Daniel 11: The Great Tribulation Mt 24:14-25

Please remain standing and turn your Bibles to the book of Matthew once again.

Still in our study of Daniel chapters 11 through 12, we will be referring to Matthew 24.

Matthew chapter 24, we're going to be reading verses 14 to 25. Hear now the inspired

Word of God. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations and then the end shall come.

Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things that are in his house.

And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days.

But pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now nor ever shall.

And unless those days had been cut short no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.

Then if anyone says to you behold here is the Christ or there he is, do not believe him.

For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead if possible even the elect.

Behold I have told you in advance. Let's pray. Father once again as we look into your word we pray that you would open our eyes our ears and our hearts.

That father that we would see here and understand the warnings and the encouragement that you give us in your word.

We simply ask that as your word goes forth that it would accomplish every purpose for which it is sent and father that that would be the conversion of sinners, the edification of the saints the exaltation of the name of Jesus Christ and above all else that you would receive glory.

We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated. Half a league half a league, half a league onward all in the valley of death road the 600 forward the light brigade charge for the guns he said into the valley of death road the 600

That's the opening stanza of the poem The Charge of the Light Brigade.

The poem was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1864 to commemorate the death of many brave British soldiers during the

Crimean War just 10 years earlier. If you've never read the poem I would suggest it.

You get a copy and read it. It is one of the classics in poetry from through the years.

It is great poetry but the military action that it honors was a great blunder.

247 of the 637 men involved in the charge were either killed or wounded. The charge was led by James Thomas Brunendahl, the 7th

Earl of Cardigan. Yes, the one who the sweater was named after but that has nothing to do with our sermon this morning.

But the consensus of military historians is that it was an unnecessary action on the part of the general.

The charge served no real useful function in the war effort and so many good and brave soldiers died needlessly.

And the poem captures the essence of that very thought. Sometimes in the course of war a retreat is the wisest course of action.

The cost of standing and fighting one particular battle against overwhelming odds can be so great that it just may hurt the entire war effort.

And so great generals throughout history have learned that there are times to pull back, to retreat, to regroup for further battles ahead.

And there is great honor in that as well. But there are other times when fighting to the death is not necessary and then to do so is not honorable.

And the key for the general is to know the difference. It's interesting, the same principles are true in the

Christian life. There are times when a well -timed retreat is the proper course of action for the

Christian. Now I want to be very quick to qualify that statement. I am not talking about retreating in matters of faith or principles of life.

There can never be a retreat from the teaching of scripture in moral conduct and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Quite the contrary. The commands of scripture are clear on these matters.

Ephesians 6, verse 10, finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

And Paul writing in first Corinthians 15, he says, therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the

Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain. But as our faith brings us into battles in everyday life, sometimes a well -ordered retreat may be the wisest course of action.

And that's what we see the instruction of Jesus to his disciples in the text in Matthew 24.

Jesus is warning his disciples about a great tribulation that will come upon Jerusalem in the near future.

And in the face of what is to come and the severity of it, Jesus instructs his disciples to flee.

Let's remember why we're looking at Matthew 24 in our study of Daniel. We have already seen that both

Jesus and Daniel, Daniel in chapters 10 to 12, are addressing the same period of time, the same events.

It's the end of the old covenant period and the institution of the new.

And Jesus gives us details that further explains what Daniel prophecies were all about so many years earlier.

So let's look at the context once more since it's crucial to our study.

The nation of Israel has become apostate. They have rejected the prophets, they have in fact killed them.

They have played the harlot with other gods. They have become what the scripture describes as a stiff -necked people.

And Jesus has lamented over the condition of his people. Therefore Jesus pronounces condemnation upon them and the judgment that will come upon the generation who ultimately have rejected him, the very

Son of God. Remember Jesus speaking to the rulers of that time in Matthew chapter 23 in verse 34 to 35.

He says that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood, shed on the earth from the blood of righteous

Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

And he further points it to them and says, truly I say to you that all these things shall come upon this generation.

Then to show the disciples the extent of the judgment, he tells them the temple is going to be destroyed.

Now knowing the centrality of the temple to the to the whole old covenant sacrificial system, the disciples are truly bothered by this statement and they are prompted to ask a question.

In verse 3 of Matthew 24, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.

Now we've already seen in past messages that the mindset of the Jews of that day was that the destruction of the temple was equivalent to the end of the age, the end of that whole period of time.

In fact because the Jews looked at all of history in two ages, the age of the law, which they were living in at that time, and the age of the

Messiah. And that is what the disciples asked

Jesus. If the temple is going to be destroyed, when will this age -ending, this cataclysmic worldwide event take place?

And Jesus answers a very direct question in a very direct way.

These verses very clearly relate to the things leading up to the destruction of the temple in 70

AD. That's why we've been in Matthew 24 for the last three weeks. The prophecies in the book of Daniel and the

Olivet Discourse demand that these things take place during that period of time. Remember last week we looked at Matthew 24, 4 to 13.

And Jesus admonished his disciples, don't be misled. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, persecution, false prophets, false messiahs, and then a great apostasy.

And yet, Jesus said, with all of that, it's only the beginning. It's like labor pains, it's just starting.

And we saw how all these things came to pass exactly as Jesus had foretold. But then he gives them this word of encouragement in verse 13, but the one who endures to the end he shall be saved.

And as we continue in Matthew 24, we see that Jesus gives them more signs of the end of the

Old Covenant age. Look at what he says in verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.

And there's several important points that must be made concerning this verse.

First, we've made a point over and over again that Jesus is not talking about the end of the world, the final day of history.

He's talking about the end of the Old Covenant age. That's the question he's responding to.

And he says that the gospel will be preached in the whole world as a witness.

So we have to ask the question then, did that happen? Did that happen as Jesus said it would?

Because if that didn't happen, then either I'm very mistaken or the scripture is.

I don't think there's a choice there. To answer the question, we must examine what he says carefully.

The Greek words translated as world in our modern translations are not always the same, and that can be misleading.

For example, in verse 21 of this chapter, when Jesus speaks of the beginning of the world, he uses the word cosmos.

That means the entire planet, the created earth.

The word he uses in this verse is different. It's okumene.

Strong's Concordance says that means the land, the terrain part of the globe, specifically the

Roman Empire. And that's the predominant usage of this word by the gospel writers.

This is the same word that is used by Luke in his gospel in chapter 2, verse 1.

Now, it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the census be taken of the whole world, of the whole inhabited earth.

That's the same word, okumene. Now, we know that Augustus only taxed those who were under his direct control in the

Roman Empire. There are many parts of the world, cosmos, that the

Romans didn't conquer and certainly didn't tax. It's the same word used in Acts 17, speaking about the apostle

Paul. And when they did not find them, this is where Paul is, they're looking to get even with Paul, they began dragging

Jason and some brethren before the city authority shouting, these men who have upset the world have come here also.

That's okumene, the economy. So the preaching of the gospel that Jesus is speaking about is not evangelism beyond the known world at the time, but it is a widespread world evangelism to the known world that will be a witness to the end of the

Old Covenant age. The question we must ask then, did this take place?

Was there this widespread evangelism leading up to the Old Covenant period?

Was the gospel preached in the whole okumene? Well, let's let the scripture answer that question.

In that great portion of scripture in Romans 10, which we pull out every time we have an admissions conference,

Paul says this in Romans 10, verse 14, How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach unless they are sent, just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things.

He continues, however, they did not all heed the glad tidings.

For Isaiah says, Lord who has believed, I report. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Then Paul says something very interesting, and it's bearing on our discussion.

In verse 18 of Romans 10, Paul says, But I say, surely they have never heard, have they?

Now that's typical Paul. Paul's asking these rhetorical questions. Remember Romans 9, he asked a series of rhetorical questions.

He said, but I say, they've never heard. Then he answers it, indeed they have.

Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

The word he uses is okamene. The gospel was preached to the whole known world.

Paul says the gospel was preached to the entire known world, to the Jews in that century.

The words of Paul were written in the mid -60s A .D. What Jesus said was going to happen before the judgment of Israel, before the end of the old covenant age, that the gospel would be preached throughout the whole world was accomplished, just as Jesus said.

Henry Culls wrote a commentary a number of years ago, back in the 1800s, and this is what he said.

It appears from credible records that the gospel was preached in Edomia, Syria, and Mesopotamia by Jude.

In Ethiopia by Candace's eunuch and Matthias. In Pontus, Galatia, and the neighboring parts of Asia by Peter.

In the territories of the seven Asiatic churches by John. In Parthia by Matthew.

In Scythia by Philip and Andrew. In the northern and western parts of Asia by Bartholomew.

In Persia by Simon and Jude. In Media, Carmania, and several eastern parts by Thomas.

Throughout the vast tract from Jerusalem roundabout onto Illyricum by Paul.

As also in Italy, and probably in Spain and Gaul, in most of which places

Christian churches were planted in less than 30 years after the death of Christ. That's some expansion.

Under persecution, look how the gospel expanded.

Within 30 years after the death of Christ, and he says, in other words, before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jesus continues. Look at verse 15. Therefore, now what's the therefore?

The therefore is because the gospel has been preached, therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.

This is one of those verses that absolutely connects the discourse of Jesus in Matthew 24 with Daniel 10 through 12.

It also compels us to interpret the words of Jesus to apply to the lifetime of his disciples.

Again, he's telling them to look for something. Look for what? The abomination of desolation.

Now we'll explain that in a moment. But notice carefully that this abomination will be in the holy place.

Remember again that this whole discourse was prompted by the disciples pointing out the beauty of the temple, the ornate design, the magnificence of the materials.

And Jesus answered them, it's going to be torn down. It's going to be destroyed.

But before that happens, there will be an abomination of desolation in the holy place.

There are those who say that this applies to a future rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

There is absolutely nothing in the text that gives us warrant to make that jump.

So we must ask the question again, did this take place in the time period that Jesus is speaking about?

And again, the answer is that it took place with striking accuracy.

The only difficulty in pinpointing the fulfillment of what

Jesus calls the abomination of desolation is that during this period of time, the temple was defiled in so many ways that it's difficult to point out exactly which one he's referring to.

Or perhaps, and this is my favorite interpretation, he's referring to all of them taken together.

The temple had been defiled. The Babylonians had ransacked it. Antiochus Epiphanes entered the temple in 168

BC and dedicated it to the Greek god Zeus. It's reported that he sacrificed an unclean animal, a pig, on the altar.

During the period of time leading up to the destruction in 7 AD, the temple was a beehive of desecrating actions and abominations.

Of course, in a very real sense, the temple was left desolate at this very time

Jesus is speaking. When he walked out of the temple that day and declared it an abomination, he left it empty.

He left it desolate. The glory of the Lord had already departed.

They might as well as wrote Ichabod over the doorposts of that temple because the glory had already departed.

So the abominations were free to roll in without the restraining power of God in the sanctuary.

And as things got worse in Judea, Jews flocked to Jerusalem because they believed

God would protect them there. The city was overcrowded.

Lawlessness had increased. In the temple, the priest lost complete control.

Murders were taking place inside the temple. One historian says,

Now, however, zealots and brigands dwelt pell -mell within the sacred building. All the rules of legal parity seemed forgotten.

The courts were stained with the blood that defiled the feet of those who walked therein. In the eyes of the priest, there was no crime more horrible.

To many devotees, this was the abomination predicted by Daniel as destined to take place on the eve of the supreme days.

And then, of course, as things grew even worse, the

Roman army itself entered the temple. And historians report that they set up their own idols in the temple prior to its destruction.

At one point, half the temple was held by the Jews and the other half by the

Romans, and it was the site of a great battle which led to its complete destruction.

The temple of God, the holy place, was laid desolate by the abominations that occurred inside it during this time.

And these things were to be signs to the disciples and to other

Christians, Get out. Look at verse 15.

Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.

That's a parenthetical statement by Matthew. Matthew's writing his gospel to first century

Jews, and he says, when you read this, when you read this, understand what's happening.

And Jesus says, run for your life. Verse 16.

Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. That's a very direct statement.

When you see these things, get out of there. And not just Jerusalem, but all of Judea.

Evacuate Judea. The birth pangs are increasing, and it's nearing time for the judgment of God to fall on this land.

So how serious should they take this warning? Look at the next few verses as Jesus adds the emphasis as to why they should flee.

Let him who is on the housetops not go down and get the things that are in his house. Don't even go back in your house.

If you see these things happening, just run. Let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak.

And then he says, whoa, it's a sorry day for those who are with child because it's going to be extremely dangerous to travel.

He says, pray your flight not in the winter or the Sabbath. That's serious warning.

You can feel the urgency. It's a warning that Jesus intended to be heeded.

Just leave and leave now. These are desperate times, he says.

Pray that it won't occur in the winter. Pray that it won't occur on the Sabbath because travel was difficult at both those times for different reasons.

The point is, Jesus wanted his disciples to take his warning seriously.

So another question. Did they? Did they take him seriously?

The reports of history say that they did. They did.

And here's an interesting point. When the Roman soldiers were seen marching towards the beautiful land, the

Jews poured into Jerusalem for safety. The Christians left in a hurry.

One of the greatest Baptist theologians of the past century was John Gill.

Listen to what he says. It is remarked by several interpreters and which

Josephus takes note of with surprise that Cestius Gallus, having advanced with his army to Jerusalem and besieged it, on a sudden, without any cause, raised the siege.

You getting this? Jerusalem was surrounded by the Roman army. They sieged it. They had it blockaded.

On a sudden, without any cause, he raised the siege and withdrew his army when the city might easily have been taken, by which means a signal was made and an opportunity given to the

Christians to make their escape, which they did and went over to Jordan, as Eusebius says, to a place called

Pella, so that when Titus came a few months after, there was not a Christian in the city.

What Josephus and other historians can't explain, this has never been done in the history of Roman warfare, where they laid siege and then let it up.

What they can't explain, we have no doubt. Almighty God, the one who holds the king's heart in his hands, turned the army around to give an opportunity for his elect to escape.

Matthew Henry said, when Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem Christians that were persecuted and oppressed by them.

Jesus continues as he speaks of the extent of this great tribulation.

Look at verse 21. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be.

And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut short.

Very strong, sobering words. He describes this tribulation as so great that no life would have been saved if the days weren't cut short.

And the facts of history show again just how accurate the prophecy was.

When the war started, AD 68, after Cestius Gallus had retreated, and Titus began his march on Jerusalem, the killing began.

15 ,000 people were killed in Gadara. 15 ,000 people killed in Jadapata.

11 ,000 people in Mount Gerizim. And thousands more in each city as the

Roman army approached Jerusalem. And women and children were not spared in the massacres.

Meanwhile, the zealots took control of Jerusalem. And they were so concerned about the

Roman army that they persuaded the Edomians to come in and help them fight the Romans.

20 ,000 came in. If you know anything about the Edomians, they were just as bad as the Romans. But they let them in the gates, and then they began their own murderous spree.

8 ,500 people killed, including the high priest Ananus. Josephus said,

I shall not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her walls and the ruin of her affairs.

He also said, and remember now, this is not a Christian author, Josephus says,

I cannot but think that it was because God had doomed this city to destruction as a polluted city, and was resolved to purge his sanctuary by fire.

And he cut off these, their great defenders and well -wishers. And because of their murderous spree,

Josephus reports that vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps, and the zealots would not allow them to be buried.

Then much fighting broke out in the city between the warring factors. This is all before the

Romans. Those who opposed the rebellion against Rome were imprisoned and killed by zealots.

The innocents were killed. Nothing was done for the wounded. Dead bodies lay unburied, and the soldiers were fighting on top of the dead bodies.

Then the siege began on April 14th, A .D. 70, and historian Joseph Ernst Renan said,

From this time forth, hunger, rage, despair, and madness dwelt in Jerusalem.

It was a cage of furious maniacs, a city resounding with howling and inhabited by cannibals of very hell.

Titus, for his part, was atrociously vindictive.

Every day, 500 unfortunates were crucified in the sight of the city with hateful refinements of cruelty, or sufficient ground whereon to erect them.

And then Phyllis Schaaf, in his classic work, The History of the Christian Church, said the daily sacrifice ceased

July 17th because all hands were needed for defense. The last and bloodiest sacrifice at the altar of burnt offerings was the slaughter of thousands of Jews who had crowded around.

When the Romans finally entered the city, the slaughter was beyond description.

Josephus said, Accordingly, the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God had ever brought upon the world.

The tribulation of those days was terrible indeed. During these times, people got desperate for help and they would look anywhere for salvation from this kind of trouble.

And because of that, Jesus gives the warning once again. Verse 23,

If anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, where there he is, do not believe him, for false

Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

Behold, I have told you in advance. It's important to see how many times

Jesus warns his disciples. I've told you in advance. Some of them will be so convincing that they'll almost lead the elect astray.

So be on guard. That's an emphatic statement. He says, Behold, I have told you all this in advance, so do not be deceived, do not be led astray.

And the good news in this text is that by all accounts, the

Christians were not deceived. They were not led astray. They listened to the

Lord and were saved from the terrible destruction of the city. This is not the most pleasant of passages to preach from.

It's not my favorite to preach from. But the warning to the disciples is that important.

And the warning that Jesus gave to them for their specific circumstances, it's still important for us.

Let me give you a few applications of this text for us. Because sometimes people say,

Well, if all the warnings were for them, what was going to happen to them back in 70 A .D.?

What about us? Let me give you a couple of applications to us.

First, there will always be tribulation in this world. It may not be the type and intensity of the tribulation that occurred in 70

A .D., but the Christian, if you're a Christian, you will go through both physical and spiritual tribulation and trials.

And just as Christ gave his disciples these warnings in Scripture, so he gives us many warnings concerning spiritual warfare.

And these warnings are just as emphatic, if not more so than his warnings to his disciples.

Put on the armor of God. Stand firm. Resist the devil. Second, read and heed the warnings of Scripture.

The Word of God is sufficient and efficient for all of life's problems. If you ignore the warnings of the

Word of God, then you can expect to be subject to all the consequences he warns you about.

In the Word of God, he has given us everything we need to know about life and godliness. It's up to you and I what we do with those warnings.

When you stand before Christ on Judgment Day, you can never say, but I didn't know, because everything we need he has told us in advance.

Third, sometimes in the battle, a well -ordered retreat may be the wisest course of action.

Just as Jesus told his disciples to flee from Jerusalem when they saw the signs of destruction coming.

In his earthly ministry, several times, Jesus retreated from the multitudes when they sought to put him to death.

The apostle Paul acted in a similar manner. Jesus instructed his disciples to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

In other words, never compromise your principles, but a hasty retreat may not be the worst thing to happen.

And it takes wisdom to know what to do. The disciples knew when to flee Jerusalem because they knew what

Jesus had told them. And that is how you gain wisdom. Get to know what he has to say to you.

Read the book of Proverbs. Fourth, the gospel will always succeed.

Even in the midst of such great trouble, the gospel was preached to the whole known world.

After hearing of the great trouble at this time, don't you find it amazing that the gospel went to every corner of the

Roman Empire? With all of the opposition, we can say this.

I don't care how corrupt man gets, how anti -God a government may be, the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be stopped.

They couldn't stop it in the first century. They couldn't stop it during the Reformation. They couldn't stop it in the

Counter -Reformation. They can't stop it today, nor can they stop it tomorrow.

And last, there will always be the danger of deception. In every age since the founding of the church, there have been false teachers, false prophets, and those who claim to be the

Messiah. And the warning of Jesus was not to be deceived by them. Don't listen to them.

He has given us all that we need in advance to avoid being deceived. Forward the light brigade.

Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew. Someone had blundered.

There's not to make a reply. There's not to reason why. There's but to do or die.

Into the valley of death rode the 600. As good soldiers, the light brigade followed orders which led to many of their deaths.

Someone had blundered, all right. Their commanding general. And they paid dearly for it.

Many paid with their lives. What a marked contrast we have in Jesus Christ.

Our Lord, our general, doesn't make blunders.

He doesn't make mistakes which needlessly cost the lives of his followers. He gave his own life as a ransom for his followers.

Then he rose from the dead. And because he lives, we live also. And he has given to us everything we need to know to bring us safely into his kingdom.

Today, if you're not a Christian, heed the warnings of scripture. As bad as the tribulation of those days was, it was a picnic when compared with an eternity in hell.

Repent of your sin. Receive Jesus Christ as your savior. Christian, don't be misled.

Read the word of God. Study it. Become wise as serpents. Yet innocent as doves.