May 25, 2025 • 40 mins
We'd love to hear from you. Message us here.
What does Jesus mean by the mysterious "abomination of desolation," and why should we care? In this eye-opening exploration of Mark 13:14-23, we unpack one of the Bible's most fascinating prophecies about the end times and what it means for believers today.
The conversation begins with Jesus shocking His disciples by predicting the destruction of Jerusalem's magnificent temple. When they ask for details, Jesus takes them—and us—on a journey through time, pointing to Daniel's remarkable seventy-week prophecy. This prophecy not only predicted Christ's first coming with mathematical precision but also reveals a seven-year period still awaiting fulfillment.
We examine how this final "week" connects to a future world leader known as the Antichrist, who will establish a seven-year covenant before betraying his promises and desecrating a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Jesus warns that this act will trigger unprecedented persecution, requiring immediate flight for those in Judea.
But this teaching isn't meant to frighten us. Instead, it creates a powerful tension between continuance (enduring through trials) and imminence (staying ready for Christ's return at any moment). While scholars may disagree about timing and details, the core message remains: our hope isn't in identifying the Antichrist or mastering prophetic timelines, but in focusing on Jesus Himself.
The world desperately seeks solutions in political leaders and human wisdom, but believers find comfort knowing that Jesus will return to establish His kingdom. Our security comes not from understanding every prophetic detail perfectly, but from a simple relationship of trust in what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
Whether you're new to biblical prophecy or have studied it for years, this message will leave you with a renewed focus on what matters most—being ready to meet Jesus face to face, whenever that day may come.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
All right, mark, chapter 13.
We've got time.
I'm still searching for acouple things here.
Let's get in my place, mark,chapter 13.
One more, sorry, all right,mark, chapter 13.
(00:47):
Verse 14 is kind of what will behidden today.
Today we hit some eschatologyin the book of Mark, things
concerning the end times or thelast days, and, thinking about
it, a couple things here.
I think a better way to coverthis would be maybe over lunch
or coffee and just discuss thesethings together, where we could
(01:07):
ask each other questions andkind of look into it.
A lot of things by the end ofthis may still be a.
You realize there's a lot ofdifference between believers in
(01:31):
the time frame of the last daysand the goings on of the last
days and even though I'lldefinitely be presenting a
certain track here today, it'svery possible to differ a lot
with other believers in this,and that's okay.
It's not an issue of salvation.
I think there's a lot of thingsthat will be questioned until
(01:53):
we get to heaven and see it allfor ourself.
So just keep those things inmind.
It is in our account here.
In the Gospel of Mark, thegospel markets, days before the
cross, jesus is faced off withthe religious establishment.
He's made some solid enemies,um, and they're looking to
(02:14):
destroy him.
Now.
Jesus has proclaimedJerusalem's destruction, the
temple's destruction.
You remember, right after thisface off with the religious
leaders, one of his disciples,as they're going out of the
temple, in verse one of chapter13, says teacher, see what
manner of stones and buildingsare here.
And Jesus says you know what?
Not one of these buildings, notone stone, will be left upon
(02:37):
another.
It's all gonna be destroyed.
Some heavy conversation there.
But Jesus goes on up the Mountof Olives, across from the
temple, there, the hillside ofthe Mount of Olives, and as he's
there, verse three, oppositethe temple, so you can picture
it this massive building, thiswonder of the ancient world, is
(02:59):
right across the way.
And Peter, james, john andAndrew, two sets of brothers
there, they ask him privatelytell us when will these things
be number one and what will bethe sign when these things will
be fulfilled?
Matthew, in Matthew 24 adds onthere the end of the age.
(03:19):
What will be the signs of theend of the age?
When will all these things cometo pass?
And I think Mark realizes, yeah, that's what he means the end
of all things.
When will the kingdom beestablished.
When will Jesus set up hiskingdom on earth?
And we hit the first part there.
(03:40):
As Jesus explains to hisdisciples, times are going to be
hard.
There's going to be wars andrumors of wars and earthquakes
in various places.
But you can't give up.
You gotta endure to the end andwe talked about that last week.
That life involves continuance,that we endure through the
trials of life.
Jesus will come back, but inour lifetimes maybe he won't.
(04:02):
In the disciples' lifetimesthey experienced lots of trials
and tribulations and theyendured through their life and
they got to heaven through deaththat way.
Now, as we head to verse 14, wesee kind of the flip side of
this endurance, continuancething and we see this idea of
(04:23):
imminence.
We've talked about thatImminence.
Is this idea of imminence?
We've talked about thatImminence is this idea to be
ready.
Jesus could come at any time?
And we see a lot of words thatpoint to this in this chapter.
Jesus says things like takeheed.
In verse 33.
I mean, yeah, verse 33, also inverse 23.
(04:43):
Verse 35, he says watch andpray verse 37, watch.
And there's this idea, asbelievers, that we're always
watching, always ready for thefact that Jesus could come at
any time, and we'll talk moreabout that.
Uh, today.
Now, verse 14 is where we pickup, and we're moving to a time
(05:07):
that we haven't hit yet, a timethat's still future.
Notice verse 14, and let's justread a section here, verse 14.
So when you see the abominationof desolation spoken up by
Daniel, the prophet, standingwhere, it ought not let the
reader understand.
(05:27):
Let those who are in Judea fleeto the mountains.
Let him who is on the housestop, not go down into the house
, nor enter or take anything outof his house, and let him who's
in the field not go back to gethis clothes.
But woe to those who arepregnant, those who are nursing
babies, in those days, and praythat your flight may not be in
winter, for in those days therewill be tribulation such as not
(05:50):
been since the beginning ofcreation, which God created
until this time, nor ever shallbe.
And unless the Lord hadshortened those days, no flesh
would be saved.
But for the elect's sake, whomhe chose, he shortened the days.
Then if anyone says to you,look here is the Christ, or look
here he is there, do notbelieve it, for false Christs
(06:14):
and false prophets will rise andshow signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even theelect.
But take heed, see, I have toldyou all things beforehand.
So we start here with this ideaof the abomination of desolation
.
There's something you don't sayevery day Abomination of
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desolation.
And notice Jesus brings this upin verse 14.
And it's an obscure passagethat would have pointed his
disciples to Daniel chapter 9,verse 27.
Why don't we, why don't we turnover there?
We'll look at that for a secondDaniel chapter 9, because Jesus
(07:00):
has let the reader understand.
We want to understand this Forthem.
It would have been news as oflate.
You'll remember it was a whileago in our study but Jesus rode
down the Mount of Olives intoJerusalem.
As he rode down that hillside,the people proclaimed Hosanna,
(07:26):
blessed is he who comes in thename of the Lord.
They called him the Messiah.
Now Daniel chapter 9 points tothat very day.
Daniel chapter 9, verse 24 iswhere we'll start.
Notice it says this 70 weeksare determined for your people
(07:53):
and for your holy city.
And it goes on 70 weeks aredetermined for your people and
for your holy city.
This prophecy in Daniel chapter9 is an amazing prophecy.
We've covered it a few timesbut it's still kind of hard to
get your head around.
It's the 70-week prophecy, aswe read there in verse 24.
(08:14):
70 weeks Now, as we considerthis, we won't go too in-depth
in this, but as you look at this, realize that in the Jewish
mind a week could be seven days.
Seven weeks, seven months, sevenyears.
The context kind of tells uswhat this means.
(08:35):
So, daniel is being toldthere's 70 weeks of years.
The context lets us know 70weeks of years are determined on
your people, that's the Jews,and your holy city, that's
Jerusalem.
(08:55):
So this prophecy involves 490years of something going on with
the Jews and with Jerusalem.
So 490 years Now, imagine this.
I think this helped me thismorning think about this kind of
(09:15):
confusing topic.
Imagine these weeks of years ascoins.
Right, just give you tokens,right, token, a token for each
group of seven years.
Imagine you have 490 coins infront of you and we're ready to
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spend them.
How are we gonna spend them?
Look at verse 25.
Know, therefore, and understandthat from the going forth of
the command to restore and buildJerusalem until Messiah the
prince, there shall be sevenweeks and 62 weeks.
The streets should be builtagain and the wall, even in
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troublesome times.
So, right here, we're going tospend some of these tokens.
If you're following Some tokenswe need to spend seven.
Notice, seven weeks and 62weeks.
So we toss over 483 of theseseven-year tokens.
(10:21):
If you're following right, wepush it over, we spend it.
Well, what do we get for that?
Look at verse 25 again theseven weeks and 62 weeks we're
gonna have.
The street shall be built againand the wall even in
troublesome times.
Well, our time starts at thetime of Ezra, even a little
(10:45):
before that, the time ofZerubbabel, right the time of
Nehemiah, and it's therebuilding of the temple and
it's the rebuilding of the wall.
Specifically.
Now there's a certain date andI think it's in 486 BC.
You can look that one up, butthat's when the command goes to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
(11:06):
We start at that and the wallgets built in a certain amount
of time.
But notice what we get as wecontinue to count on our seven
years until Messiah, the Prince.
That one's easy.
Right.
As we look at this 483 yearperiod, it ends with Jesus
(11:30):
riding down the hillside intoJerusalem.
We talked about it.
At that point the religiousleaders say Master, what are you
doing?
Your people are saying thatyou're the messiah, stop them.
And jesus says you know, ifthese people were to be quiet,
the rocks would cry why?
(11:51):
Well, it's because of daniel,chapter 9.
It was bound to happen.
Jesus says if they didn't do it, the rocks would do it because
the messiah would come.
It would be that amount of timetill Messiah the Prince.
Notice verse 26.
What else we get for the coinsthat we've put over the years,
that we've given over in thisprophecy?
(12:13):
And after the 62 weeks, messiahshall be cut off, but not for
himself.
So Jesus the Messiah was cutoff.
A week later, less than a weeklater, jesus goes to the cross
(12:35):
and he dies, not for himself,but for us.
And we're only a couple daysaway in our account.
But we saw that happen.
We see that happen.
Jesus dies for us.
And it's amazing.
Now notice, it goes on.
And after that amount of time,and the people of the prince who
(13:01):
is to come shall destroy thecity and the sanctuary.
The end shall be with a flood.
Until the end of the war,desolations are determined.
So another thing would happenhere.
In one sense this refers to theRomans coming in 80, 70.
(13:23):
Remember, jesus said not onestone will be left upon another.
That happened just less than 40years after this point.
The Romans came and destroyedthe city.
They destroyed the temple, thesanctuary there.
Now there's another sense thatthis also talks about a point
(13:47):
further in the future, and thisis where we get that idea.
Here, notice, desolations aredetermined.
This is a little hint at whatJesus is talking about, but
we'll see it again in verse 27.
(14:07):
Now, if you'll remember ourpicture of the coins, we spent
69 of those coins that I havegiven you, those tokens for the
years.
You have one little token infront of you.
It represents seven years.
(14:30):
Seven years have not been spent.
Well, we're told in verse 27what we're going to do with that
seven-year period.
Look at verse 27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
So there's seven years leftthat have not been spent yet and
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we're going to spend it on aseven-year covenant.
Now, look at verse 27, the wordthen, when we look at the word,
then we would talk about.
You know, last week I went tolunch, right, and then I went to
Walmart.
They go well.
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When did you go to lunch?
Well, it was noon.
I went to lunch at noon.
When did you go to Walmart twodays later.
You know we don't look at thesekinds of then things in that way
.
You don't say I went to lunchand then three years later I
ended up going to Walmart.
(15:34):
The then doesn't work that way.
For us, then is one right afterthe other.
But we've talked about God,that God is eternal.
As Peter says 2 Peter 3, 8, aday is like a thousand years and
a thousand years is like a day.
He's eternal and time doesn'treally matter that much to God.
(15:55):
He doesn't get impatient.
It doesn't seem like a longtime because he's not worried
about it.
We think about it chronologicaland immediate, but for God it's
possible that things couldpause.
In fact that's what we seebetween verse 26 and 27.
There's a significant pause.
(16:17):
How long?
About 2,000 year pause betweenverse 26 and verse 27.
The clock is paused.
It's a time you could call thetime of the Gentiles, the church
age.
You could call it Luke 21, 24,.
(16:38):
In Luke's account of this helets us know this Jerusalem will
be trampled by the Gentilesuntil the times of the Gentiles
is fulfilled.
So picture it Jerusalem afterAD 70 would be trampled down by
the Gentiles.
The Romans trampled it down.
(16:59):
They were already kind oftrampling it down, but they
officially trampled it downafter AD 70.
The Crusaders trampled downJerusalem and currently the
Muslims are trampling downJerusalem.
You can tell because of thebuilding that's on top of the
Temple Mount.
Right now it's the Dome of theRock Mosque, right.
(17:22):
And so right now we're livingin a pause, a pause where the
Gentiles, the non-Jews, aretrampling down Jerusalem, and
the clock has been paused forabout 2,000 years.
But notice, it starts right backup again once we get to verse
(17:43):
27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
Who is he Now?
Is it the Messiah that we seein verse 25?
No.
Is it the prince of the peoplewho are to come there in verse
(18:05):
26?
Probably not, because he's beenlong dead.
Right, titus the general hasbeen long dead.
A new prince we know him as theAntichrist.
Now, there's a lot you could sayabout this guy, the Antichrist.
It's not really what I want tostart our week looking at like
(18:26):
the Antichrist.
Let's spend an hour talkingabout the Antichrist.
But Daniel, a little bit aboutthis guy.
Daniel, in chapter 7, verse 8,calls him a little horn.
Read Daniel, chapter 7.
It's interesting.
He's a little horn with a bigmouth and boastful words.
We've talked a lot about hischaracteristic and stuff like
(18:49):
that.
He's arrogant, he's proud, buthe's known as Antichrist.
Now John, one of the discipleswho asked this question to Jesus
, john, is the only one whomentions this guy as the
Antichrist.
In 1 and 2 John, the termAntichrist is used and we look
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at that and we think, well,antichrist, he's against Jesus.
That's his main character.
We would think Antichrist andhe will be against Jesus in the
end.
But another way to look at thisword Antichrist, this term
Antichrist is instead of Christand because that really is who
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he is, he's the one that peoplechoose instead of Jesus.
We all had the opportunity toaccept the real Jesus, but
people want someone else andwe'll receive him a world leader
who will seem to solve theirproblems.
(20:00):
Now let's look at what thisAntichrist will do in verse 27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
So one week, seven years, it'sour final coin to give out.
Week, seven years, it's ourfinal coin to give out.
He causes there to be acovenant, a treaty, an agreement
(20:29):
.
Those are all words you coulduse for that.
Now imagine if somebody came, aman came negotiating a peace
treaty in the Middle East,specifically a seven-year treaty
.
Whatever happens during thattreaty and that covenant, it's
for seven years and the clockstarts.
Peace to include peace betweenthe Jews and everyone else.
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It might include an agreementbetween the Muslims and the Jews
to allow the rebuilding of thetemple we're going to see here.
We need a temple for thesethings to happen as we get
through verse 27.
But maybe this is the agreementthat this Antichrist, this one
instead of Christ, puts down.
(21:14):
Now, interesting in studyingthis.
Did you know?
The Muslims are expecting aperson that will do these kinds
of things?
He's known as the Mahdi, theguided one, and it's said in
their scripture that he willfill the world with justice and
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equity.
Interesting, he'll be supportedby one known as Isa I-S-A, I
guess, in our alphabet butconsidered to be the prophet
Jesus.
Strange, they're expecting aworld leader to come solve their
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problems who will be supportedby Jesus.
They don't hate Jesus, theyjust don't think he's God right,
nor the way to salvation.
Now check it out.
This world leader, in theirmind, will establish a global
reign of peace.
There's a certain branch ofMuslims that expect this Messiah
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to bring unification to themonotheistic faith, in other
words Jews, christians, muslims,all living together.
Now they have other things inmind.
Right now they don't care forthe Jews, they don't care for
Christians, to say the least.
They want them all dead.
But they believe that thisleader will come and bring peace
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and restore relationship, evenbetween those that are at odds
the Jews, the Muslims and theChristians.
Now, the reason I say that isbecause the world is looking for
this kind of leader.
Even people you don't expectare looking for this kind of
leader.
They're looking for this kindof leader and he will be
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received.
He'll confirm a covenant withmany for seven years.
Now, notice verse 27,.
There in the middle, in themiddle of that week, of the week
of that seven-year period, heshall bring an end to sacrifice
and offering and, on the wing ofabomination, shall be one who
(23:25):
makes desolate the abomination,desolation even until the
consummation which is determinedis poured out on the desolate.
So here we see, in the middleof this seven-year treaty, this
seven-year agreement, he endssacrifice.
Now this means that we needtemple worship back.
(23:48):
It's not really ever statedanywhere so much that there's
going to be a rebuilt temple,but we need a rebuilt temple of
some kind for there to be astopping of the sacrifices and
the temple worship.
So that's where we get thisidea that it's going to be
rebuilt because the templeworship is going to be started
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and stopped.
He's going to come into thetemple and he will stop the
worship.
Now let's turn back to Mark.
We can pick it back up in Mark,verse 14.
So, with all that in mind, we,the reader, have wanted to
(24:35):
understand when you see theabomination of desolation spoken
of by Daniel the prophet,standing where it ought not, let
those who are in Judea flee tothe mountains.
Now, interesting, in othertranslations than King James,
like ESV and New Living, itdoesn't say it, it says he.
(25:00):
When you see the abomination ofdesolation spoken of by Daniel
the prophet standing where heought not and there the
translators, taking the libertyand it's a good one have said
that it's a he that's standingwhere he ought, not.
Matthew, in Matthew 24, says inverse 15, that it'll be in the
(25:27):
holy place.
So picture it there is one whocomes into the temple, stops the
sacrifice and stands in theholy place.
Now Daniel, chapter 11, verse 31, speaks of another event, and
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I'll turn there.
You can turn there.
We didn't stay in Mark verylong, so hold your place there.
I'll just read it to you there.
I'll just read it to you.
Daniel 11, 31 gives us a littlemore color in this by talking
about another event.
It says this and forces shallbe mustered by him and they
(26:10):
shall defile the sanctuaryfortress and they shall take
away the daily sacrifices andplace there the abomination of
desolation.
So here we see this term againin Daniel, chapter 11, although
he's not talking about thisseven-year period of time.
He's talking about somethingthat's already happened In about
(26:32):
185 BC.
We see a guy named Antiochusand he didn't like the Jews.
They resisted his authority,and so he comes into Jerusalem
after losing a pretty importantbattle.
He comes into Jerusalem and hetells the people there you are
not going to worship God anymore, worship God anymore, you're
(26:54):
going to worship our gods.
He sacrifices a pig on thealtar very defiling in the
Jewish mind.
He causes the priest to drinkthe pig blood and he goes on to
set up statues of Zeus in thetemple and there he gives us a
(27:17):
little picture of what thisabomination that causes
desolation might look like.
Now that was something thathappened in 185 BC, but here,
after the fact, jesus mentionsit again.
So it wasn't just fulfilledthere.
In 185 BC, jesus says and youlook for that again.
When you see the abominationthat causes desolation, be
(27:40):
careful.
So it's going to happen again.
Now, revelation, chapter 13,another chapter you can read on
the Antichrist, lets us knowthat this Antichrist, in this
seven-year period, is going toset up an image in the temple.
He's going to make it seem tohave life we can sort of picture
(28:05):
that in our day an image thatwill appear to have life.
He's going to cause all thosewho dwell on earth to worship it
and to worship himself.
He's going to insist that, tobuy or sell people on earth, get
a mark on their right hand oron their forehead, the mark of
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the beast, and you can't buy orsell without it.
Now, part of, though, isworshiping the beast, the
Antichrist, in this time.
So we're not just talking abouta credit card or some new
technology, we're talking aboutworshiping the Antichrist, and
anyone who doesn't take it willdie.
(28:51):
Revelation 20, verse 4, lets usknow through beheading, a very
Islamic way to die.
Not to make them the point ofall this, but it would make
sense Now.
Notice in Mark 13,.
We're back there in Mark 13,verse 14.
We already read it throughverse 23.
(29:13):
There's a massive Jewishpersecution that happens and
Jesus makes warnings.
Don't go back for your jacketwhen you see this happen.
Don't go back for your jacket.
Don't go in from the field.
Pray that it's Matthew says.
Pray that it's not on theSabbath, pray that it's not in
winter.
You want a time when you canjust travel freely, and it will
(29:38):
be bad Verse 19,.
It'll be worse than anythingthat's been or anything that
will ever be after that.
So this is what we read isgoing to happen.
This is the warning that Jesusis giving A lot of study to let
the reader understand here.
But this is what's going tohappen.
The world is going to fallapart politically through the
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person that they choose to leadthem.
Now, as we finish up here, whatdo we need to get to this point?
Right, we're going to need aseven-year treaty.
That's important.
If we see a seven-year treatyin the Middle East, it could be
significant.
You need a temple, I think,which will likely come through
(30:25):
this treaty.
You need a temple because atemple has to be defiled.
You need a world that's readyto receive this kind of leader.
Now, two of those.
We're waiting on, one of those.
I think we're way ready for theworld to receive a leader who
can bring this kind of successand peace.
(30:46):
But what's holding this guy up?
Let's turn to 2 Thessalonians,chapter 2.
2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, andwe'll be brief here.
I hope that didn't sound verygood, did it?
In 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2,verse 1, paul talks a little bit
(31:11):
about this guy and the thingsof the last days.
Now, brethren, concerning thecoming of our Lord, jesus Christ
, and our gathering together tohim, we ask you not to be soon
shaken in mind or troubled,either by spirit or by word or
by letter, as if from us, asthough the day of Christ had
(31:35):
come.
Let no one deceive you by anymeans, for that day will not
come unless the falling awaycomes first and the man of sin
is revealed, the son ofperdition, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that iscalled God or is worshipped, so
(31:57):
that he sits in the temple ofGod, showing himself that he is
God.
Do you remember that when I wasstill with you, I told you
these things?
So Paul here is talking to hisfriends in Thessalonica and he's
encouraging them because peoplewere coming in and saying you
(32:17):
guys missed it.
The day of the Lord came, thekingdom's already here and you
didn't get to go to heaven.
They were being told that theywere a little nervous.
And Paul says no, no, no, no,there's some things that need to
happen first.
You remember I told you there'sa falling away.
Comes first, a man of sin, sonof perdition, who opposes God,
(32:40):
must be revealed.
That's the antichrist we'vebeen talking about.
He's still got to exalt himselfabove all.
That is called God, verse 4,.
He's got to sit as God in thetemple of God and show himself
to be God.
So there's a few things Paulsays that have to happen before
the end actually comes.
Now, track with this.
(33:00):
But it hasn't happened yet.
Why hasn't it happened?
Look at verse 6.
And you know what isrestraining that he may be
revealed in his own time, forthe mystery of lawlessness is
already at work.
Only he who now restrains willdo so until he is taken out of
(33:22):
the way, and then the lawlessone, the Antichrist, will be
revealed, whom the Lord willconsume with the breath of his
mouth and destroy with thebrightness of his coming.
Now, and you could read on.
But Jesus here says why hasn'tthe Antichrist been revealed yet
?
Why hasn't this happened?
There's a he in verse 7 thatrestrains.
(33:45):
Notice in verse 7, the he iscapitalized.
Now that's.
The translators did that for usbecause they believe that this
he that restrains, is God.
The translators think that thatGod is the one restraining
until he is taken out of the way.
Now how do you take God out ofthe way?
(34:07):
He's omnipresent.
You can't do that.
But I suggest the answer is inverse three.
I know we're getting close tolunch, but track with verse
three.
Let no one deceive you.
That day will not come unlessthe falling away comes first.
The falling away.
Now, a good tradition on thisphrase falling away, in the
(34:29):
Greek it's apostasia.
The apostasy has to happenfirst, and we picture this and
we go.
Well, then Christianity has tobecome less popular.
People have to turn from thefaith.
Before the end comes anapostasy, a falling away of
faith.
And that could be true that Ilook around in the world and I
(34:53):
go yeah, I could see a lot ofpeople falling away from faith,
leaving the faith.
But it's interesting that word,that word actually could be
translated the departure.
Same thing, right, falling away, departure.
We get the same idea, but it'spossible that he's talking about
(35:13):
something else.
He's talking about somethingthat he mentions in his first
letter to the Thessalonians, inchapter 4, verse 15.
For this we say to you, by theword of the Lord, that those
that we who are alive and remainuntil the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede thosewho are asleep, for the Lord
himself will descend from heavenwith a shout, with the voice of
(35:33):
the archangel and the trumpetof God.
This is 1 Thessalonians 4,about 16.
For the Lord himself willdescend from heaven with a shout
, with the voice of an archangeland with the trumpet of God,
and the dead will rise.
First, verse 17,.
And then we who are alive andremain shall be caught up
together with them in the cloudsto meet the Lord in the air.
(35:55):
Thus we shall always be withthe Lord, therefore comfort one
another with these words.
And this, of course, is wherewe get the idea of the rapture.
Lots of disagreement in thechurch of what this is when it
happens, but the idea is, thereis a point Paul says here, where
those who are alive are caughtup.
(36:16):
It's where we get the wordrapture, from Caught up to be
violently sneezed, the sneeze,the sneeze, sneezed, seized out
of the fire right and thensneezed.
But it's this idea of justbeing taken away in the moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, aswe read in 1 Corinthians 15,
(36:40):
that this event happens in thetime it takes to blink, and
maybe less than that.
What happens?
Well, here we see that thechurch, those who believe, are
taken up to meet Jesus in theclouds.
What's taken up with them?
The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's not just withus, he's in us.
(37:03):
So in some way, although God isstill omnipresent, the church
with the Holy Spirit is takenfrom earth in the rapture.
And notice there, in 2Thessalonians, that's the thing
I think restrains the Antichristfrom coming to power.
(37:24):
It's the he, the Holy Spirit inthe church.
No one left to say this ain'tright, that's not God.
No one left to really share thetruth like that.
So perhaps what we need next isthe rapture, and this is where
we wanna end today.
We don't wanna spend our wholetime talking about this guy, the
(37:47):
Antichrist, instead of Christ,this guy that's gonna persecute
the Jews and those that are leftbehind.
It's just gonna wreck havoc.
We don't wanna focus on that.
We wanna focus on Jesus.
That's the only thing we'relooking forward to, the return
of Jesus for the church, andthat's the comfort that Paul
(38:14):
talks about here in 1Thessalonians comfort one
another with these words whatgreat comfort that this world is
not all we got, it's not all wehave left, that there's a real
eternity, that Jesus is reallygoing to rule and reign and
establish his kingdom.
How are you part of that?
(38:36):
By trusting him.
It's not by being good enough,it's not by memorizing enough
verses or reading your Bible aton, it's not by any of that
stuff.
It's by a simple relationshipof trust, by what Jesus did on
the cross for us, by trustinghim with our sin right, our sin
(39:00):
with him.
That's the difference makerthere.
And then we just can't wait tosee him.
We can't wait to be with him.
That relationship just goes onand on, and so I think here not
much that needs to happenbetween now and when we might
(39:21):
see him.
It could be today, right, andthat would be just fine with me.
So we look forward to that, god.
We don't want to look toward anantichrist, someone to solve
our problems, because it neverhappens.
All the things that we'vethought would make this world a
better place.
The right government, the rightfinancial situation.
(39:45):
None of those things are goingto solve our problems, but only
you.
So, god, I pray that we wouldlook forward to that day.
God, I pray that it would justput a smile on our face that one
day we'll be with you.
And, god, we absolutely can'twait.
God, thank you for being sogood to us.
Thank you again for this time.
(40:06):
I pray that you put this on ourheart and on our mind today.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
All right, mark, chapter 13.
We've got time.
I'm still searching for acouple things here.
Let's get in my place, mark,chapter 13.
One more, sorry, all right,mark, chapter 13.
(00:47):
Verse 14 is kind of what will behidden today.
Today we hit some eschatologyin the book of Mark, things
concerning the end times or thelast days, and, thinking about
it, a couple things here.
I think a better way to coverthis would be maybe over lunch
or coffee and just discuss thesethings together, where we could
(01:07):
ask each other questions andkind of look into it.
A lot of things by the end ofthis may still be a.
You realize there's a lot ofdifference between believers in
(01:31):
the time frame of the last daysand the goings on of the last
days and even though I'lldefinitely be presenting a
certain track here today, it'svery possible to differ a lot
with other believers in this,and that's okay.
It's not an issue of salvation.
I think there's a lot of thingsthat will be questioned until
(01:53):
we get to heaven and see it allfor ourself.
So just keep those things inmind.
It is in our account here.
In the Gospel of Mark, thegospel markets, days before the
cross, jesus is faced off withthe religious establishment.
He's made some solid enemies,um, and they're looking to
(02:14):
destroy him.
Now.
Jesus has proclaimedJerusalem's destruction, the
temple's destruction.
You remember, right after thisface off with the religious
leaders, one of his disciples,as they're going out of the
temple, in verse one of chapter13, says teacher, see what
manner of stones and buildingsare here.
And Jesus says you know what?
Not one of these buildings, notone stone, will be left upon
(02:37):
another.
It's all gonna be destroyed.
Some heavy conversation there.
But Jesus goes on up the Mountof Olives, across from the
temple, there, the hillside ofthe Mount of Olives, and as he's
there, verse three, oppositethe temple, so you can picture
it this massive building, thiswonder of the ancient world, is
(02:59):
right across the way.
And Peter, james, john andAndrew, two sets of brothers
there, they ask him privatelytell us when will these things
be number one and what will bethe sign when these things will
be fulfilled?
Matthew, in Matthew 24 adds onthere the end of the age.
(03:19):
What will be the signs of theend of the age?
When will all these things cometo pass?
And I think Mark realizes, yeah, that's what he means the end
of all things.
When will the kingdom beestablished.
When will Jesus set up hiskingdom on earth?
And we hit the first part there.
(03:40):
As Jesus explains to hisdisciples, times are going to be
hard.
There's going to be wars andrumors of wars and earthquakes
in various places.
But you can't give up.
You gotta endure to the end andwe talked about that last week.
That life involves continuance,that we endure through the
trials of life.
Jesus will come back, but inour lifetimes maybe he won't.
(04:02):
In the disciples' lifetimesthey experienced lots of trials
and tribulations and theyendured through their life and
they got to heaven through deaththat way.
Now, as we head to verse 14, wesee kind of the flip side of
this endurance, continuancething and we see this idea of
(04:23):
imminence.
We've talked about thatImminence.
Is this idea of imminence?
We've talked about thatImminence is this idea to be
ready.
Jesus could come at any time?
And we see a lot of words thatpoint to this in this chapter.
Jesus says things like takeheed.
In verse 33.
I mean, yeah, verse 33, also inverse 23.
(04:43):
Verse 35, he says watch andpray verse 37, watch.
And there's this idea, asbelievers, that we're always
watching, always ready for thefact that Jesus could come at
any time, and we'll talk moreabout that.
Uh, today.
Now, verse 14 is where we pickup, and we're moving to a time
(05:07):
that we haven't hit yet, a timethat's still future.
Notice verse 14, and let's justread a section here, verse 14.
So when you see the abominationof desolation spoken up by
Daniel, the prophet, standingwhere, it ought not let the
reader understand.
(05:27):
Let those who are in Judea fleeto the mountains.
Let him who is on the housestop, not go down into the house
, nor enter or take anything outof his house, and let him who's
in the field not go back to gethis clothes.
But woe to those who arepregnant, those who are nursing
babies, in those days, and praythat your flight may not be in
winter, for in those days therewill be tribulation such as not
(05:50):
been since the beginning ofcreation, which God created
until this time, nor ever shallbe.
And unless the Lord hadshortened those days, no flesh
would be saved.
But for the elect's sake, whomhe chose, he shortened the days.
Then if anyone says to you,look here is the Christ, or look
here he is there, do notbelieve it, for false Christs
(06:14):
and false prophets will rise andshow signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even theelect.
But take heed, see, I have toldyou all things beforehand.
So we start here with this ideaof the abomination of desolation
.
There's something you don't sayevery day Abomination of
(06:36):
desolation.
And notice Jesus brings this upin verse 14.
And it's an obscure passagethat would have pointed his
disciples to Daniel chapter 9,verse 27.
Why don't we, why don't we turnover there?
We'll look at that for a secondDaniel chapter 9, because Jesus
(07:00):
has let the reader understand.
We want to understand this Forthem.
It would have been news as oflate.
You'll remember it was a whileago in our study but Jesus rode
down the Mount of Olives intoJerusalem.
As he rode down that hillside,the people proclaimed Hosanna,
(07:26):
blessed is he who comes in thename of the Lord.
They called him the Messiah.
Now Daniel chapter 9 points tothat very day.
Daniel chapter 9, verse 24 iswhere we'll start.
Notice it says this 70 weeksare determined for your people
(07:53):
and for your holy city.
And it goes on 70 weeks aredetermined for your people and
for your holy city.
This prophecy in Daniel chapter9 is an amazing prophecy.
We've covered it a few timesbut it's still kind of hard to
get your head around.
It's the 70-week prophecy, aswe read there in verse 24.
(08:14):
70 weeks Now, as we considerthis, we won't go too in-depth
in this, but as you look at this, realize that in the Jewish
mind a week could be seven days.
Seven weeks, seven months, sevenyears.
The context kind of tells uswhat this means.
(08:35):
So, daniel is being toldthere's 70 weeks of years.
The context lets us know 70weeks of years are determined on
your people, that's the Jews,and your holy city, that's
Jerusalem.
(08:55):
So this prophecy involves 490years of something going on with
the Jews and with Jerusalem.
So 490 years Now, imagine this.
I think this helped me thismorning think about this kind of
(09:15):
confusing topic.
Imagine these weeks of years ascoins.
Right, just give you tokens,right, token, a token for each
group of seven years.
Imagine you have 490 coins infront of you and we're ready to
(09:37):
spend them.
How are we gonna spend them?
Look at verse 25.
Know, therefore, and understandthat from the going forth of
the command to restore and buildJerusalem until Messiah the
prince, there shall be sevenweeks and 62 weeks.
The streets should be builtagain and the wall, even in
(10:00):
troublesome times.
So, right here, we're going tospend some of these tokens.
If you're following Some tokenswe need to spend seven.
Notice, seven weeks and 62weeks.
So we toss over 483 of theseseven-year tokens.
(10:21):
If you're following right, wepush it over, we spend it.
Well, what do we get for that?
Look at verse 25 again theseven weeks and 62 weeks we're
gonna have.
The street shall be built againand the wall even in
troublesome times.
Well, our time starts at thetime of Ezra, even a little
(10:45):
before that, the time ofZerubbabel, right the time of
Nehemiah, and it's therebuilding of the temple and
it's the rebuilding of the wall.
Specifically.
Now there's a certain date andI think it's in 486 BC.
You can look that one up, butthat's when the command goes to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
(11:06):
We start at that and the wallgets built in a certain amount
of time.
But notice what we get as wecontinue to count on our seven
years until Messiah, the Prince.
That one's easy.
Right.
As we look at this 483 yearperiod, it ends with Jesus
(11:30):
riding down the hillside intoJerusalem.
We talked about it.
At that point the religiousleaders say Master, what are you
doing?
Your people are saying thatyou're the messiah, stop them.
And jesus says you know, ifthese people were to be quiet,
the rocks would cry why?
(11:51):
Well, it's because of daniel,chapter 9.
It was bound to happen.
Jesus says if they didn't do it, the rocks would do it because
the messiah would come.
It would be that amount of timetill Messiah the Prince.
Notice verse 26.
What else we get for the coinsthat we've put over the years,
that we've given over in thisprophecy?
(12:13):
And after the 62 weeks, messiahshall be cut off, but not for
himself.
So Jesus the Messiah was cutoff.
A week later, less than a weeklater, jesus goes to the cross
(12:35):
and he dies, not for himself,but for us.
And we're only a couple daysaway in our account.
But we saw that happen.
We see that happen.
Jesus dies for us.
And it's amazing.
Now notice, it goes on.
And after that amount of time,and the people of the prince who
(13:01):
is to come shall destroy thecity and the sanctuary.
The end shall be with a flood.
Until the end of the war,desolations are determined.
So another thing would happenhere.
In one sense this refers to theRomans coming in 80, 70.
(13:23):
Remember, jesus said not onestone will be left upon another.
That happened just less than 40years after this point.
The Romans came and destroyedthe city.
They destroyed the temple, thesanctuary there.
Now there's another sense thatthis also talks about a point
(13:47):
further in the future, and thisis where we get that idea.
Here, notice, desolations aredetermined.
This is a little hint at whatJesus is talking about, but
we'll see it again in verse 27.
(14:07):
Now, if you'll remember ourpicture of the coins, we spent
69 of those coins that I havegiven you, those tokens for the
years.
You have one little token infront of you.
It represents seven years.
(14:30):
Seven years have not been spent.
Well, we're told in verse 27what we're going to do with that
seven-year period.
Look at verse 27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
So there's seven years leftthat have not been spent yet and
(14:52):
we're going to spend it on aseven-year covenant.
Now, look at verse 27, the wordthen, when we look at the word,
then we would talk about.
You know, last week I went tolunch, right, and then I went to
Walmart.
They go well.
(15:13):
When did you go to lunch?
Well, it was noon.
I went to lunch at noon.
When did you go to Walmart twodays later.
You know we don't look at thesekinds of then things in that way
.
You don't say I went to lunchand then three years later I
ended up going to Walmart.
(15:34):
The then doesn't work that way.
For us, then is one right afterthe other.
But we've talked about God,that God is eternal.
As Peter says 2 Peter 3, 8, aday is like a thousand years and
a thousand years is like a day.
He's eternal and time doesn'treally matter that much to God.
(15:55):
He doesn't get impatient.
It doesn't seem like a longtime because he's not worried
about it.
We think about it chronologicaland immediate, but for God it's
possible that things couldpause.
In fact that's what we seebetween verse 26 and 27.
There's a significant pause.
(16:17):
How long?
About 2,000 year pause betweenverse 26 and verse 27.
The clock is paused.
It's a time you could call thetime of the Gentiles, the church
age.
You could call it Luke 21, 24,.
(16:38):
In Luke's account of this helets us know this Jerusalem will
be trampled by the Gentilesuntil the times of the Gentiles
is fulfilled.
So picture it Jerusalem afterAD 70 would be trampled down by
the Gentiles.
The Romans trampled it down.
(16:59):
They were already kind oftrampling it down, but they
officially trampled it downafter AD 70.
The Crusaders trampled downJerusalem and currently the
Muslims are trampling downJerusalem.
You can tell because of thebuilding that's on top of the
Temple Mount.
Right now it's the Dome of theRock Mosque, right.
(17:22):
And so right now we're livingin a pause, a pause where the
Gentiles, the non-Jews, aretrampling down Jerusalem, and
the clock has been paused forabout 2,000 years.
But notice, it starts right backup again once we get to verse
(17:43):
27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
Who is he Now?
Is it the Messiah that we seein verse 25?
No.
Is it the prince of the peoplewho are to come there in verse
(18:05):
26?
Probably not, because he's beenlong dead.
Right, titus the general hasbeen long dead.
A new prince we know him as theAntichrist.
Now, there's a lot you could sayabout this guy, the Antichrist.
It's not really what I want tostart our week looking at like
(18:26):
the Antichrist.
Let's spend an hour talkingabout the Antichrist.
But Daniel, a little bit aboutthis guy.
Daniel, in chapter 7, verse 8,calls him a little horn.
Read Daniel, chapter 7.
It's interesting.
He's a little horn with a bigmouth and boastful words.
We've talked a lot about hischaracteristic and stuff like
(18:49):
that.
He's arrogant, he's proud, buthe's known as Antichrist.
Now John, one of the discipleswho asked this question to Jesus
, john, is the only one whomentions this guy as the
Antichrist.
In 1 and 2 John, the termAntichrist is used and we look
(19:16):
at that and we think, well,antichrist, he's against Jesus.
That's his main character.
We would think Antichrist andhe will be against Jesus in the
end.
But another way to look at thisword Antichrist, this term
Antichrist is instead of Christand because that really is who
(19:39):
he is, he's the one that peoplechoose instead of Jesus.
We all had the opportunity toaccept the real Jesus, but
people want someone else andwe'll receive him a world leader
who will seem to solve theirproblems.
(20:00):
Now let's look at what thisAntichrist will do in verse 27.
Then he shall confirm acovenant with many for one week.
So one week, seven years, it'sour final coin to give out.
Week, seven years, it's ourfinal coin to give out.
He causes there to be acovenant, a treaty, an agreement
(20:29):
.
Those are all words you coulduse for that.
Now imagine if somebody came, aman came negotiating a peace
treaty in the Middle East,specifically a seven-year treaty
.
Whatever happens during thattreaty and that covenant, it's
for seven years and the clockstarts.
Peace to include peace betweenthe Jews and everyone else.
(20:52):
It might include an agreementbetween the Muslims and the Jews
to allow the rebuilding of thetemple we're going to see here.
We need a temple for thesethings to happen as we get
through verse 27.
But maybe this is the agreementthat this Antichrist, this one
instead of Christ, puts down.
(21:14):
Now, interesting in studyingthis.
Did you know?
The Muslims are expecting aperson that will do these kinds
of things?
He's known as the Mahdi, theguided one, and it's said in
their scripture that he willfill the world with justice and
(21:36):
equity.
Interesting, he'll be supportedby one known as Isa I-S-A, I
guess, in our alphabet butconsidered to be the prophet
Jesus.
Strange, they're expecting aworld leader to come solve their
(21:56):
problems who will be supportedby Jesus.
They don't hate Jesus, theyjust don't think he's God right,
nor the way to salvation.
Now check it out.
This world leader, in theirmind, will establish a global
reign of peace.
There's a certain branch ofMuslims that expect this Messiah
(22:17):
to bring unification to themonotheistic faith, in other
words Jews, christians, muslims,all living together.
Now they have other things inmind.
Right now they don't care forthe Jews, they don't care for
Christians, to say the least.
They want them all dead.
But they believe that thisleader will come and bring peace
(22:38):
and restore relationship, evenbetween those that are at odds
the Jews, the Muslims and theChristians.
Now, the reason I say that isbecause the world is looking for
this kind of leader.
Even people you don't expectare looking for this kind of
leader.
They're looking for this kindof leader and he will be
(23:01):
received.
He'll confirm a covenant withmany for seven years.
Now, notice verse 27,.
There in the middle, in themiddle of that week, of the week
of that seven-year period, heshall bring an end to sacrifice
and offering and, on the wing ofabomination, shall be one who
(23:25):
makes desolate the abomination,desolation even until the
consummation which is determinedis poured out on the desolate.
So here we see, in the middleof this seven-year treaty, this
seven-year agreement, he endssacrifice.
Now this means that we needtemple worship back.
(23:48):
It's not really ever statedanywhere so much that there's
going to be a rebuilt temple,but we need a rebuilt temple of
some kind for there to be astopping of the sacrifices and
the temple worship.
So that's where we get thisidea that it's going to be
rebuilt because the templeworship is going to be started
(24:12):
and stopped.
He's going to come into thetemple and he will stop the
worship.
Now let's turn back to Mark.
We can pick it back up in Mark,verse 14.
So, with all that in mind, we,the reader, have wanted to
(24:35):
understand when you see theabomination of desolation spoken
of by Daniel the prophet,standing where it ought not, let
those who are in Judea flee tothe mountains.
Now, interesting, in othertranslations than King James,
like ESV and New Living, itdoesn't say it, it says he.
(25:00):
When you see the abomination ofdesolation spoken of by Daniel
the prophet standing where heought not and there the
translators, taking the libertyand it's a good one have said
that it's a he that's standingwhere he ought, not.
Matthew, in Matthew 24, says inverse 15, that it'll be in the
(25:27):
holy place.
So picture it there is one whocomes into the temple, stops the
sacrifice and stands in theholy place.
Now Daniel, chapter 11, verse 31, speaks of another event, and
(25:48):
I'll turn there.
You can turn there.
We didn't stay in Mark verylong, so hold your place there.
I'll just read it to you there.
I'll just read it to you.
Daniel 11, 31 gives us a littlemore color in this by talking
about another event.
It says this and forces shallbe mustered by him and they
(26:10):
shall defile the sanctuaryfortress and they shall take
away the daily sacrifices andplace there the abomination of
desolation.
So here we see this term againin Daniel, chapter 11, although
he's not talking about thisseven-year period of time.
He's talking about somethingthat's already happened In about
(26:32):
185 BC.
We see a guy named Antiochusand he didn't like the Jews.
They resisted his authority,and so he comes into Jerusalem
after losing a pretty importantbattle.
He comes into Jerusalem and hetells the people there you are
not going to worship God anymore, worship God anymore, you're
(26:54):
going to worship our gods.
He sacrifices a pig on thealtar very defiling in the
Jewish mind.
He causes the priest to drinkthe pig blood and he goes on to
set up statues of Zeus in thetemple and there he gives us a
(27:17):
little picture of what thisabomination that causes
desolation might look like.
Now that was something thathappened in 185 BC, but here,
after the fact, jesus mentionsit again.
So it wasn't just fulfilledthere.
In 185 BC, jesus says and youlook for that again.
When you see the abominationthat causes desolation, be
(27:40):
careful.
So it's going to happen again.
Now, revelation, chapter 13,another chapter you can read on
the Antichrist, lets us knowthat this Antichrist, in this
seven-year period, is going toset up an image in the temple.
He's going to make it seem tohave life we can sort of picture
(28:05):
that in our day an image thatwill appear to have life.
He's going to cause all thosewho dwell on earth to worship it
and to worship himself.
He's going to insist that, tobuy or sell people on earth, get
a mark on their right hand oron their forehead, the mark of
(28:29):
the beast, and you can't buy orsell without it.
Now, part of, though, isworshiping the beast, the
Antichrist, in this time.
So we're not just talking abouta credit card or some new
technology, we're talking aboutworshiping the Antichrist, and
anyone who doesn't take it willdie.
(28:51):
Revelation 20, verse 4, lets usknow through beheading, a very
Islamic way to die.
Not to make them the point ofall this, but it would make
sense Now.
Notice in Mark 13,.
We're back there in Mark 13,verse 14.
We already read it throughverse 23.
(29:13):
There's a massive Jewishpersecution that happens and
Jesus makes warnings.
Don't go back for your jacketwhen you see this happen.
Don't go back for your jacket.
Don't go in from the field.
Pray that it's Matthew says.
Pray that it's not on theSabbath, pray that it's not in
winter.
You want a time when you canjust travel freely, and it will
(29:38):
be bad Verse 19,.
It'll be worse than anythingthat's been or anything that
will ever be after that.
So this is what we read isgoing to happen.
This is the warning that Jesusis giving A lot of study to let
the reader understand here.
But this is what's going tohappen.
The world is going to fallapart politically through the
(30:00):
person that they choose to leadthem.
Now, as we finish up here, whatdo we need to get to this point?
Right, we're going to need aseven-year treaty.
That's important.
If we see a seven-year treatyin the Middle East, it could be
significant.
You need a temple, I think,which will likely come through
(30:25):
this treaty.
You need a temple because atemple has to be defiled.
You need a world that's readyto receive this kind of leader.
Now, two of those.
We're waiting on, one of those.
I think we're way ready for theworld to receive a leader who
can bring this kind of successand peace.
(30:46):
But what's holding this guy up?
Let's turn to 2 Thessalonians,chapter 2.
2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, andwe'll be brief here.
I hope that didn't sound verygood, did it?
In 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2,verse 1, paul talks a little bit
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about this guy and the thingsof the last days.
Now, brethren, concerning thecoming of our Lord, jesus Christ
, and our gathering together tohim, we ask you not to be soon
shaken in mind or troubled,either by spirit or by word or
by letter, as if from us, asthough the day of Christ had
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come.
Let no one deceive you by anymeans, for that day will not
come unless the falling awaycomes first and the man of sin
is revealed, the son ofperdition, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that iscalled God or is worshipped, so
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that he sits in the temple ofGod, showing himself that he is
God.
Do you remember that when I wasstill with you, I told you
these things?
So Paul here is talking to hisfriends in Thessalonica and he's
encouraging them because peoplewere coming in and saying you
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guys missed it.
The day of the Lord came, thekingdom's already here and you
didn't get to go to heaven.
They were being told that theywere a little nervous.
And Paul says no, no, no, no,there's some things that need to
happen first.
You remember I told you there'sa falling away.
Comes first, a man of sin, sonof perdition, who opposes God,
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must be revealed.
That's the antichrist we'vebeen talking about.
He's still got to exalt himselfabove all.
That is called God, verse 4,.
He's got to sit as God in thetemple of God and show himself
to be God.
So there's a few things Paulsays that have to happen before
the end actually comes.
Now, track with this.
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But it hasn't happened yet.
Why hasn't it happened?
Look at verse 6.
And you know what isrestraining that he may be
revealed in his own time, forthe mystery of lawlessness is
already at work.
Only he who now restrains willdo so until he is taken out of
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the way, and then the lawlessone, the Antichrist, will be
revealed, whom the Lord willconsume with the breath of his
mouth and destroy with thebrightness of his coming.
Now, and you could read on.
But Jesus here says why hasn'tthe Antichrist been revealed yet
?
Why hasn't this happened?
There's a he in verse 7 thatrestrains.
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Notice in verse 7, the he iscapitalized.
Now that's.
The translators did that for usbecause they believe that this
he that restrains, is God.
The translators think that thatGod is the one restraining
until he is taken out of the way.
Now how do you take God out ofthe way?
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He's omnipresent.
You can't do that.
But I suggest the answer is inverse three.
I know we're getting close tolunch, but track with verse
three.
Let no one deceive you.
That day will not come unlessthe falling away comes first.
The falling away.
Now, a good tradition on thisphrase falling away, in the
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Greek it's apostasia.
The apostasy has to happenfirst, and we picture this and
we go.
Well, then Christianity has tobecome less popular.
People have to turn from thefaith.
Before the end comes anapostasy, a falling away of
faith.
And that could be true that Ilook around in the world and I
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go yeah, I could see a lot ofpeople falling away from faith,
leaving the faith.
But it's interesting that word,that word actually could be
translated the departure.
Same thing, right, falling away, departure.
We get the same idea, but it'spossible that he's talking about
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something else.
He's talking about somethingthat he mentions in his first
letter to the Thessalonians, inchapter 4, verse 15.
For this we say to you, by theword of the Lord, that those
that we who are alive and remainuntil the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede thosewho are asleep, for the Lord
himself will descend from heavenwith a shout, with the voice of
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the archangel and the trumpetof God.
This is 1 Thessalonians 4,about 16.
For the Lord himself willdescend from heaven with a shout
, with the voice of an archangeland with the trumpet of God,
and the dead will rise.
First, verse 17,.
And then we who are alive andremain shall be caught up
together with them in the cloudsto meet the Lord in the air.
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Thus we shall always be withthe Lord, therefore comfort one
another with these words.
And this, of course, is wherewe get the idea of the rapture.
Lots of disagreement in thechurch of what this is when it
happens, but the idea is, thereis a point Paul says here, where
those who are alive are caughtup.
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It's where we get the wordrapture, from Caught up to be
violently sneezed, the sneeze,the sneeze, sneezed, seized out
of the fire right and thensneezed.
But it's this idea of justbeing taken away in the moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, aswe read in 1 Corinthians 15,
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that this event happens in thetime it takes to blink, and
maybe less than that.
What happens?
Well, here we see that thechurch, those who believe, are
taken up to meet Jesus in theclouds.
What's taken up with them?
The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's not just withus, he's in us.
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So in some way, although God isstill omnipresent, the church
with the Holy Spirit is takenfrom earth in the rapture.
And notice there, in 2Thessalonians, that's the thing
I think restrains the Antichristfrom coming to power.
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It's the he, the Holy Spirit inthe church.
No one left to say this ain'tright, that's not God.
No one left to really share thetruth like that.
So perhaps what we need next isthe rapture, and this is where
we wanna end today.
We don't wanna spend our wholetime talking about this guy, the
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Antichrist, instead of Christ,this guy that's gonna persecute
the Jews and those that are leftbehind.
It's just gonna wreck havoc.
We don't wanna focus on that.
We wanna focus on Jesus.
That's the only thing we'relooking forward to, the return
of Jesus for the church, andthat's the comfort that Paul
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talks about here in 1Thessalonians comfort one
another with these words whatgreat comfort that this world is
not all we got, it's not all wehave left, that there's a real
eternity, that Jesus is reallygoing to rule and reign and
establish his kingdom.
How are you part of that?
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By trusting him.
It's not by being good enough,it's not by memorizing enough
verses or reading your Bible aton, it's not by any of that
stuff.
It's by a simple relationshipof trust, by what Jesus did on
the cross for us, by trustinghim with our sin right, our sin
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with him.
That's the difference makerthere.
And then we just can't wait tosee him.
We can't wait to be with him.
That relationship just goes onand on, and so I think here not
much that needs to happenbetween now and when we might
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see him.
It could be today, right, andthat would be just fine with me.
So we look forward to that, god.
We don't want to look toward anantichrist, someone to solve
our problems, because it neverhappens.
All the things that we'vethought would make this world a
better place.
The right government, the rightfinancial situation.
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None of those things are goingto solve our problems, but only
you.
So, god, I pray that we wouldlook forward to that day.
God, I pray that it would justput a smile on our face that one
day we'll be with you.
And, god, we absolutely can'twait.
God, thank you for being sogood to us.
Thank you again for this time.
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I pray that you put this on ourheart and on our mind today.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
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