In this sermon, Pastor Babij looks more at Jesus’ teaching about the end times in the Olivet Discourse. Pastor Babij overviews the sequence of future events involving the antichrist and tribulation period. Pastor Babij also explains the sign Jesus says to look for and the proper reaction to the sign for those living in the latter days.
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let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to Gospel of Mark chapter 13 gospel mark chapter 13 yes I also passed out a handout hopefully you got one I’m just going to reference that today that’s a something I put together many years ago just to trying to figure out how it all falls out and so any mistakes on their our mind so I just want you to when I get there I’ll just kind of put some things out let’s pray this morning if you didn’t get one just raise your hand it looks bow together in word fur Lord father this morning I thank you for this opportunity to gather together to be able to read and study your word to be able to worship you and I pray today Lord that your hand of grace and mercy would guide in direct us as Lord we are looking at some difficult passages of Scripture ones Lord that are in the Word of God and are ones that we need to be thinking through and to see what they say so I pray Lord that you would just take the word and encourage us to be ready for whatever your plan and the imminence e of your plan contains I pray that we would be ready and serving you all the time and just be faithful in the things you ask us and cause to do and I prayed this in your name Amen okay it so we’re in mark chapter 13 I’m probably going to only look at several passages this morning instead of the ones i have listed there but i remember for the lord jesus christ this has been a long Tuesday it’s still Tuesday up they have been meet their left the temple area and now they are on the Mount of Olives and they’re looking back at the temple Jesus and His disciples and of course in verse number three of chapter 13 the Word of God says and he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple Peter James John and Andrew were questioning him privately right there question of course addressed the when and the what of the end it says in verse 4 tell us when these things will be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled now remember why they asked that question is because the last words that Jesus spoke as he was leaving the temple area was that in verse number two that Jesus said see these great buildings not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down in other words Jesus just said that the temple buildings will meet utter destruction and all the mighty stones will be dislodged and of course that prompted curiosity in the disciples and so they asked Jesus the questions about the when and the what about end times and so their question actually had three parts to it one was they were questioning understanding that the destruction of the temple would mean we know that it would be subsequently happen in 70 AD at the hands of the Roman army a second part would be that they were asking about Jesus personal return to consummate the age associated with it and of course that would be separated by many years the two events are closely related related both in that both are part of God’s ongoing program or the people of Israel and then of course thirdly about what’s the sign when things will come to pass and of course that would be the disciples assumed that the destruction of the temple would be the prelude to the Lord’s return and to consummate the age and then initiate his kingdom on earth so in the mind of the Jew that they thought in two ways as far as history the present age and of course the age to come now the disciples concluded that the judgment Christ had predicted was the one that would terminate the present age and after this judgment Messiah would come to introduce the age to come however the disciples did not see a long interval between the destruction of the temple and the end of the age in other words that the church age was not seen here the church age would be a timeless age would be assigned lesage so the prophetic program Jesus reveals here is really directed at Jerusalem the nation of Israel and the people of Israel so there’s no reference year in this part of the gospel to the church that Jesus really deals specifically with the future tribulation the seven-year period that will complete the prophetic program for Israel and reveal what was spoken of in Daniel chapter 9 verse 27 and of course that would be that this man of this kingly figure would make a firm covenant with the many for one week and then in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abomination will come one who makes desolate even until a complete destruction one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate now I cover some of those things last time so then this passage of Scripture must be interpreted I am interpreting it and I believe it ought to be interpreted as referring to Israel and not the church and there are different of course teachers that handle the passage differently I’m handling it in this way that I on that according to this passage that there is an image there is a president event that’s talking about and there is a future event that it is talking about so that that would be my position it is frequently the way the prophets view events it is called prophetic perspective where the prophet the prophets message describe an event close at hand and then of course an event far off in the future someone had aptly described the visions of these Old Testament prophets as men looking at two mountain peaks one beyond another the tomb seemed to belong to the same range as you look at them but as a matter of fact there’s a large gap between them so the Old Testament predictions do not always separate the close at hand events with the far-off events they also often look at them together so the event here in our text that the event that is close at hand is the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and that would be the preparatory event of what will follow so in 70 AD the prophecy of Daniel chapter 26 was fulfilled one the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and the Jewish nation was scattered so the endtime event the one that’s in the future is the destruction of the present evil age and of course the return of the Son of Man the second coming of Christ is also what they ask so the Lord Jesus Christ would be coming again so mark 13 often called the Olivet discourse Jesus really talked a lot about to future events and their character characterizing this way the end times in general and then the second coming of Christ see Jesus was not trying to encourage his disciples to speculate about exactly when he would return by sharing these prophecies with them instead he was urging all his followers to be watchful to be prepared for his coming in other words Jesus was pressing his disciples to be faithfully serving him at the time in which they live and that would be for all of us now we live now we are conserving be serving the Lord now faithfully and if we are serving faithfully then we will be ready for his return we will be ready for what’s next in God’s program so vigilance and sobriety are the proper attitudes while faith love and hope are the Christians arsenal that’s what we hold on to as our weapons as our armor so the council from Scripture would be between this age and the age to come because we are still in this age the Christian must be aware of the times they must serve diligently while they do live and then they ought to endure patiently in the midst of persecution if they are or if they come into any kind of persecution they are to do it with patience trusting the Lord in the middle of the persecution however there will be a particular generation of believers that will experience a greater level of distress and I mentioned last time in scripture said that we like the pains of a woman that grow in intensity before the Blessed birth the labor pains of a woman before the Blessed birth of the baby distress will increase before the glorious end again Jesus is letting his inner core of disciples in on some important teaching about the complex of events that are coming to Jesus does not address the issue of necessarily timing instead he gives his disciples a warning in a caution so that they can know what to look for and how to respond in the latter days that is what he’s teaching them and so like in mark chapter 13 verse 23 he tells them in verse 23 but take heed behold I have told you everything in advance in verse 33 of Mark 13 take heed keep on the alert for you do not know when the appointed time will come again so the Lord is stressing to his disciples about the imminence II of what will take place and yet at the same time you saying listen I’ll take care of what happens when you just be faithful you be faithful but that does not mean we should not search the scripture to find out when things will take place because even daniel said that in the end toward the end knowledge will increase and of course we have experienced in our world knowledge increasing have we not but it’s not just talking about knowledge in general all increasing as we approach the end but the knowledge of the end times the knowledge of what the Bible says about what’s going to happen in the end times and so we should all be aware of those things and be ready for those things now if you ever heard of a man named Ernest Shackleton he wants a he was a captain of a ship and of course he did many expeditions in the Antarctica and of course sir Shackleton was once compelled to leave his men on what it was called elephant island with the intention of returning for them and carrying them back to England with the intention of returning of course what happened is that he ended up getting caught in the ice and was not able to come back to them when he thought three times actually he tried to reach his men an elephant island but efforts ended in failure finally his last effort in his left effort he found a narrow channel through the ice and it guided his vessel back to the eyelid and he was delighted when he got there to find his men alive and well and all were prepared to get a border and this was months later they were soon on their way to safety home of an after the excitement ended sir ernest shackleton inquired how it was that they were ready to a board so abruptly when he arrived because they didn’t know he was coming or exactly when he was coming and of course his men in charge told him listening every morning I got the men up and we rolled up our sleeping bags and we said to each other yet let’s get ready guys today may be the day the boss comes see that’s what happened they were ready and their readiness happened every day so the return of the Lord Jesus to this earth is much more certain than Sir Shackleton’s returned to Elephant Island Christ promised to return to claim his redeem is established upon the Word of God and upon his character it is still the Blessed hope of believers of all who love Him of Christ returning again and so this passage of Scripture is addressing for us this morning the end times and so in verse number 14 which I’ll pick it up there are certain instructions appropriate guidance that the Lord gives to his inner core of disciples who are now very attentive very ready to listen and they have been faithful followers up until this particular point and he gives them actually some advice some guidance it’s more than advice of course its guidance on what to do when a certain event takes place and notice in verse number 14 what it says but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be and notice it says let the leader understand now mark chapter 4 13 verse 14 Jesus has just stated that the event which launches a time of unparalleled tribulation is going to take place in fact this event in Scripture is in observable observable events now the question would be what readers what were the readers reading that would be the question because that’s the admonition well mark does not tell us or mention exactly what they were reading but the Gospel of Matthew does and if you look over to Matthew chapter 24 verse number 15 it’s the same passage of Scripture Matthew says this therefore when you see Matthew 24 15 when used when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place let the reader understand so in other words the reader is the one reading the prophet Daniel the reading the Old Testament portions of scripture that deal with the end times so it sees that the increase of knowledge for that generation and for our generation is that we are to be aware of what is coming in other words Christ’s disciples are to get their understanding about the end times from scripture from the prophet Daniel specifically and if you notice that in our passage of Scripture in Daniel 2415 it says which was spoken through the Prophet standing Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place alright so this personage is standing somewhere they ought not to be standing and they’re standing in the Temple in Jerusalem and they’re standing in the holy place so in other words the holy place was given only to the nation of Israel it was a special place in the temple on earth the church has no holy place like this so there is something there is someone standing in the temple where it does not belong that means there is a violation that takes place something that is utterly abominable to God and in God’s sight and in the holy place in the temple which is the house of prayer a place that is consecrated to God this person devastates the worship of God now according to Scripture here in mark mark of course Daniel is looking forward to this end time events and of course that end time event would be found in Daniel now I want to take your Bibles and I want you to turn to Daniel and I want you to also notice some passages of Scripture first of all I want you to notice first in Daniel chapter 9 and then in Daniel chapter 11 and then also if you notice on your chart that in Daniel chapter 9 and verse number 26 well first of all verse 25 well verse let’s look from verse 24 of Daniel chapter 9 it says seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression to make an end of sin to make atonement for iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place verse 25 so you are to know and to discern that from the issuing of a degree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince there will be seventy weeks or seven weeks and sixty-two weeks it will be built again with plaza and mode even in times of distress now of course if you add those up it’s sixteen 69 weeks and then if you notice in on your chart there’s four divisions the first division is the division to decree to rebuild Jerusalem because of course Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC and of course to rebuild what temple the second temple all right and so that is what Daniel is talking about and then if you move to that you’ll find that 69 weeks from daniel’s prophecy moves us to the triumphal entry in verse number 26 where it says well verse 25 says until messiah the prince right there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks it will be built again with Plaza mode even in times of distress then after 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its end will come with the flood even to the end there will be war desolation but desolations are determined all right so that means this that on our chart in Daniel it tells us of the destruction of the temple in 70 AD before the destruction of the temple there was the triumphal entry of the Lord mentioned also on the chart and then of course it will brings us right in to the 69 week weeks brings us right to the Messiah in other words this Messiah is going to be killed it says in verse number 26 of Daniel the Messiah is cut off he’s killed right now remember Jesus is giving this in mark prior to him being crucified so these events the triumphal entry then the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and of course then it’s going to be in 70 AD the destruction of the temple is all going to happen in the time frame that Daniel is speaking about so in other words that again in Daniel there is a double fulfillment there’s one that is near and there’s one that is far off now the closed hand event Daniel accurately predicted the rise of an ink evil king and that would be Antiochus Epiphanes was a greek-speaking king who ruled over Syria north of the Land of Israel between about 71 75 and 163 bc and historians know that in 167 bc the maltreatment of the Jews people escalated to a fever pitch under this king and of course this King would be the one who would actually his military forces would come against the people of Israel they would do away with sacrifice and regular sacrifice that means all jewish practices like circumcision possessing scripture the sacrificial system feast days would be forbidden under this particular King and if they didn’t do it it would be the penalty of death and then of course he would set up an abomination of desolation in the temple of God in Jerusalem so I Antiochus brought in what was the Imperial cult and introduced an idol type of worship and of course sacked sacrifices swine on the altar which of course profaned the altar the only thing is it doesn’t mention that there was a destruction of the temple by this King just the altar was profane so scholars actually our agreement that the vision up to the point of Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 does talk about a time when Daniel was prophesying and and then also the death of an Tyga’s Tychus the fourth the king but after chapter 11 verse 36 then it switches to a different figures look at verse number 36 of chapter 11 it says then the king will do as he pleases and he will exalt and magnify himself above every God and will speak must monstrous things against the God of gods and he will prosper until the indignation is finished for that which is the greed will be done now in verse 31 if you notice there it says forces from him Daniel 11 31 will rise desecrate the sanctuary fortress and do away with regular sacrifice and they will set up the abomination of desolation so here in Daniel it moves from one event that is near which is the rule of a tyke Antiochus Epiphanes the fourth and it moves into this future king the far event will be this future king so Daniel actually accurately predicts the rise of an evil king 400 years later who would apress israel desecrate God’s Temple in Jerusalem and so in Daniel 11 36 through 40 45 there is a shift to some other than Antiochus Epiphanes the fourth so who is this king who will live in the latter days who is this king who Jesus says in mark chapter 14 when this the abomination of desolation takes place look and then that’s a trigger for what will take place after that so in this case the context actually points to the ruler now in view in Daniel who will live in the last days immediately to the coming of the Lord look at in Daniel 11 chapter and verse number 40 it says at the end time the King of the South will collide with him and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots with horsemen with many ships and he will enter countries over flow them and pass through and then also the Kings actions will take place it says in Daniel 1014 now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days where the vision pertains to the days in the future and then of course in verse number 36 it mentions a king who is the indicator is the indication the distress the the tribulation all these technical terms draw from Israel’s prophetic literature usually having reference to the end events like it says in Daniel chapter 12 verse number one now at that time Michael the Great Prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise and there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until now until that time and at that time your people everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued so precisely at Daniel chapter 11 verse number 36 the exegetical details miss necessitate that the prophecy prophecy shifts to a future historical figure now we know that future historical figure is what the New Testament calls the Antichrist in fact in Daniel chapter 7 he is referred to as the little horn or the final ruler of the last Kingdom and then he’s also referred to in Daniel 9 26 the ruler who will come and then Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 the willful came in second Thessalonians the man of lawlessness in first John the Antichrist and then of course in Revelation chapter 13 the Beast so Jesus provides really appropriate guidance to his attentive and ready disciples on what they must do after what they see and what do they see back back let’s go back to mark what do they see in mark chapter 13 and verse 24 excuse me in verse number 14 chapter 13 verse 14 what do they see it says when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not to be let the reader understand and those who are in Judea must do something alright so in other words that it’s going to be the Antichrist who now sets himself up in the Temple in Jerusalem and calls himself God according to Thessalonians he will be the one who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship so it says in Thessalonians he takes his seat in the temple of God displaying himself as God now that is the abomination of desolation and that happens if you notice on your sheet the highlighted portion right that that is the 70th week of Daniel that starts the Tribulation Period from the first there’s three parts of the tribulation two parts the first part is the Tribulation Period where is actually a peaceful time at least for the nation of Israel and pretty much for the world and then in the middle of the week something happens and what happens there in the middle of the week is that the Antichrist breaks his deal his agreement with Israel and then he comes into the temple and he declares himself to be God all people are to worship Him and so therefore at that point is what Jesus is talking about here in Scripture what do they what are they to do what does that generation to do once they see that happening all right well notice in mark actually the reader of Scripture must understand what they must do and what must they do well those elect that our Christ followers once they see what was taking place are to flee a right verse 14 it says and when you see the abomination of desolation standing where I taught where it ought not to be let the reader understand then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains in other words listen the slightest delay may prove to be fatal when this event takes place because this event triggers the worst tribulation this world has ever known that event right there triggers it so that means this that those who are on the rooftops of their houses now many in Israel many people have rooftop dwellings where it’s all open to the sky because the weather is usually quite nice there and on the rooftops it would be the place that people would relax place where the people could rest a place where the people could pray often times they ate up there some many times they called out to their neighbors from the rooftop and they were not even to go into the house to get the necessary items once see this event take place look at verse 15 it says the one who is on the housetop must not go down or go in get and get anything out of the house in other words they were to make haste they were to leave because there is a short window of escape what each second danger was mounting of getting stopped of getting caught of even getting killed so if it happened that even if one was working in the field and they were on their rooftop or in their house they were to stop working and run for the mountains not even grabbed their coat in verse number 16 he said it says and the one who’s in the field must not turn back to get his coat so you can imagine that the hardships that would come for seeing this event happen and then being warmed by what will take place as this event unfolds in the world that for the people of God for Israel specifically because Israel is the target of the Antichrist he is against them he wants to destroy them so they are given the instructions to leave out of there and flee out not even taking the necessary provisions just run for your life in other words and then it says especially pregnant and breastfeeding women in verse 17 in other words that the people who are escaping must really act with some compassion because in verse 17 it says woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days so these women must really endure the stress and the hardships and the dangerous conditions of living on the run and of course they also must act prayerfully and trust God in verse number 18 but pray that it may not happen in the winter in other words prayer is to be offered so that the flight from danger would not occur under harsh wintry cold weather conditions saying it another way there to trust God’s sovereignty there to trust God’s protection at this time because God will intervene in this very bad predicament on behalf of his people and they were not to forget that only the Lord could actually hold back the day when judgment actually falls on his people see the Lord relents when his people pray to him people ask often does God ever change his mind well God does change his mind when his people repent and God relents when his people pray God often relents he doesn’t change his mind as far as his character is or his plan is but he does hear the prayers of his people so there will be upheaval in the world that surpasses all others that have ever taken place from the beginning of time before or after and if you notice in verse number 19 of market tells us that if you notice it says this for those days will be a time of tribulation such as it has not occurred since the beginning of creation which God created until now and never will and then it says unless the Lord had shorten those days no life would have been saved but for the sake of the elect whom we ask whom we chose he’s shorten the days so there is nothing at all in all of human history that even come close to these days of affliction and without divine intervention no one not one person would be able to live through this time of tribulation so God is watching over his people causing them to persevere protecting them from powerful diluting influences especially a false teachers God preserves Israel and nourishes her in the wilderness during this period of time now the bottom line is Satan who is behind all of the tribulation is going to get the one who brought forth the Messiah the one who has the capability also of calling back the Messiah and of course the people of Israel are referred to in the the Word of God as the woman or as Israel so consequently the Great Tribulation in the at the middle point in the three and a half year period where the wrath of satan is against israel and what is the outcome well the outcome is that he tries to wear out the Saints he tries to get the people to worship the Antichrist alright and he does that by a very specific method now to get some of those details I want you to turn to Revelation chapter 13 Revelation chapter 13 and verse number 19 through 20 it says for those days will be a time of tribulation excuse me that’s not the passage what did I say chapter what okay I’m in chapter 12 just go back a chapter this is this is actually a second battle that Satan has with the Lord and people of God and it says in verse number 14 of chapter 12 but the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman so that she could flee to the wilderness to her place now what is that talking about that’s talking about when the abomination of desolation is seen by the nation they’re going to flee right well that’s where revelations picking this up here alright and what happens there in this passage of Scripture they they flee to the wilderness to their place now you know what happens well it says in verse number 14 in the middle of the verse where she was nourished for a time and times and a half a time a right that would be a three and a half year period from the presence of the Serpent and verse 15 and the serpent poured water like a river out of the mouth after the woman so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood but the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river with the Dragon poured out of its mouth in other words that according to the Word of God that Israel is the one being a picture here as being dogged by the Antichrist who is now being energized by Satan himself and who they going after they’re going after the one who produced the Messiah who produced the Messiah not not married but Israel the nation of Israel brought forth the Messiah so he is going after the nation because the nation now can call Messiah back again and so he dogs her right into the wilderness and in the wilderness God protects them now what they must do is they must remain spiritually vigilant while they’re in this time because Jesus Jesus warns about not listening to or being swayed by end time personalities with powerful abilities to mimic priced right and so now if your keep your hand there in Revelation and go back to mark for a second right because i want you to notice the next piece of instruction the lord gives his people and he says this in mark chapter 13 verse 21 through 23 he says and then if anyone says to you behold here is the Christ or behold he is there do not believe him for false Christ’s and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray if possible the elect the ones chosen by God and then verse 23 but take heed behold I have told you everything in advance so the Lord is arming his inner core of disciples about what they are going to teach as and preach about the future events now I want you to again go back to Revelation for a minute in chapter 12 and I want you to notice in verse number 17 it says this it says so the dragon now the dragon let me just explain something for a minute the dragon what Satan does is actually he mimics Jesus Christ he actually mimics the Godhead the dragon is really Satan himself and he’s the counterfeit father the Antichrist is known as the lawless one and he is the counterfeit son and then the false prophet the one who is going to be involved with the religious aspect of this system is the counterfeit Holy Spirit or another way of putting it is the beast out of the earth so in verse 17 of Revelation 12 it says so the dragon was enraged with the woman the woman being Israel and went off to make war with the rest of her children or her seed who keeps the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus so he’s going against the Lord’s disciples during this time in history and he’s going to fight against the saints so he’s going to duplicate what God has done he is going to mimic Jesus Christ Satan has a particular goal in mind and that goal to reach that goal he must deceive the whole world and get the world to worship Him so his gold again is twofold to wear out the Saints to dog them and then get the people of the world to worship Him so the dragon gives to the Antichrist power of throne and great Authority revelations chapter 13 verse 2 and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great Authority so he has given this a talk authority for this reason to rule politically because he will be the ruler of the final world empire of course this Empire was spoken of by Daniel the prophet and he has a method on how he’s going to gain a following and Antichrist or slash the man of sin the man of lawlessness will truly be an amazing figure and will display a subtle magnetic draw upon the people of the world now how’s it going to do it well he’s going to have this man he’s going to have the power of the devil he is going to have people worshiping him he’s going to control the whole world and he’s going to war against the Saints and he’s going to do it specifically for 42 months or three and a half years now how is he going to wage this third battle against the people of the world and against the Saints while he’s going to do it by false teaching that’s going to be the main part of it in fact in Revelation chapter 13 verse 3 it says there and I saw one of the heads as if it had been slain and his fatal wound was healed and the whole earth was amazed and follow after the Beast in other words what’s going on here while the whole world is marveling at this man who is just incredible and so the sense is that what better way to get the world to be amazed by you but by having a mock resurrection right that is all part of the Dragons attempt to counterfeit the death of the resurrection of price for it says and I saw one of his heads as as if it had been slain and his fatal wound healed see it’s best to identify this restoration to life with an end time satanic controlling king who will come to the world as a false Christ so see the the Lord warns his disciples to watch out with Pete what people are actually teaching watch out with not necessarily the content of what they teach but about the power they have in their personality now do you think something like that can turn heads and get people’s attention well it does of course it says in verse 3 and 4 of Revelation 13 and the whole earth was amazed and follow after the Beast so it looks like the dragon that Satan resurrects the beast that’s Anti Christ from the dead and that means the Antichrist is the counterfeit son in every respect get it a counter for death and resurrection leads to a counterfeit second coming to rule the world and possess the nations and the kingdoms of the world Satan is playing the part of a counterfeit father for as the true father gave authority to the true son so the counterfeit father gives authority to the counterfeit son which is the Antichrist so this marvelous feed through deception evolves into accomplishing his intended goal and his attended goal is to get the people of the world to worship Him in Revelation 13 and verse 4 notice what it says it says they worshiped the dragon because his he gave his authority to the Beast so the Antichrist gets the world to worship the dragon who is the counterfeit Heavenly Father and the Antichrist receives worship also just like Jesus received worship because he is He is God but this worship is difference because it’s not true biblical worship because Antichrist has people following him and worshiping blindly not out of revealed truth but out of wonder out of an emotional response nothing based on revealed truth and of course in verse number 4 of Revelation 13 you have an emotional cry from the people they worship the Beast saying who is like the Beast and who is able to wage war with him of course the answer to the question from the people’s perspective is nobody is nobody’s found to be able to come against them in other words we found the Messiah we found the one who could deliver us we found the one who’s truly God to worship Him so remember that biblical worship not only has an element of all to it but it has an element of reverence to it it has a credible element of truth to it and what is absent here is truth there’s no way to measure what is true and what is not true and of course Thessalonians tells us they will believe what is false the lie was the claim of the Antichrist to be a god greater than all other gods and according to reveal truth the Scriptures the only God there is is God the Father Son and spirit but according to the signs that are coming out of this man who is claiming to be God the people are just spelled bound by their by his personality they are admiring him and they are admiring him as God so therefore his goal old to get people of the world to worship Him is something he is actually accomplishing in Revelation 13 verse 14 again it says and he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beasts telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the Beast who had the wound of the sword and had come to life and it was given to him to give breath to the image of the Beast so that the image of the beasts would even speak so now we have a full-blown very unique idolatrous system that he has set up and he deceives the whole world and he could even deceive your left if they listen to his message but because of God’s protection over his people because of God shortening the days in this time of tribulation they did not succumb to his deception but they actually come out being victorious so what does he do he actually pulls the wool over people’s eyes by convincing words so he’s running kind of a campaign like most run for political offices today it’s pretty vicious and if you notice in Revelation 13 verse 5 it says there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies and authority to act for 42 months was given to him and he opened his mouth in blessing blasphemies against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle that is those who dwell in heaven now of course that’s a connection to Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 he will speak much monstrous things against the God of gods so this blasphemy that comes from him is against God and the people of God and then what does he do to control the people of God into the people of the earth well revelation 13 verse 7 says that he was it was given to him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him so in other words if somebody refused to worship that he will simply eliminate them by death or by destroying them economically and then that that’s where we get the passage of Scripture in Revelation 13 verse 15 that you have heard it says in verse 15 and it was given to him to give breath to the image of the Beast so that the image of the Beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the Beast to be killed and he causes all small and great rich and poor the free man and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead and he provides that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has the mark either the name of the beast or the number of the name and here’s wisdom let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast or the number is that of a man and his number is 666 so Satan accomplishes his two-fold purpose in this battle ridgid religious war against the Saints and get the world to worship Him during that time after the abomination of desolation is seen by that generation they are to flee to the mountains God to text them there as Satan tries to get them he shortens the time so they would actually survive now we do know that some will be killed during that time but we also know from Scripture that the only ammunition that true believers have of found in Revelation 310 if anyone is destined to captivity to captivity he goes that means that we person has to trust the sovereignty of God in all this confusing stuff that’s going on during that time that King Jesus is sovereignty in control even if it means imprisonment or loss of property or wealth or even death the Lord is still in control and then in verse 10 it says they’re also the perseverance here is the perseverance that there will be the perseverance of the saints that God will cause them the persevere this does not mean passively enduring but actually courageously accepting the worst that life can actually give them and then also faith in God and the faith of the saints so loyalty and devotion to the Lord would be the key to those who would be living doing this time and I saw it says in Revelation 14 verse 6 and 7 and I saw another angel flying in Midheaven having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people and he said with the loud voice fear God give Him glory because the hour of his judgment has come worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and springs of water worship Him so only by knowing what the truth is can this group of believers survive so they have to know the times they have to know the events that are coming and so of course i did say when the people said who is like the beasts and who’s able to make work make war with him well we do know who can make war the Beast the Lamb of God can the lamb is more than up for the challenge for facing the beasts on the battlefield for the bible does tell us in revelation 17 14 these will wage war against the lamb and the lamb will overcome them because he is the Lord of lords and the king of kings and those who are with him are called the chosen and faithful so I’m filling the blanks of what Mark was speaking about and what Matthew is speaking about when it comes to the end now there is still eminency even if we don’t live in that generation and what keeps us imminent what keeps the return of Christ imminent is that I believe that the church will be taken up before the tribulation the church will be removed from the world and go to heaven with the Lord before these events take place and so that means that the Lord can come and get the church at any time so we should be ready just like this generation ought to be ready and so we need to every day be remembering that if the Christian gospel is true then everything else is a lie that if Christ alone saves and those who do not believe in him are really doomed and if Christ is the only way than all other roads lead to destruction and this is how the Lord ended this part he simply said take heed behold I have told you everything in advanced so we’re forearmed for what will be and we have more information than the disciples had back then alright we have we have the whole New Testament we have the book of Revelation that helps us to understand all the things that are coming and so the next time I’m in this passage of Scripture i’m going to pick it up at the second coming of Christ but next week remember I do want to remind you for next week that we’re going to have a kind of a get a luncheon for Dave and Emma as they leave to go to California so you can go to seminary and so after church will not have home groups next week and so next we actually Dave will be preaching and and he will share with us from the Word of God and so be praying for him for next week all right I know that some of these things are heavy I know there’s a lot of information and a lot of back and forth things when you deal with the end times but if you remember that we are still in the age to come with the eight dis age and there is the age to come and the AIDS to come is the Messianic age that is the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth let’s pray lord I prayed this morning again asking you Lord that you would take the word of God and continue to instruct us with it so Lord that we are not people that are deceived by any kind of false teaching that we are not people that are just sitting back relaxing enjoying everything good that you have for us and not serving you I prayed that we would always be people that are ready at any moment at any time for your return so I pray Lord every day we get up and we roll up our sleeping bag and we do the things that we have to do and we prepare ourselves that and say to ourselves today may be the day the lord comes and gets us and that we would be ready so Lord helps to deal with our sin I pray Lord that you will allow those who know you to continue to grow in their knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ I pray also Lord those who don’t know lord I prayed that there would be an urge see on their heart that if they have not come to know you as their Lord and Savior that they would soon and they would confess you repent of their sins and trust you as their own safety and their own Lord and I pray Lord that you would grant them that faith and repentance so they can believe so they can come in and all we see but come into the kingdom of God and that you would bless them with salvation and with the knowledge and wisdom that comes from studying the Word of God so bless us today Lord and help us to continue to learn these things as we grow in Christ and I pray it in your name amen