Him. Flee to Him. He’s your refuge. God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble. All right, the third point here is for the sake of the elect. In every place, in every age, God will watch over His elect. Well, who are the elect? The elect are the people that believe in Jesus. Are you among the elect? Do you believe in Jesus? Have you trusted Him as your Savior? That’s what you’ve got to do. Don’t say, I’m studying whether I’m one of the elect or not. What you want to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved.
John 3.16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. And so, we can talk about things for the sake of the elect, but you’ve got to be in the elect for it to mean anything, that is, you’ve got to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Judgment that God brings is generally visited on all mankind, not necessarily all at once. Sometimes we think that the judgment day will happen and that will be the only place and the only time, but judgments just come down through history all the time. And when judgment comes, you want to flee to Jesus because Jesus is God’s provision for your salvation. God will spare His people by either taking them to heaven directly or giving them a place to hide until the judgment is passed.
Although tribulation, according to this account that Jesus gives in His discourse, judgment will continue on until the very last day, nevertheless, we should be ready at any time to go where God takes us, where God sends us, that is, to believe in Him and to go to heaven, even if it means giving our lives.
Well, Lord, if you take my life now, I know what’s next. I know I’m in heaven. when the last elect person is saved, that is, when the last person believes in Jesus as his or her Savior, then you know that it’s the end of the world. But we don’t know who the last one is, do we? So let’s not wait on somebody else. Make sure that our faith and trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look out, Jesus says, for imposters. People come along and say, I’m Jesus, or they may even say, I’m somebody else, but I’m your Savior. And you’ve got to say, that’s not the way. That won’t get me where I need to be.
But I’ll put my trust in Him who is our refuge and strength. I’ll put my trust in Him that God sent to be the Savior of sinners. I’ll put my trust in Him who never fails. to bring to Himself those who belong to Him, everyone that the Father has given Him. And I want to be one of those, and I’m going to trust in Jesus.
Well, we come to the last of these points this morning, and that is that all things, especially regarding the temple here, but all things are revealed beforehand. And the point is that God allows us to know many things that the world is ignorant of. Now, I’ll just quote a verse from 1 Corinthians 2. It says, None of the princes of this world would know, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. In other words, most of the people in this world, let’s say, just don’t know.
That’s why we have to go out and tell them. Tell about Jesus. Tell about salvation. Tell about the way of life. But most of the people have not had this revealed to them. And especially with regard to the temple where Jesus is talking about here and the bricks being thrown down, one stone left upon another. The fact is that the Lord tells His people, whenever you see these kinds of things happening, whenever you see judgments come, whether it’s the last judgment or any of the judgments in between, what you want to do is go to Jesus. And I’m telling you ahead of time, don’t put it off. Don’t say, I’ll get around to it one of these days. For these disciples, the destruction of the temple would normally cause fright. They would be shaking in their boots, if they wore boots, maybe they wore sandals, I don’t know. But it would cause fright.
But he says, no, if you know beforehand, then you can take it in stride. If all the stones come tumbling down, if it looks like everything’s going to be wiped out, you can go where you can’t be shaken, and where nothing around you can be shaken, and that’s putting your life in Christ’s arms and hands, and putting your life in what God has prepared for those who love Him. The events that would start to come to pass in AD 70, that’s when the temple was destroyed. That, you see, is not the end, but the beginning, the beginning of troubles. And that brings us right into the picture, you see.
In this passage here, it says, if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But the good news is the Lord has cut short the days, meaning that the Lord is gathering His elect. The only thing that’s going to shorten them, as I said earlier, is when that last person believes in Jesus. But it hasn’t ended yet, and you and I still have the opportunity to believe and trust in Him. And all the people here at Brookdale, and all the people in Westminster, and California, and the U.S., and the world, there’s still that opportunity to come and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s revealed beforehand to us, and we can share the news with others.
The days of Noah came. Many people were caught unaware. Only eight people were saved through the flood that came along. We don’t know. There’s a song that says, not a flood, but a fire next time. The fire is coming. The wrath of God is coming. But don’t be like the people in the days of Noah who ignored what was revealed beforehand. It says Noah was a preacher of righteousness for a hundred and something years. And what was he saying to the people? God’s going to destroy things. God is going to bring an end to things. Get in the ark or be ready to enter the ark. But only eight people actually entered in.
Because Jesus has given this and all succeeding generations important information. Important information. You know, when you open something you have to put together, And if you’re like me, you just start in on putting it together. But at the top of the page, it always says, important information. And you go back there and say, maybe I better read this. Because A doesn’t quite fit with B, and C isn’t anywhere to be found. Jesus has given this and succeeding generations important knowledge. And so his word that just sort of flies through all this that we’ve read.
Be on guard. Be on guard. Watch out. Be ready. And that’s where we need to be today. Where are we in all this that Jesus is talking about? From those early days right on up through today. Where are we? Well, we need to be on guard. Because we don’t know the day or the hour. But we do know that it’s coming. And we want to be ready for it.
And the way of escape, the way of salvation, the way of hope, is in Him, in the Lord Jesus. Let’s pray. Father, we pray today for a deeper commitment to the Lord and deeper trust in Him. Whatever happens around us, whether it’s something like Caracas or some other thing, the big one that’s supposed to come or some war or something happens, where can we flee? Where can we find deliverance? Well, only in Christ, our Savior, that rock the One who is our refuge always. We look to Him today with thanksgiving in Jesus’ name. Amen.