After Darkness, Light

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Shayne Poirier on Mark 13:14-27.

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This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca
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Sometime between the year 1530 and the year 1533, a young man named
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John Calvin came to saving faith in Christ. Up until that point, for the first at least 21 years of his life, he was a devoted Roman Catholic.
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But at that decisive moment, when God effectually called him to trust in Christ, he threw away all semblance of self -righteousness, all personal merit, and he cast himself upon the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ.
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And if you know anything about John Calvin, one of the things that you will know for certain is that almost immediately after his conversion,
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God placed in Calvin's heart an insatiable desire to study the
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Word of God, to know the Word, to expound upon the Word. In fact, at his conversion, he said this, he said,
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Scripture is like a pair of spectacles which dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of God.
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And with an interest in seeking that clear view of God and of making that knowledge widely known,
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Calvin gave himself to the study of Scripture. And I find his example just tremendously encouraging and challenging.
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And we'll get into that in a second. But it was always Calvin's intent to live a solitary life of study.
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As a matter of fact, when Calvin was first saved, he didn't consider himself a pastor, but he wanted to be a theologian and a scholar.
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And he wanted to stay really out of the limelight. And he wanted to read and to write to his heart's content.
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And I'm sure there's many of us in this room that can probably relate to that. Just to be locked in a room full of good books and the good book,
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God's holy word, and to just study to your heart's content. That was Calvin's intent.
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But one night as he was traveling, he had to travel from Basel in France to Strasbourg, which is just a short distance straight north.
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He found himself having to travel through the city of Geneva in Switzerland. And if you look on a map, what you'll find actually is that if you were to go from Basel to Strasbourg, Geneva is in exactly the wrong direction.
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What had happened was King Charles V had sent his troops in that particular area and were blocking the route.
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And so in God's providence, instead of going directly north, he had to first go south to Geneva and then the roundabout way to Strasbourg.
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And as he was in Geneva, he was only in Geneva for one night. There was another reformer named
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William Farrell. And William Farrell had heard about John Calvin. Calvin had started to make a name for himself.
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People came to know some of his works that were known at that time and known today still as Calvin's Institutes.
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And so knowing that there was this brilliant theologian in Geneva, William Farrell came to John Calvin and implored him, instead of going to Strasbourg, to stay in Geneva.
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He said that Calvin's efforts were better spent not serving in the ivory towers of academia, but serving
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Christ's people in the local church. I'm so grateful that William Farrell came.
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And he was so insistent on this that he even issued a curse against John Calvin.
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Imagine being in that position where you have your books, you have your plan for your life.
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And this man said to him, Calvin writes, he proceeded to utter imprecations. Whenever anyone utters imprecations about you or toward you, you're in trouble.
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Imprecations that God would curse my retirement in the tranquilities of my studies, which
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I sought if I should withdraw and refuse to give assistance when the necessity was so urgent.
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By this imprecation, Calvin says, I was so stricken with terror that I desisted from my journey, which
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I had undertaken. Now what a church growth strategy that is. When someone comes to visit just for a day and you say, let
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God curse you if you leave us here now. So what did Calvin do? But Calvin stayed, with some interruptions, but stayed in Geneva and pastored there for over 25 years.
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And his ministry in the word of God is something that I find just spectacular.
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Probably something that my wife would think would be crazy if I would ever try to replicate this. But he would preach twice every
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Sunday and then two times a day, every weekday, every second week.
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And so what he would end up with is one week he would preach two services on a
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Sunday and then wouldn't preach again until the following Sunday. But then the alternating week he would preach, by my knowledge, from Sunday to Sunday 14 times every second week.
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So an amazing pace. And there he devoted himself to the systematic expository preaching of God's word.
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He preached 123 sermons on Genesis. He preached 200 sermons on Deuteronomy.
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186 sermons on Corinthians. His church went through Ephesians and just under 50 sermons.
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He preached 353 consecutive sermons on Isaiah. He had a faithful and a patient church.
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And he was certainly a faithful expositor in that respect. And he kept up this frenetic pace for such a lengthy period of time that on one particular month he found that he had only preached in that particular month 20 sermons and 12 lectures.
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So 32 speaking engagements in 31 days. And he said, how
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I lamented. I have scarcely done anything. I'm almost ashamed to live thus useless.
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But it was in the midst of this ministry of the word. You're wondering where am I going with this? It was in this midst of this ministry of the word that Calvin coined the phrase.
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A phrase that I have come to know and love. Post -Tenebrous Looks. Post -Tenebrous
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Looks. Translated from the Latin to English. After darkness, light.
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After years of spiritual darkness. Years of the Roman Catholic Church obscuring
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God's word. In the dark and dead language that was the Latin mass. The light of God's written revelation was finally allowed to shine forth.
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And so Calvin worked relentlessly so that light would go out. And so rather than reciting the
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Bible in an unknown tongue to a lost and confused people. The Bible was read and preached in the heart language of the saints of God in every place.
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Rather than the gospel being hidden under a veil of godless self -righteousness and the sale of indulgences.
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It was released to be understood and believed on by the priest and the plow boy alike.
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Post -Tenebrous Looks. After darkness, light. And the reason
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I bring this up is because that phrase. After darkness, light.
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Is really the theme of today's text. We're returning. We heard our brother read just a moment ago.
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The book of Mark now. The gospel of Mark now in chapter 13. And we're continuing to study this
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Olivet Discourse. And what we will find in today's text is that we are going to deal with.
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Really what are some bleak and disturbing. Or sorry, the bleak and disturbing prevalence of darkness.
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In this world. But it's a bleak and disturbing darkness leading up to. Christ's second coming.
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It would appear as we study. That the world is going to get worse before it gets better.
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As we await Christ's final return. However, what we will also see is that this dismal darkness.
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That is characterized by moral and spiritual confusion. Is going to be consumed by.
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The blinding light of Christ's perusia. Perusia.
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There we go. His second coming. Christ's perusia. His second coming. This tribulation.
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The tribulation of this confusing godless world. Will give way to the return of Christ.
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And of everlasting joy in his presence. Darkness and then light.
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And so what we're going to do today. I mentioned it just before we prayed. Is we're going to dive into this text.
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It's going to be a teaching heavy sermon. So I acknowledge that up front. But I think it's going to be a very enjoyable teaching heavy sermon.
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And what we're going to do here. Is we're going to find that Christ teaches us. How to prepare for the darkness.
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Of the end times. With our hope set on his luminous return.
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So we're going to look really simply. For those of you guys who have been studying. The mechanics of expository preaching.
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You'll notice my headings. I'm taking some things and I'm learning. We're going to be looking at only three words.
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For each of the points. We're going to look together at. What it means to prepare for Christ's coming.
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By understanding. By being watchful. And then by being hopeful.
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And so we'll dive into the text. I'll warn you up front. The first point is heavier than all the rest.
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They're not all this long. But we need to spend a good period of time here. Just setting the stage for what's to come.
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So let's read verse 14 together. But when you see the abomination of desolation.
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Standing where he ought not to. Not to be. Let the reader understand.
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Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. So the first word that I want us to explore together now.
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Is this word understanding. Preparing for the end times.
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Preparing for the last days. Preparing for Christ's return. Demands understanding.
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This was at the forefront of the mind of Christ and his apostles. When these words were uttered.
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And when it was written here in the gospel of Mark. In verse 14 we read this reference to the abomination of desolation.
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And then Mark adds these inspired words in parentheses. Let the reader understand.
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If we're to be prepared for the second coming of Christ. And the difficulty that will precede it.
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We must be wise as to what is to come. And so it begs the question first of all.
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What are we to understand? As we look to Christ's return. What are we to understand?
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What is it dear Christian. As I think it's interesting. A reader of this text. Not just a hearer there on the
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Mount of Olives. But what is the modern reader to understand? Here Christ makes reference to this abomination of desolation.
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It's really a combination of two Greek words. That would refer to something or someone as detestable.
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Or repugnant. You might say an abomination is something that is sacrilegious. And then desolation.
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Something that brings grief. Something that is devastating. Something that brings about ruin.
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And Christ says that this abomination of desolation will stand. He says where he ought not to.
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Now if we were to go to the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24. What we would find is that Matthew is a bit more specific.
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Where he says the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
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And so standing in the temple. So certainly what we find is that Christ takes these words.
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Abomination of desolation directly out of the book of Daniel. And what we'll find in order to understand this passage really and truly.
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Is we need to have a sound understanding of the Old Testament. So many people don't understand this text.
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Because they don't understand the Old Testament. And they don't understand the Old Testament texts that refer to it.
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And so what I want to do is I'm going to give you three references. And consider this homework for this week.
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To go back and look at these three passages. I'll recite the references slowly.
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In Daniel. Look at Daniel chapter 9. In verse 27. Daniel chapter 11.
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In verse 31. In Daniel chapter 12. In verse 11.
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And what we'll do is we'll look just briefly at one of those references together. One that I think fits best with the context.
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Of what Christ is saying here in Mark chapter 13. So Daniel chapter 11 in verse 31 says this.
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Now what is Christ referring to? As he harkens back to Daniel chapter 11.
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And in this abomination of desolation. First of all I think that what we need to do is understand the historical context.
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This passage that we read in Daniel chapter 9, 11, and 12. Chapters 9, 11, and 12.
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Was really partially fulfilled. In an event that took place in 168
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BC. And so that intertestamental period. Between the Old Testament. And between the
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New Testament. And in 168 BC. Antiochus Epiphanes IV.
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Where we read. Invaded the Jewish temple. And there while he was in the Jewish temple. He erected a pagan altar.
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In the most holy place. The very most holy place that was found in the temple.
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And with that pagan altar. He put a pig on the altar. Now kids. If you were a
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Jew. In Old Testament Israel. Were you allowed to eat bacon? No. And do you know why you weren't allowed to eat bacon?
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What's that sorry? Not quite. It wasn't used as a sacrifice. But any adults want to help?
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It was ceremoniously unclean. It was absolutely unclean.
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If you were to be a Jew. A faithful Jew. You could never be a pig farmer. If you were to be a faithful Jew.
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You were never having bacon with your eggs in the morning. And so. What happened.
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When Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Slaughtered a pig. On a pagan altar. In the most holy place.
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Was he desecrated. The temple. It was. One of the most unclean animals.
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In the Jewish mind. Sacrificed in the most holy place. But we know.
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This is only a partial fulfillment. Of Daniel chapter 12. Because here Christ references. This abomination.
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Here again. But speaking now of future events. And this is one of the most debated passages.
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In all of scripture. What is this abomination of desolation? What I want us to do.
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Is consider this. That there really are four options. For what this abomination of desolation.
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Could possibly be. This abomination of desolation. Could be. Some might argue.
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A statue of Caligula. Now you heard me last week. Say that Caligula.
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Had attempted to erect a statue. Of himself. In the temple. In AD 40.
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Shortly. A few short years. After Christ. And one of the areas. I realized. As I went back. And did more study this week.
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Is I. I misspoke. So I need to clarify the facts. The statue of Caligula.
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Never actually made it. Inside the temple. It was his intent. And as they were preparing.
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To bring the statue. Into the temple. Many of the Jews. Many of the peasant Jews. Blocked the way.
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Into the temple. And it was really fighting words. For the Jewish people. And so.
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Based on that opposition. And on some information. From some of the local leaders.
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Eventually Caligula. Gave up. On trying to get his. His statue in the temple. And so what you might say is.
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Is option one. Could be Caligula's statue. But what I would say is. That was almost.
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An abomination. Of desolation. Nevertheless. Some people would argue. That's what.
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Christ is speaking about here. Others would have argued. Or have argued that.
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During the final death throes. Of the fall. Of Jerusalem. In this battle between Jerusalem.
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And Rome. The zealots in. Shortly before AD 70.
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While they were engaged. In the heat of battle. Entered into the temple precincts.
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Entered into the holy place. Of the temple. And because they were not. Authorized to enter into this holy place.
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They desecrated the temple. Honored theologians. Like R .C. Sproul.
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Are people that hold this particular view. That this desecration. Firstly speaks of.
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The zealots. Entering into the temple. And that.
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It was more. Fully satisfied. Or more fully fulfilled. In what came next.
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R .C. Sproul. Would not only point to. To the zealots entering the temple. But the third. Option as well.
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That the abomination of desolation. Was fulfilled ultimately. When Titus. The future emperor of Rome.
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Entered into the temple. Into the holy place. And there as he stood in that holy place.
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He ordered the destruction. Of the temple. And I think that this view. Needs to actually be seriously considered.
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Here was a pagan. The future emperor of Rome. The persecutor of the
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Jews. Who was an abomination. By all accounts. Who made the temple.
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Literally. Physically. Completely desolate. In fact his complete destruction of the temple.
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Embodied. The common use of that Greek word. For desolation. Which meant a deserted wilderness.
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Titus turned the temple. Into a deserted wilderness. And we heard about that last week.
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How it was almost unrecognizable. As a city. So we have.
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Just to recap. We have option one Caligula. Option two the zealots. Option three
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Titus. And then. There's a fourth option. And some would argue.
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That this abomination of desolation. Is something that is yet to be realized. That this abomination.
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Is ultimately fulfilled. In what scripture calls the man of lawlessness. Or in common.
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The common vernacular. The antichrist. Certainly most futurists.
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Would hold this position. So if you already hear. Men like John MacArthur. Stephen Lawson.
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John Piper. Men that we love and appreciate. They would say. This abomination of desecration.
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Is a future antichrist. And for us as readers. To understand.
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To understand. What is being said. We have to choose an option. Or at least
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I would say a combination of options. And as I noted last week. I think the most faithful interpretation.
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Of this text. If we look at it in its context. And try to interpret it rightly.
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Apart from any system. Trying to influence us. And if we want to take. What I would consider to be the safest approach.
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It is to appreciate. That this passage. Describes both that.
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Which preceded. The fall of Jerusalem. That which occurred before AD 70.
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And in addition to. All that will precede. The final return of Christ.
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And we see this. I am not being novel here. This is a position that is widely held. But it is also a position that we see.
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Over and over again. In Old Testament prophecy. And a perfect example. Is in the life of the
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Messiah. The Lord Jesus Christ. It is something that is often referred to as. Prophetic foreshortening.
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Where we see a passage that. In fact has multiple. Fulfillments. And a crystal clear example of that.
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Is the servant song. Or all of the messianic prophecies. In the Old Testament.
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Many would have read those. Prior to the day of Christ. And would have anticipated the coming of a
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Messiah. But very few would have recognized. That those prophecies would be fulfilled. Not in one coming.
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But in two comings. And so you see multiple events. That are fulfilled. In one prophecy.
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I would suggest that this is the same. And I want to briefly argue for that.
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I am building the foundation here. Firstly the context of Christ's words.
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In this passage. Follows. His reference to the destruction of the temple.
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If you remember back to last week. It was the disciples. In verse 2. Who were looking at the temple.
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And it was Christ who responded to them. In regards to the destruction. Of the temple.
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When the disciples asked. When this destruction of the temple would occur. In verse 4.
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This again is coming in response. To that question. And so as we look at this.
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The immediate context cannot be ignored. Christ has. The destruction of the temple.
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In view. As he speaks about the abomination of desolation. As he speaks about. People entering the city.
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As he speaks about. Fleeing to the mountains. And certainly the suffering.
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That occurred in Jerusalem. From AD 66 to AD 70. Could be described.
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As among the worst. The Jews have ever experienced. In all of human history. Some people would quickly point me.
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To the holocaust. As an example. What about the holocaust? I would say yes. The holocaust is terrible.
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But one commentator writes this. I think we don't put enough emphasis. On the fall of Jerusalem. One commentator writes.
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The savagery. The slaughter. The disease. The famine. Mothers eating their own children.
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Were monstrous. Unequaled from the beginning of the world. Until now. And according to Jesus.
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Will never be equaled again. There have been greater numbers of deaths. 6 million in Nazi death camps.
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Mostly Jews. An estimated 20 million under Stalin. But never so high a percentage.
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Of a city's population. So thoroughly and painfully exterminated. And enslaved.
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As during the fall of Jerusalem. And so. For one event. Happening in one city.
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When almost an entire population. Of over a million people. Are wiped out. Certainly there are very few things.
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That consider. But second. There is a clear distinction made.
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Between. I want you to see this with me. I've circled them in my bible. In verse 4.
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Christ speaks about these things. The disciples ask. Tell us when these things will be.
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But then. In verses 18. And again in verse 24.
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Christ speaks about. Those days. For in those days there will be much tribulation.
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And in verse 24. But in those days after the tribulation. And he carries on. And what most of us don't read.
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Or notice as modern readers. Is that expression. Those days. Was actually packed.
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With eschatological meaning. It was pregnant. With eschatological meaning.
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And what you would find. And this is another homework assignment. If you want to go back this week. Is get an online concordance.
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Blue letter bible. Or logos or biblia or something like that. And search those days.
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And see how frequently. In the old testament. And then in the new testament. That expression is used.
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Particularly to an eschatological. Reality. To an eschatological future.
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And so. It's not surprising. That when we get to. Verse 27 in the context of this passage.
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That Christ speaks. About his ultimate return. In this context. This passage had an immediate.
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Fulfillment in view. For the disciples in that day. Many had to escape.
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Jerusalem before its collapse. But it has application. For every Christian. And especially the last generation.
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Of Christians as we await. The imminent return of Christ. And so we see that it refers.
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To that day. Prior to set AD 70. And it does refer.
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To a future eschatological. Event and then thirdly. My last argument for this.
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Is that we have the new testament. Epistles that shed light. On this event.
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And we'll just look to a couple. In 2nd Thessalonians. Chapter 2. In verses 3 through 8.
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Paul says this. Let no one deceive you. In any way.
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He's speaking to a church. If you remember the context. He's speaking to a church who believes. That Christ might have already returned.
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And he's saying. No, no, no, no, no. Christ has not yet returned. And this is how we will know.
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When he does return. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come.
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Unless the rebellion comes first. And the man of lawlessness. Is revealed.
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The son of destruction. Now let me say that man of lawlessness. That son of destruction. I think fulfills the abomination of desolation.
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Now someone says, where do you get that shame? We'll continue to read. He says. Who opposes and exalts himself against.
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Every so called God or object of worship. So that he. Takes his seat in the temple of God.
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The abomination of desolation. In the holy place. Proclaiming himself.
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To be God. Do you not remember. That when I was still with you. I told you these things.
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And you know what is restraining him. So now that he may be revealed. In his time. Now notice this.
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He says for the mystery of lawlessness. Is already at work. Only he who now restrains it.
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Will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one. Will be revealed.
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Whom the Lord Jesus will kill. With the breath of his mouth. And bring to nothing by the appearance. Of his coming.
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And so you've got. This lawless one who is already at work. Was at work prior to AD 70.
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Is at work today. But at some point. The restraining forces will be pulled back.
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And he will have. At least some. Borrowed time.
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To wreak havoc. And John writes this in 1 John chapter 2. In verse 18. Children it is the last hour.
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And as you have heard. That antichrist is coming. So now many antichrists.
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Have come. Therefore we know. That it is the last hour. And so what
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Paul is saying here. Is that the mystery of lawlessness. Is already at work. John has told us that there are many antichrists.
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Already. They deny. In his letter he speaks about them denying the father and the son. They deny that Christ came in the flesh.
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They refuse to confess Jesus Christ. But they set themselves. Against him.
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And I would suggest that. They like the destruction of the temple. Serve as prototypes of the ultimate.
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Man of lawlessness. That we find in passages like 2 Thessalonians 2. Or the beast that we read.
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Described about. Or described in Revelation chapter 13. Who receives the worship of the world.
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Until Christ ultimately comes. And so what we see here. Is that this passage is speaking.
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Both about a past. And a realized event. And about a future event. We're speaking about the man of lawlessness.
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The antichrist. In R .C. Sproul. Who himself has a realized eschatology.
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Who is a partial preterist. He speaks even of the man of lawlessness. And he says this. This is an individual embodiment of wickedness.
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He will draw away by deception. Those already inclined. Against the true
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God. And will ultimately commit. The sacrilege of thrusting himself. Upon humanity.
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As its object of worship. He comes by the power of Satan. As Christ came by the power of God.
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And he works fraudulent works. As Christ works true ones. Paul depicts this imposter.
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As a parody or antithesis. Of the true Christ. Paul himself does not use the term antichrist.
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But it is a fitting designation. For this individual. In any case. His fate is sealed.
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He will be destroyed. By the coming of Christ. And because we are interpreting all of this.
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As apocalyptic literature. In apocalyptic language. These passages.
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We need to treat with some flexibility. In our interpretation. And so some would say. That this abomination of desolation.
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Must come in a literal. Physical temple. In a literal and physical holy place.
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Others. Credibly suggest. That he will return. To a prominent people.
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A prominent position. Amongst the people of God. Who are the temple of God now.
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Made of living stones. The puritans certainly believe this approach. And that is why when you read. The Westminster Confession of Faith.
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Or the 1689 Second Lenten Baptist Confession of Faith. They speak about the Pope. Being the
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Antichrist. Because they saw him embodying. The essence of the
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Antichrist. Coming in the living temple. Being the church. Or the people of God. It's probably not a bad suggestion.
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But what we must know for certain. Is that it is our responsibility. To seek.
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To understand these things. To the very best of our ability. That's the word of application.
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For us now. To understand. God commands it in his word.
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He says let the reader understand. If we were to turn to the book of Revelation. An apocalyptic book.
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Most people. Most Christians today approach the book of Revelation. As this locked book.
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That cannot be understood. That can be read for recreation. But really has no bearing.
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In the believers life. But that's not how God. The inspired author of Revelation saw it.
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That's certainly not how John saw it. Revelation chapter one. Verse three it says. Blessed is the one who reads aloud.
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The words of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear. And keep what is written in it.
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For the time is near. So in order to first. Keep the word.
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You must understand the word. And let me ask you. Do you feel that you have.
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A sound understanding. Of what it means. To be ready for.
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The last days. And what is to proceed. The coming of Christ. You may not be an amillennialist.
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You may not be a postmillennialist. You may not be a premillennialist. But I'm more and more convinced. That you may not be.
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You are not to be with certainty. A panmillennialist. That is that it will all pan out in the end.
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It is our responsibility. To read. And to understand.
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And to think deeply. About these things. God has given us a bible.
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That is not only authoritative. It's not only sufficient. It's not only necessary.
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But it is clear. We must be diligent. To seek. To study and to seek to understand.
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We must know the scriptures. And the various positions. We must hold our positions.
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I would say carefully. And humbly. Ready to be tailored further.
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By our learnings through scripture. We must be prepared. To encounter anyone.
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Who would seek to deceive God's people. And to rob God of his glory. Whether they be the man of lawlessness.
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Or one of his many forerunners. There have been many. Who have come.
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And there are many more. Who are coming. Who will seek to deceive. And to make desolate.
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And to bring many souls to ruin. And so. This is just verse one.
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Let the hearer understand. Now we're going to move a lot quicker. I promise you.
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Through these remaining verses. But let me ask you. With that understanding. What are we to do?
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I think verses 25. 15 through verse 25. Show us.
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Our next word. In preparation for the end times. Our next action. It is watchfulness.
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It is to watch. It is to beware. Discerning the end times. Demands watchfulness.
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As a matter of fact. We find that immediately in our text. We're just going to survey.
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Rather than read through. We're going to survey. Briefly here. But in verse 14.
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It says. Then let those who are in Judea. Flee to the mountains.
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Let the one who is in the housetop. Not go down. Nor enter his house. To take anything out of it.
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And let the one who is in the field. Not turn back. To take his cloak. And alas for women.
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Who are pregnant. And for those who are nursing infants. In those days. Pray that it may not happen in winter.
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And then notice. Here Christ says. For in those days. There will be such tribulation.
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Has not been seen from the beginning of creation. That God created until now.
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And never will be. And then what I want to highlight here. In verse 23. It says this.
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But be on guard. Be watchful. Beware.
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That same word bleppo. That we saw two times last week. The mark of faithfulness is watchfulness.
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Now these words. That Christ spoke. Certainly had an important application.
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For Christians. Prior to the fall of Jerusalem. And they still have meaning for us today. Many Christians for instance.
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In Jerusalem. As they saw the trouble coming. The great Jewish revolt was in full swing.
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And they saw the Roman armies. Moving towards Jerusalem. They saw the offensive. Escalating.
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Against the Jews. And they thought back to what Christ had said. They thought back to verse 23.
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That Christ had indeed told them. All things beforehand. And so what the
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Christian. Or the Christian history. Ancient historian.
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I'm going to reframe that. The ancient Christian historian. Eusebius tells us. Is that a large group of Christians.
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When they saw this coming. Relocated. To a region known as Pella.
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Which is north east. Of Jerusalem. It's located today.
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In modern day Jordan. In a mountainous region. Outside of Judea. And what this required.
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Is that they had to. Escape in time. Those as Christ says here. Those who were on the house tops.
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Were not to go back into the house. But they would have had staircases. On the exterior of their buildings.
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And they were to go down those staircases. And they were to get out of the city. Those who were workmen.
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In that time. Imagine working in the middle east. In some kind of agricultural trade.
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You take off your cloak to work. You're more free. You're more cool. As you're getting your work done for the day.
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They were not to go back to their homes. To get their cloaks. But were to leave the city. And to go into the cool of the mountains.
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Without their clothing. If their escape was to happen in winter.
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Kids. This is a good easy question. In the winter. What happens here in Edmonton?
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It snows. Does it snow in Israel? In the winter? Maybe in the high elevations.
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But in many places. It rains. They have a rainy season. And so if they were to escape.
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During the winter. What it would mean is that the valleys. Would be overflowing with water.
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And so the people would have to pass through. These dangerously deep bodies of water. Flowing water.
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To escape to the mountains. These people had to get out.
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When it was time. And they did. Many of the Christians. Made their way to Pella.
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Where they not only saved their own lives. But where they preserved. A Christian heritage of faith.
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Through their children. They were spared. From what remains to be. One of the most devastating tribulations.
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In the history of the Jewish people. From the beginning of creation. To this very day.
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And this application was not only found. In first century Judea. But it continues to find.
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Its application today. That this will. Come again. A greater tribulation still.
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Verse 24 tells us that this tribulation. Will not only be a regional tribulation. But Christ says that in those days.
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After that tribulation. The sun will be darkened. And the moon will not give its light. Revelation chapter 7.
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In verse 14. Calls this event beyond. The regional tribulation. A great tribulation.
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And not only will there be. A day that is marked by false Christs. And false prophets. And lawlessness.
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And a lawless one. But note this again. That in those days. There will be a tribulation of cosmic proportions.
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And we see that in passages. I think Christ alludes. Directly to Isaiah chapter 13 verse 10.
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He says for the stars of the heavens. And their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark.
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At its rising. And the moon will not shed its light. Peter confirms this. In 2
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Peter chapter 3. In verse 10. He says but the day of the Lord. Will come like a thief.
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Of the night. And then the heavens will pass away. With a roar.
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And the heavenly bodies will be burned up. And dissolved. And the earth and the works that are done on it.
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Will be exposed. And so when someone comes. Kids remember this.
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When someone comes. Lord willing in 10 or 20 or 30 years. Or after your mom and dad have died.
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And they say I am the Christ. Know this. That when Christ returns. It will be unmistakable.
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It will be. Marked not only by moral. And spiritual darkness. But there will be physical darkness.
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In the cosmos. It will be recognized. And what we see here is that Christ expects.
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That Christians will be on the earth. To see and to experience. This great tribulation.
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There is not a rapture beforehand. But they are still there. And that's why he says for instance in verse 30.
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That this. This will be. A limited duration of time. He says the days will be cut short.
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For the sake of the elect. Literally he will amputate. The days. Otherwise to survive these days as a
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Christian. Would be humanly impossible. In verse 23 he even speaks. He says that the
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Christian is to be on guard. As I mentioned the bleppo. Beware to be watchful. This is the same word that is used twice.
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Already to warn his disciples. About the coming of false teachers. And coming persecution. And so what we see is it's not only the
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Christian's responsibility. To understand God's word. Concerning the last days. But it is the
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Christian's responsibility. To be alert. And to make wise. And righteous decisions.
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In this difficult time. It is the Christian's responsibility. To be singular.
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In your allegiance to Christ. When the world goes after false teachers. And false messiahs.
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We must go harder still. After Christ. When the world entices the
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Christian. To live for anything. Or anyone. Other than God. The Christian must say.
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Like Joshua did. As for me and my house. We will serve the
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Lord. The Christian not only. Is to hone his or her.
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Discernment skills and readiness. To trust and obey God. Regardless of the cost.
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But the Christian prepares. His or her children even. For multi -generational.
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Faithfulness. Christ might not come back in our day. But he might come back.
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In our children's day. Or in our great great great grandchildren's day. And they must be prepared for that.
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We see that. This is something that. Every Christian will go through. At least every
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Christian who is alive. Prior to Christ's return. Jude chapter 17 and verse 19 says this.
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But you must remember. Beloved the prediction of the apostles. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you in the last time.
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There will be scoffers. Following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause.
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Divisions. Worldly people devoid of the spirit. Christians are being warned in this respect.
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Christ said. In Matthew chapter 10. Behold I am sending you out.
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As sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents. And innocent as doves.
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Now someone would say. Christ sending out his disciples. Into the world. During his earthly ministry.
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But listen to what it says in Matthew 10 .23. But when they persecute you in one town.
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Flee to the next. For truly I say to you. You will not have gone through. All the towns of Israel.
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Before the son of man comes. This is leading up. To Christ's coming as well.
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In 2 Timothy 3. This is my last reference. Chapter 3 verses 1 to 5.
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He says but understand this. That in the last days. There will come times of difficulty.
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For people will be. Lovers of self. Lovers of money. Proud. Arrogant. Abusive.
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Disobedient to their parents. Ungrateful. Unholy. Heartless. Unappeasable. Slanderous.
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Without self -control. Brutal. Not loving good. Treacherous. Reckless. Swollen with conceit.
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Lovers of pleasure. Rather than lovers of God. Having the appearance of godliness. But denying its power.
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Now someone might say. Well that could describe a whole generation. Where Christians are absent. Except that Paul says at the end.
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Avoid such people. And so one might ask. How. Would a
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Christian possibly endure. Such hardship. In the midst of a godless. And corrupt world.
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This brings us to the third and the last theme. That I want us to look at. And that is hope.
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We'll see this in verses 26 and 27. Persevering through the end times.
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Demands. The hopeful. Expectation. Of Christ's return.
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Verse 26 reads. And then they will see the son of man.
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Coming in clouds. With great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels.
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And gather his elect from the four winds. From the ends of the earth. To the ends.
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Of heaven. Here Christ teaches that the ultimate. Abomination. That after the ultimate abomination.
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Of desolation appears. And after the great tribulation. This time of intense.
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And spiritual. And physical darkness. Will give way to the radiant light.
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Of Christ's return. After darkness. Glorious and abundant.
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And triumphant light. Unlike the false Christs. And unlike the false messiahs.
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With their puny show of signs and wonders. Kids this is how you will know. That Christ has come back.
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Christ will return in glorious. And unmistakable. Fashion. In Acts chapter 1.
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Christ ascended into the clouds. And the heavenly being said. He will return in the same way.
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And this mention of Christ. Returning on the clouds. With great glory and power.
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Harkens all the way back to. Exodus chapter 13. Where you will remember. The people were led out of Egypt.
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In the presence of God. By a pillar of fire by night. And a pillar of cloud by day.
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This was God's. Manifest presence. Among Israel. Observable with this pillar of cloud.
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And Christ does not come. As a mere man. With a messianic claim.
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But Christ comes. On the clouds. Because he comes as God almighty. As God the son.
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With all of his heavenly angels. And with a word. You will know Christ has come. Because he will send out his angels.
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To gather all of his elect. All of his saints. Both living and dead. From every corner of the earth.
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From every tribe and tongue. And nation and land. And we will all meet with him in the air.
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And like a triumphal procession. Like a group. What would happen in an old city.
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Is when a dignitary would come. All the people would come out of the city. And then enter the city with him.
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Almost like Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. In the same way.
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All of his people. Will be gathered to him. And then like a triumphal procession.
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We will accompany Christ to the earth. The apostle Paul. Writes about this.
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In 1 Thessalonians 4. Verses 16 and 17. 4, 16 and 17.
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He says, for the Lord himself. Will descend from heaven. With a cry of command. With the voice of an archangel.
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And with the sound of a trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ. Will rise first.
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Then we who are alive. Who are left. Christians on the earth.
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Will be caught up together. With them in the clouds. To meet the
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Lord in the air. And so we will always. Be with the Lord. This is frequently referred to.
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As the rapture. Some people might say. I'm a post -millennialist. Or I'm an amillennialist.
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And I don't believe in the rapture. The rapture itself is biblical.
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Whether you're a dispensationalist. Or someone else on the spectrum. R .C.
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Sproul again. Who is an amillennialist. And a partial preterist. He says this.
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Although the word rapture. Is commonly used by dispensationalists. With this specific meaning.
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The word itself can rightly be used. By any. Without any dispensational connotations.
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To refer to the catching up. In the air that Paul says. Will occur at the return of Christ. The burden of the passage.
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Is the assurance. That all the righteous. Without distinction. Will be united at the coming of Christ.
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And will live with the Lord. Forever. My prayer was.
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As we came to this passage. Is that we would see this. And not see it.
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For all of the abominations. And the doom and the gloom. But that we would see it.
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For the hope that is to come. At the coming of Christ. Oh what hope.
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This ought to give. Every Christian. As we serve God in this fallen world.
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Whether we are caught. In the middle of the tribulation. The great tribulation. Or if we are persecuted.
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And experience some lesser tribulation. This week. Or some Christian in North Korea. This week.
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Who is run over by a packer. For their Christian faith. The end of Christ's.
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Great eschatological history. Is this. After darkness. There is light.
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Post -Tenebrous looks. What a cause of hope. For hope that transcends.
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All circumstances. It's not a mere generic hope. That says well let's hope for the best then.
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But rather it is a sure hope. For the future. Fixed on Christ.
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And on his sovereign purposes. For the world. Titus 2 verses 11 and 13.
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Says this. For the grace of God has appeared. Bringing salvation. For all people.
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Christ came a first time. How sweet. And how wonderful it was.
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That Christ came the first time. Bringing salvation.
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For all people. Training us to renounce ungodliness. And worldly passions.
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And to live self -controlled. Upright and godly lives in the present age. Waiting for our blessed hope.
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The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior. Jesus Christ. As our brother read.
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Earlier today. When Christ comes. On the cloud. With great glory.
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And with great power. Every man. And woman in this world.
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Who has rejected him. Will be getting into rocks. Or caves and pits.
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And every crevice that they can find. And they will be calling on the rocks. To crash upon them.
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But meanwhile. For the Christian. As we see Christ arrive. We will not shrink back in fear.
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But we will rejoice. That not only will we see him finally. But we will be like him.
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The future is sure. The price. As the song goes. It has been paid.
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Our hope is only in Jesus. Only Jesus Christ. Can save us from our sins today.
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Only Jesus Christ. Can cause us. To persevere. Only Jesus Christ.
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Can preserve us through every trial. Only Jesus Christ. Is to come back for us.
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And we will be. With that Lord forever. Hebrews chapter 9.
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In verse 27. Says this. And just as it is appointed for man. To die once.
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And after that comes judgment. So Christ. Having been offered once.
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To bear the sins of many. When he came that first time. Will appear.
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A second time. Not to deal. With sin. But to save those.
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Who are eagerly. Waiting for him. That is how you are going to get through.
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Every struggle. And every tribulation. And any great tribulation. Is by eagerly.
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Waiting for him. Who is the savior. Of your soul. And who will make all things right.
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One observer has said. The preview. Of the future. Ought not to lead us. To calculate when
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Christ will return. Nor to fear. What will happen. But to know that he will come.
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To claim his own. His coming. Is his promise. And the gathering of believers to him.
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Is our hope. Is that your great hope? That Christ is coming.
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That your mind. Is fixed on him. That you already have. One foot in the world.
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That is to come. After the darkness. Light. I started with Calvin.
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I'll finish with Calvin. Benjamin Warfield. Wrote about Calvin's life.
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He said no one ever had. A more profound. Sense of God. Than he.
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And some might ask. How is that? Or how can that be true. In our lives.
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To be useful. To pour our whole lives. Into the service of God.
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Until Christ comes. In the heat of his battle.
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With the Roman papacy. He went from being a very devoted Catholic. To a very vehement.
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Opponent of Catholic theology. And he wrote. In a famous correspondence.
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With a cardinal. Named Cardinal Sadaletto. And he said this.
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Speaking about his own. Mission and purpose. He said set before man. As the prime motive of his existence.
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Zeal to illustrate. The glory of God. And that motive.
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Was rooted not with an eye. To the fleeting pleasures of this life. Or the comforts of this fallen world.
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But an eye. To eternity. An eye even in the midst of trials.
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And Calvin suffered great trials. You can read that in any of his biographies. An eye fixed on Christ.
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And his return. And on eternal life with him. Calvin said of his own life.
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He said I gave up. All for Christ. And what have I found? Everything.
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In Christ. He says there is no part of us. That ought not to aspire after heaven.
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With undivided affection. He said. We ought to learn to have. One foot raised.
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To take our departure. When it shall please God. And so dear saints.
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With one foot raised. Let us so live for God.
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And to serve him. That we might be glad. That we live by faith for Christ.