The Coming Abomination
Matthew 24:15-28
November 11, 2012

As you know we are in the middle of “The Olivet Discourse”.
It is Jesus’ teaching on the end times.

The disciples have come to Him while He is seated on the Mount of Olives
And wanted to know two basic things.

When will the kingdom come,
What will the circumstances surrounding it be?

Matthew 24:3 “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

It encompasses everything we want to know as well.
When will it happen?
What will happen when it comes?

And to that question Jesus gave His longest and most thorough answer
That He ever gave to any question.

Now thus far we have seen His first two points.
A COMING DEVASTATION and A COMING TRIBULATION.

The Devastation
Will entail WARS and rumors of wars and FAMINES and EARTHQUAKES.

Matthew 24:8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

The Tribulation
Will be a tremendous time of DEFECTION and DECEPTION as followers of Jesus Christ are called upon to swear allegiance to the anti-christ or be KILLED.

Many will fall away.
Most people’s love will grow cold.

And really the only reason that believers will be forced to endure it
Is because they will have a job to do.

Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

They are there as light in the midst of darkness
Seeking to save those who are lost.

But those are the two events that Jesus has informed us of.
The Coming Devastation
The Coming Tribulation
THIS MORNING WE ACTUALLY GO BACKWARD.

Routinely when a society goes through a period of difficulty,
They will go searching for answers to see what the cause was.

The 30’s marked for America a time known as “The Great Depression”
• People trace that back to October 29, 1929 which was the crash of the stock market.

The 40’s marked a period of world war for America.
• People trace that back to December 7, 1941 which was Pearl Harbor

The new millennium has marked the war on terror and annoying airline security.
• People trace that back to September 11, 2001 which was the twin tower attack

And we could go on and on.

My point is that periods of hardship and difficulty often have a catalyst.

If we see here that devastation is the beginning of the birth pangs,
Then we want to go backward and find what was the conception?

What started all this?
And that answer is clearly given to us.

But before I show the event from an earthly perspective,
I first want to show you the event from heaven’s perspective.

TURN TO: REVELATION 12:7-17

If we were to cover all of Revelation 12 you would see the story
Begin way back in the Old Testament with a woman. (Not Mary – Israel)

• And she is about to give birth (The Messiah)
• And verses 3&4 show us a dragon seeking to kill the Christ child.
• Verse 5 is the shortest gospel in Scripture (birth to ascension)
• Verse 6 skips the time of the Gentiles and pictures the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation. (the false peace)

Verse 7 starts all the problem.
VERSES 7-9

Satan picked a fight and was permanently removed from the heavens.
No more access to God at all.

Now that is a good thing
VERSES 10-12a

He is thrown down and the heavens rejoice.
However, the end of verse 12 warns us of his response.
“Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

And there you have it.
There is the catalyst.
There is the reason for the intensified anger.
Satan’s doom is set and he is angry!

The remainder of the chapter speaks of the devastation and tribulation occurring that Jesus has already told us about.
VERSES 13-17

So you see what we are dealing with.
All of this devastation and tribulation was not just coincidence.
There was a definite event that started it all.

And that is the event we learn of this morning.
I just showed it to you from heaven’s perspective,
This morning we this event from the earth’s perspective.

There are three things in our text I want you to see.
#1 THE CATALYTIC EVENT
Matthew 24:15-16

Jesus has just outlined quite thoroughly
The Coming Devastation and Coming Tribulation.

Knowing that His disciples would want to know
What causes all of this, Jesus then says:
“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 those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”

In other words, Jesus is telling us what will cause all of this to begin.

And very simply it is an event that Daniel first told us about called
“THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION”

Now it is only fitting that we go and familiarize ourselves
With exactly what Daniel said about it.
Daniel actually references it in several places.

TURN TO: DANIEL 8
In Daniel 8, Daniel is given a vision of the coming world kingdoms.

Babylon was currently the ruler, but Daniel sees who is coming next.
• Verses 3-4 picture a ram with two horns which represented the Medes and the Persians.

• Verses 5-8 pictured a goat moving very fast who crushed the ram. We also see the arrogance of this goat to magnify himself, but be broken at the peak of his power. This was Greece and Alexander the Great

(Alexander had no heir and so his kingdom would be split four ways.)
• Verses 9-14 picture one of those rulers, a man named Antiochus Epiphenes.

READ 9-14

And there you see all that he did.
Notice especially verse 11, when Antiochus Epiphenes
Sacrificed a pig on the altar and forced the priests to eat the meat.

Now all of this happened historically, but this event was also
A foreshadow of what was one day coming.

TURN TO: DANIEL 9:24-27
Here Daniel is given an answer to his prayer
Regarding the length of Israel’s suffering and bondage.

And we find really one of the most amazing prophecies ever delivered.
Daniel is told that the plan of God for Israel will take 70 – 7’s (490 years)

READ VS. 24
Then Daniel is told the specific order of things.

READ VS. 25
This is in reference to a decree given
By King Artaxerxes of Medo Persia to rebuild Jerusalem.

Daniel is told that 7 – 7’s & 62 – 7’s (483 years) from that time,
That the Messiah will be cut off.

READ VS. 26
Would it shock you to know that Daniel predicted this to the day?

Beyond that Daniel said that the rejection of the Messiah
Would bring about war and desolations.

All we are left with is one 7 (7 years)

READ VS. 27
And there you have the event of Anti-Christ.

This is that event, which Jesus is referencing.

TURN TO: DANIEL 11:29-39
Here Daniel is again giving a picture of the near future,
And for those of you with on Wednesday night the accuracy of this prophecy is so astounding that most doubters hold that this chapter must have been written later.

Now verses 29-35 again speak of those events surrounding Antiochus Epiphenes, which are a foreshadow of the coming tribulation.

READ 29-35

But starting in verse 36 we move beyond history.
Daniel prophesied this, but it hasn’t yet happened historically,
This is the anti-christ.

READ 36-39

And you see that the coming abomination
Is more than just the sacrifice of a pig on the altar,
This man’s abomination is the exaltation of himself above God.

So this event is starting to take shape for us now.
This abomination of desolation will be an event foreshadowed by Antiochus Epiphenes but will be much greater.

A time when the anti-christ will enter the temple
And declare himself to be God.

TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-4

And with that we are pretty clear as to the event.

Now friends this is important, because this event is the catalyst.
This is the event that starts it all.

Satan is removed from heaven and his wrath is so great
That he uses his puppet known as anti-christ to unleash hell on earth.
This event is also the chief indicator.

As I told you last week, conspiracy theorists throughout history have tried to identify the anti-christ time and time again through various means.

• I told you how some assigned numeric value to 666 and made Nero the anti-Christ.
• Some did the same and made Hitler the anti-christ
• Some did the same and made Kennedy the anti-christ
• I saw an email video a few years ago that used the Hebrew translation of Luke 10:18, to where Jesus would say, “I saw Satan as Barak U Bamah” (barak = lightning; bamah = heaven / high place)”

Now listen, no one is denying that those men may be anti-christ.

Jesus said:
Luke 11:23 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”

John taught us:
1 John 2:18-22 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”

And so anyone who does not faithfully follow Christ is in fact anti-christ.

But when it comes down to identifying the actually “Anti-Christ”,
It will not be done through transliteration,
Nor will it be done through assigning numeric value to the alphabet.

You will know the anti-christ when he steps into the temple
And declares himself to be God.

And when that happens, as Jesus says in verse 16, “then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”

When that happens; RUN!

This abomination of desolation is the catalytic event.
• This is the tell-all.
• This is the conception.
• When this abomination occurs, desolation will follow it.

And this event is clearly seen in the book of the Revelation.

Revelation 13:1-5 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.”

That is the event you had better watch out for.

First – The Catalytic Event
#2 THE CONSEQUENTIAL TRIBULATION
Matthew 24:17-22

Now we already talked about the devastation and tribulation
That will occur after this event in the previous weeks.

This is where we will get the wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines and believers being betrayed and killed.

All of that occurs after this Abomination of Desolation.

What Jesus does here is tell His followers how to respond to it.

Verse 16 said to run, look at what He says here.

(17-18) “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.”

The idea there is don’t let love of the world
Or the things of this world cause you to delay.

Let me show you what Luke’s gospel says:
Luke 17:26-33 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. “Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

There is a pretty pointed warning.
“Remember Lot’s wife”

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?
Genesis 19:23-26 “The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Lot’s wife missed the things of the world.
She loved the sin of Sodom and she was destroyed.

That is the same warning here.
In that day, you had better flee, if you stop to gather your belongings,
You won’t escape.
It’s kind of like a monkey trap.
(trap a monkey by getting him to stick his arm through a hole to grasp a prize, he can’t pull his arm out with a balled up fist, and thus remains trapped)

Don’t let your possessions destroy your life.

And to further emphasize how difficult it will be to escape:
(19-20) “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”

This further emphasizes the necessity of fleeing fast
And not stopping to gather your stuff.

In those days there will be some who will try to immediately escape
And won’t make it simply because they are pregnant or nursing babies,
And those who flee in winter will have a tough time too.

The idea here is you don’t have time to waste, Satan’s wrath is real, Satan’s anti-christ is delusional, he will kill you.

You must run.

(21) “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”

You have to run because in those days is coming a tribulation
Like the world has never seen before.

On Wednesday nights we recently finished the book of Joel.
Joel and his people had just endured the worst locust invasion
Anyone had ever heard of.

Joel 1:4 “What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.”

But Joel revealed that the locust invasion
Was only a foreshadow of the coming day of the Lord,
And in reality the locusts are nothing compared to that day.

Joel 2:1-2 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.”

• Take the locust invasions…
• Take the holocost…
• Take Katrina or Sandy or the Tsunami
None of those things can hold a candle to what is coming from this guy,
You had better run.

And to further emphasize HOW HARD it will be, notice verse 22.

(22) “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

Let me tell you why this is so astounding.
Many times we think of believers as those who just endure
Because they are so strong.

That is not true.
True believers endure because the faith that God has given them
Is not of themselves. It is a gift from Him, and it is supernatural.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Their faith is a gift from God.

1 Peter 1:5 “[We] are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Jude 24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,”

The faith of the elect is a supernatural faith given to them by God.
It is stronger than the circumstantial faith of humanity.

But notice what Jesus said.
This day will be so hard, that if it was not cut short,
Not even their faith would survive.

That tells you how hard this day will be.
When Jesus calls it “Great Tribulation” He means it.

And we already saw why at the beginning of the message.
Revelation 12:12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

Satan is angry and he is out to destroy Israel
And all who hold to the testimony of Jesus.

• He has always been a deceiver…
• He has always been a murderer…
But on this day he is angry.

Jesus says don’t mess around by hanging out in Jerusalem.
The Catalytic Event The Consequential Tribulation
#3 THE CORRESPONDING DECEPTION
Matthew 24:23-28

There again, as Jesus has already mentioned twice,
The deceivers will come out.

The implication here is that these are people who fled with you.
They are sort of like Satan’s spies
Meant to lead you back to him by giving you false information.

And their false information is that Jesus has returned!

And so Jesus tells us very specifically.
(23-24) “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.”

These people will try to lead you astray.
They will try to get you caught.

Did Jesus not tell us earlier that people would betray one another?
This is part of that.

It is what we call a trap.

The false prophets say, “Jesus is here! I saw Him, He is waiting for us in Lubbock at the football stadium, people are coming from all around to join His army!”

And people want to believe it so they go.
They find an army alright, but it isn’t Jesus’ army, it was a trap.

And that is why Jesus says:
(25-26) “Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.”

Jesus is real clear, don’t listen to them.

And then comes some tremendous information.
(27-28) “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

In short, when I return, you won’t have to be told.
You will know it.
Revelation 1:7 “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

You will know it is Me, when I return.
Don’t fall for the traps of the enemy to seek to destroy you.

And Jesus closes with a proverb.
“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

WHAT?

If you go out to count your cows and you are one short, and as you walk through the pasture you see buzzards circling, where are you going to look?

Jesus point is the same.
• It won’t be hard to spot Me.
• It won’t be rocket science to figure out I am here.

But don’t go believing some false prophet
Just because you want him to be right so badly.

This deception will only be there to aid Satan in destroying you,
And it all starts with the abomination of desolation.

And again the warning of Jesus is too clear to miss.
BE PREPARED

Be prepared by knowing it yourself,
Be prepared by teaching it to others.
It is literally blessing to us that Jesus would tell us these things.

In fact:
Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

That is a blessing I certainly want.
To hear what Jesus has to say about the end, and to heed what He says.

We want to be prepared,
And we want to tell this message to others
So they will be prepared as well.

The Coming Tribulation
Matthew 24:9-14
November 4, 2012

As you know we have just gotten started studying Jesus’
“Olivet Discourse”.

As Jesus spoke of the coming destruction of Jerusalem,
The disciples came and asked Him: “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age/”

Jesus is answering that question here in this discourse.

We’ve already taken a bird’s eye look at the entire discourse
And quickly understood that the main point to Jesus’ answer is “PREPARATION”.

Jesus does not give a lot of the details about the end times.
Most specifically He doesn’t tell us precisely “when” it will happen.

But Jesus does tell us all that we need to know
In order to be prepared for the end.
And that is what this discourse focuses on.

Last week we started looking at it a little more in depth and saw first of all “The Coming Devastation”

They were called “the beginning of birth pangs.”

And specifically that a time of deception and destruction are coming.

There will be a significant rise in the number of false Christs
And the world will have an increase in things like war and.

This is the beginning of the end, and we even associated these things
With the first three seal judgments in Revelation 6.

This morning we move on to a topic of much interest
And that is “The Coming Tribulation”

• Also known as “Daniel’s 70th Week”
• Or “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”

We see glimpses of it throughout the prophets
And we have it revealed in great detail in the book of the Revelation.

But people are curious about this coming tribulation.

So this morning as we return to the discourse,
Let’s see what Jesus has to say about it.
There are three things I want you to recognize.
#1 THE FACTS
Matthew 24:9

Lest any of us fall under some sort of misconception about what the tribulation is, Jesus spells it out here about as plainly as possible.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

We see a number of things there, but perhaps the thing that stands out the most is the CERTAINTY of Jesus’ statement.

“they WILL deliver you”
“and WILL kill you”
“you WILL be hated”

This isn’t a “watch out in case” sort of statement.
This is a statement of conviction and certainty.

This will occur.

Another thing that quickly stands out to us is the SEVERITY of the time.

It isn’t just “tribulation” it isn’t just hatred,
But this specific time of animosity will be nothing less than martyrdom.

They will “kill you” Jesus says.
• The goal isn’t just to intimidate.
• The goal isn’t just to exile.
• The goal is to kill and totally exterminate believers.

We also recognize the SCOPE of this event.

Jesus saying “you will be hated by all nations”

Today we aren’t surprised when we say “China hates Christians”.
We aren’t shocked to hear that Indonesia hates Christians.
We understand that the Sudan hates Christians.

But there is coming a day when they will say, “America hates Christians.”
There is coming a day when they will say “Texas hates Christians”
There is coming a day when they will say “Spur hates Christians”

They will be hated everywhere.
The world will be against them.

And we even see the CAUSE
“because of My name.”
• It won’t be a racial persecution.
• It won’t be a gender persecution.
• It won’t be a political persecution.
It is all because of an identification with Jesus Christ.

No name will get you killed faster than the name of Jesus.
His name is polarizing today, it most certainly will be on this day.

In fact, the only way to spare your life and remain safe
Is to denounce the name of Jesus.
This will be the reality of the day of tribulation.

If you want to see it in the book of Revelation, it is easy to spot as well.

TURN TO: REVELATION 6:7-11

This is the fourth and fifth seals.
We have already seen the world war and the subsequent famine.

Now we see death beginning to occur.
People are killed with sword, people are killed with starvation, people are killed with plague, people are killed by wild beast.

And one could ask, who will be killed,
But that becomes obvious when the fifth seal is opened.

(READ VS. 9-11)

They will be slain and there again you see why in verse 9, “because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.”

They refused to let go of Jesus, and they were killed for it.

TURN TO: REVELATION 13:7-10

I know when you turn 6 chapters forward in a book
You expect it to be much later chronologically, but it isn’t.

Revelation covers the same time period several different times
And from several different perspectives.

Chapters 6-11 cover the time period from God’s perspective as we see His divine judgments played out through the breaking of seals and the sounding of judgments.

Chapters 12-15 cover the same time period from Satan’s perspective on earth.

The tribulation in chapter 6 is the same tribulation in chapter 13.
(VERSES 7-10)
This is the Anti-Christ who is given free rein to kill believers.

(VERSES 15-17)

There again, those who stick to Jesus and deny the Anti-Christ
Are killed with the sword and with starvation.

It is a real time of tribulation on the earth.
• Men and women will die.
• Believers will be martyred.
• It will happen.

These are the facts about it.

The Facts
#2 THE FALLOUT
Matthew 24:10-13

After seeing what will occur in that day,
Let’s see what the response to it will be.

We will see GREAT DEFECTION
(10) “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”

And this is tragic, but there were many
Who couldn’t stand the heat and so they got out of the kitchen.

“many will fall away”
The word literally means “to stumble”

It was the word Jesus used when sending a message to John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

It is the word Jesus used of when your eye causes you to sin.
Matthew 5:29 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

It is an indication that someone who once walked with Jesus,
Now no longer walks with Him.

Throughout Scripture it could be temptation which causes it,
Influence which causes it, or persecution which causes it.

Because it will be so difficult, and because persecution will be so real,
There will be those who turn away from Jesus
And claim that they are not really is.
One of the things we are aware of in Scripture is that this refining process must happen, for not everyone who claims to be a Christian really is.

Even in the parable of the soils Jesus taught us about the rocky soil.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

That person didn’t sign up to follow Jesus through the fire,
That person only signed up to follow through the prosperity.

And so when the fire came, they fell away.
And this will happen to many.

Incidentally look back at REVELATION 13 again.

(VERSES 16-18)

Now we notice what was revealed here in verse 18.
“Here is wisdom”

Pay attention to that phrase, John is about to tell what the wise choice is.
(Not necessarily the easy choice, but the wise one)

“Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty six.”

Ok, now hang with me here for a second.
Many people throughout the ages have tried to crack the code
In regard to what this number represents.

• Some have made it equal HITLER
• Some have made it equal KENNEDY
• I’m sure someone in the world has made it equal OBAMA by now.

And they are all trying to figure it out.
But that represents a misunderstanding of the word “calculate”

John is not telling you that this number
Is some sort of secret code that you must decipher.

In fact John is clear “for the number is that of a man;”

Satan isn’t looking for a secret code,
He is looking for a public distinguishing mark.
It will be 666.

But what does “calculate” mean then?

“calculate” translates PSEPHIZO
And means “to count”

It comes from the root word PSEPHOS which is “a small stone or pebble”
Remember Peter’s name Cephas? (little rock)

PSEPHIZO then indicates a vote, where as you would cast your stone for your vote. It was like a ballot. You choose your side.

Now let me show you another place this word is used.
Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”

There Jesus wasn’t saying figure out the secret code to the building,
He was saying figure out what building it will cost you.

And that is what the book of the Revelation is saying.
Figure out what taking that mark will cost you.

Yes they will put down the sword, yes they will supply you with bread, but you will also go to hell when you die.

Count the cost – cast your vote

The tragedy is that many will make the wrong choice.
They will choose momentary comfort over eternal comfort.

They will fail to choose correctly.
“many will fall away”

Not only that but they “will betray one another”

In other words, to save their own skin, they will not only deny Christ,
But will also point fingers and name names.

They will disclose other believers,
And even indicate where they can be found.

And they will “hate one another.”

This indicates not only abandonment, and betrayal,
But even a willingness to cast a vote against them.

It won’t be a partial defection, it will be a total defection.
A Great Defection

You also see A GREAT DECEPTION
(11) “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

There they are again.
Those men who seek to capitalize on the hardship of the times.

It’s bad enough that men will have to choose which path to take,
But to make matters worse they will have those whispering in their ear
That taking the mark of the beast is the correct path.

Revelation 13 spoke of one such false prophet.
Revelation 13:11-14 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 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 beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”

It is a great deception that will take place.
Men will be lied to and they will believe it.

And you can even see the tragedy of their deception.
(12) “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”

And now we see what these prophets will preach.
They promote and condone lawlessness.
They will preach a selfish message where love is not important.

And when this world is saturated with a message
Of selfish sinful permission, it will only magnify the problem.

It is a tough, tough time to live.

But, fortunately we will also see A GREAT DETERMINATION
(13) “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

In short, the cream will rise to the top.
There will be those who will endure

• There will be those who don’t take the mark.
• There will be those who don’t deny the name.
• There will be those who won’t let go.

In fact, they are referenced in the book of the Revelation as well.
Revelation 12:10-11 “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

They are the overcomers.
They are the ones who endure.
Revelation 14:12 “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”

• Regardless of the hatred
• Regardless of the martyrdom
• Regardless of the starvation
• Regardless of the betrayal

These select few will not give in, they will endure
And thus prove themselves to be genuine followers of Christ.

And so you not only see the FACT, but also the FALLOUT.
#3 THE FOCUS
Matthew 24:14

Many have wondered, “Why will God even leave believers here on the earth during this time?”

Why not just beam them up to heaven the second they get saved
So that they won’t have to endure such hardship.

Well one reason is the obvious testing alluded to in verses 10-13,

But the other is because God has a purpose
For leaving believers in a hostile world.

(14) “The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

They are left there because the gospel must be preached.
There will be no shortage of false prophets in the world,
And so by necessity we need some true ones.

We read in Revelation 6 about the opening of the first 5 seals, the 6th sees the heavens ripped away and God on His throne from which men seek to hide.

But notice what we see next.

TURN TO: REVELATION 7

Now in verses 1-8 we see the sealing of the bond-servants of God;
The 144,000 who serve as Jewish evangelists on the earth.

In verses 9-12 we see a great multitude beyond number in heaven glorifying God and praise Jesus.

Now look at verse 13

(VERSES 13-17)
The question was in regard to these worshiping
Who were clothed in white robes.

The answer is in verse 14, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

In other words, people will be saved during the tribulation.
HOW WILL THIS HAPPEN?

Someone will preach the gospel to them,
Even in the tribulation the gospel remains the power of God for salvation.

And this is why believers are there.
Could there ever be a darker night where the light is more greatly needed?

TURN TO: DANIEL 11:29-35

You simply need to know that at this time we are talking about
The Anti-Christ and what he will do to the earth.

But I want you to see the tribulation Daniel saw and the effects of it.

(31) reveals the Abomination which is the catalyst for all of this, and we’ll talk about it next week.

(32) introduces the certain deception that we have already seen documented.

But what does the angel reveal to Daniel
Will occur during the deception?
“but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.”

They will stand against the heresy and stand against the deception
And do what they can to bring the gospel to the world.

(33) And there we learn still that they will preach the truth and will pay for their obedience with their lives.

(34) Reveals that God will give them grace as they die,

But we also get a little insight as to how and why they die.
“and many will join with them in hypocrisy.”

In other words there will be many who pretend to listen to them, merely as imposters and spies to rat them out and cause them to be condemned.

We heard all of that from Jesus didn’t we?

(35) We even get an explanation of the purifying work that will occur in this day. It will be bad, but it will purge, it will purify, it will refine.

Now, what I want to leave you with today is a very important thought.

If people in the tribulation are expected
To be faithful through the most horrific circumstances possible
And are expected to be faithful to preach the gospel,
Even paying for their obedience with their own lives…

How much more can we be expected to be faithful and to preach the gospel when the cost to us is significantly lower?

If this passage teaches us anything,
It is that there is never a time when Jesus will say,
“it is ok if you don’t preach now.”

He expects it at all times.

And even the next time the disciples asked Jesus about the end, notice what He will say:
Acts 1:6-8 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Jesus said, quit focusing on when it will happen
And start focusing on what you are supposed to be doing.

And that is the same admonition I would give you this morning.
Christ expects faithfulness from His church,
Regardless of the day, regardless of the circumstances.

Be faithful and remember we are here to preach the gospel
To a world that desperately needs to hear it.

The Coming Devastation
Matthew 24:4-8
October 28, 2012

Last week we began what is known as “The Olivet Discourse”

Our Lord had just finished His scathing confrontation of the hypocrites
And had pronounced judgment on the temple itself.

As He was leaving the disciples began to marvel over the buildings.

Jesus responded by saying:
Matthew 24:2 “And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

This statement pricked the curiosity of the disciples
And when they finally stopped on the Mount of Olives they asked:

“Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And as we said last week, that question probably sums up
All that you have ever wanted to know about the end times as well.

When will it happen, and what will it be like?

It is in reference to that question that Jesus gives this Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24 & 25 are Jesus’ answer to that very question.

Now last week we saw an overview of this amazing discourse
And began to understand the purpose behind it.

Jesus does not so much focus on the specifics of the end
As He does on making sure people are ready for the end.

But now let’s go back and take a closer look at what Jesus had to say.

SO THE DISCIPLES COME ASKING: WHEN AND WHAT?

Now it is also important to note that the disciples were expecting
This reality to come soon, possibly even by the end of the week.

• After all Jesus had just entered Jerusalem.
• Jesus had just silenced the hypocrites.
• And now it seemed to the disciples that the timing was right for Him to usher in His kingdom.

They expected it to be any day.
They had failed to understand the gap that existed
In the Old Testament prophecies.
You read:
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

When one reads that prophecy it is easy to understand
Why they only saw One coming of the Messiah.

They never expected a 2,000+ year gap
Between the coming of the child and the building of a kingdom.

So the disciples expected it now.

This is further reinforced by the fact that
They did not accept the teachings on His death.

Matthew 16:21-22 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

And even after the death and resurrection of Jesus,
The disciples still expected the kingdom immediately.

Acts 1:6 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

It is important that you understand their mindset
Because it helps explain why Jesus taught what He did.

If the disciples were expecting the kingdom immediately,
Then they were obviously not ready for the
Devastation, Tribulation, and Abomination that would precede it.

THAT WAS A DANGEROUS POSITION.
They ran the risk of being caught off guard when the hardship breaks out.

And so we understand then why Jesus spent the first 31 verses
First talking about the hardship that will precede His coming.

It doesn’t do anyone any good to be naïve about the coming hardship.

And this is why Jesus answers the way He does.

Now last week I told you, we can break the sermon up
Into two main points, each of which has four sub-points.

I. The Explanation (24:4-31)
A. Devastation (4-8)
B. Tribulation (9-14)
C. Abomination (15-28)
D. Coronation (29-31)

II. The Exhortation (24:32 – 25:46)
A. Vigilance (32-52)
B. Endurance (25:1-13)
C. Obedience (14-30)
D. Benevolence (31-46)

This morning I want to start talking about this coming devastation.

We know that devastation is a reality,
We know it is coming, our Lord promised it.
But what does it entail?

3 things Jesus shows us here about it.
#1 FALSE CHRISTS
Matthew 24:4-5

The first warning Jesus issues in regard to this devastation
Is a warning regarding Messianic Phonies, Christ-Impersonators.

The reason of course is that when things began to unravel and chaos begins to unfold, people will more readily look for help and hope.

People are always more eager to meet Jesus in the midst of a tragedy,
And no doubt Satan will take advantage of this desire.

Seeking to keep people from trusting in the true Christ,
Satan will supply a host of false Christs To keep the people deceived and headed on the wrong path.

And we learn some very specific things about them here.
1) THEIR PRESENCE
“For many will come”

While today it is true that from time to time
We have a person who pretends to be Jesus,
This day will present a much higher population of them.

At Christmas we look up and there are Santas everywhere,
On this day it will be false Messiah’s everywhere.

And the reason for this is not hard to deduce.
Religion has always been a way to make a good profit.

Speaking of false prophets Peter said:
2 Peter 2:13-15 “They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;”

Today it is the T.V. preacher that promises healing and blessing
If you will only send in a small “seed faith” gift to his ministry.

They seek to capitalize off of a world steeped in sickness and disease.

In the end it will be pretenders claiming to be the Messiah
Seeking to capitalize off of people’s desire to find relief.

And there will be a lot of them.

2) THEIR PRETENSE
“For many will come in My name”

And this is important.
They will attribute their power to their affiliation with God.

This is one of the things that makes people like this so dangerous.
• They don’t come telling you Satan is the Savior (obviously wrong)
• They come telling you Jesus is the Savior

They are sneaky and sly in what they do.

Paul said of them:
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 “But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

When they come they will assure they are one of the good guys.

3) THEIR PROCLAMATION
“saying, ‘I am the Christ,’”

And this is truly shocking.
After worming their way in by claiming to be on Jesus’ side,
They will then genuinely cross the line and claim to be Him.

This is when their fruit begins to display.
They are seeking to get men to follow Jesus,
They are seeking to get men to follow themselves.

Do you remember the warning Paul gave to the Ephesian elders?
Acts 20:29-30 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
And that is where these men cross the line.

• The fact that there are many of them is not a problem.
• The fact that they come in Jesus’ name is not a problem.
• But when they claim to be the Christ, we have a problem.

This is what Jesus is saying to watch out for.
Don’t be so eager for relief that you settle for a false deliverer.
Men will want a Savior, and deceivers will offer them one.

And then the tragedy
4) THEIR PROSELYTES
“and will mislead many”

This isn’t shocking, this is sad.
It should be obvious that these men are not the Christ
And yet they will be highly successful in convincing men that they are.

“They don’t call it deception for nothing”

Many people will follow.
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Many will follow because they will be offering what the many want.

Mankind has always been this way.
The reason they reject Christ is because He didn’t offer what they wanted.

Oh sure, He offered eternal life, but He required repentance to obtain it.
Men didn’t want that, and so they rejected Him.

And even today it is as Paul told Timothy that men gather around them
“a multitude of teachers to tell them what their itching ears want to hear.”

• Sensual people love a sensual preacher.
• Greedy people love a material preacher.
• Sinful people love a tolerant preacher.

Men will want deliverance while being allowed to stay in their sin,
And that is precisely what Satan will offer.

He’ll offer a Jesus that lets you keep your sin, and many will be deceived.

Verse 24 of this chapter even says that they “will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
They will pull out all the stops.
And they will be effective.

And that is why Jesus gave the warning that He did in verse 4.

“And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.”

• Make sure you aren’t deceived.
• Make sure you aren’t misled.
• Make sure you are duped by these guys.

And let me give you a very important truth to help you not be misled.
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 13:1-5

How are you supposed to see through someone who can perform signs?
Because this sign told you to go against
The already revealed word of God.

God’s revealed word takes president over a miraculous sign.

WHAT DICTATES WHAT YOU BELIEVE?
• Do you believe because you see? (dangerous)
• Do you believe because you experience? (dangerous)
(Either one of those will have you following a false Christ)

We believe because we hear / read.
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

That’s what Moses was saying.
Don’t let a sign trump the revealed word of God.

And that is important information
Since we know that many false Christ’s are on their way.

#2 FRIGHTENING CALAMITY
Matthew 24:6-7

So deceivers aren’t the only thing that is coming,
We will also get our fair share of destruction.

And notice some aspects of this.
1) THE NEWS
“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars”

You watch the news, and you understand what I’m talking about here.

I once heard the line in regard to a news cast, “If it bleeds, it leads”

The news loves stories of carnage and shock.
And the same is true for rumors.

And Satan will make sure you hear
Every frightening thing that is going on in the world.

This will play right into the hands of those false Christs
Who are offering salvation.

The news will be everywhere, everyone will be talking about it.

2) THE NECESSITY
“for those things must take place”

That is interesting.
Why must there be wars and rumors of wars, and eventually these earthquakes and famines?

Isaiah said this:
Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”

Devastation has to occur for the same reason a banana peal has to rot.
It wasn’t intended to last forever.

• This world is fallen.
• This world is cursed.
• This world must pass away.

I always find it interesting when you listen to politics,
How every politician wants peace, but none can obtain it.

• We fight in Iraq
• We fight in Afghanistan
• And as we try to end that we get attacked in Libya
• We are worried about Syria
• We are worried about Pakistan
• We are worried about Iran

And I’m just saying you’d better watch out for those tricky Canadians!
(just joking)

Point is that even in our day war seems to be inevitable.
But even more so in this day.

The world is headed down the drain and it only stands to reason
That the more immoral we get the more violent we get as well.

This has to happen.
That means it is all part of God’s plan
3) THE NATURE
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.”

It will be a time of natural and man-made calamity.
The earth literally falling apart.

Now, if you want to see the correlation to all of this
In the book of Revelation.

TURN TO: REVELATION 6:1-6

That is the same thing we are talking about here.
Deceives and War and Famine

And then we notice the admonition of Jesus in regard to these calamities.
(6) “See that you are not frightened”

First it was make sure you aren’t deceived.
Here it is make sure you aren’t afraid.

WHY?
• Because deceived people turn away from the Lord.
• Because frightened people turn away from the Lord.

And if you will look down to verse 13 Jesus says,
“But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Endurance is necessary if you are to survive in this day,
And so you must watch out for deception and fear,
Both of those things will lead you away.

TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS

Notice how the Thessalonians were falling prey to deception and fear?
And Paul writes to get them to quit.

And notice why they are deceived.
(3) “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first…”

Should they have known that?
Yes, Daniel talks about it plainly.
So they weren’t reading the Scripture and they were deceived.

(5) “Do you not remember that while I was with you I was telling you these things?”

And so they had forgotten what Paul warned them about.
(6) “And you know what restrains him now…”

Indicating that they had willingly overlooked something
They knew to be true.

See the Thessalonians were not discerning, they were being gullible.
You have to make sure you are not so easily deceived.
Learn the truth, read the word, believe it and don’t be shaken from it.

As a result of their deception, they had become frightened
And were in danger of turning from the Lord.

This is why Jesus warned the disciples.
They thought the end was coming in a matter of days,
And Jesus knew with that sort of mindset they would not be ready
For the deception or the calamity that was coming.

They needed to prepare themselves.

False Christs, Frightening Calamity
#3 FREQUENT CONTRACTIONS
Matthew 24:8

And this is an important statement.

“But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

To describe the Day of the Lord, Isaiah says this:
Isaiah 13:6-16 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.”

The Day of the Lord is like a woman in labor.
Jesus wants you to know that this is not yet that.

This is just the beginning of contractions.

Now I know that contractions start lighter and farther apart,
But the closer you get to labor,
The more intense and the more frequent they become.

This is certainly true of the end.
• In the Revelation we start with the seal judgments which take years to unfold.
• We move to the trumpet judgments which take weeks, or months.
• Then we move to the bowl judgments which take merely hours.

They get more intense and more frequent.

Now why would Jesus say this?

Because He doesn’t want you thinking that all you have to do
Is prepare yourself for a few wars and a little famine.

This is only the beginning, you need to be prepared.

Now I know one of the main questions on everyone’s mind at this point.
ARE WE GOING TO BE HERE?

And if I tell you, “No, the rapture will have already occurred, as many think it will”
Your temptation will be to sit back and not fret what Jesus said.

But listen, Jesus knew that the disciples would not be around
For this either and yet He still warned them.

WHY?
Because Discernment and Courage and Preparation
Are necessary to prepare you to meet the Lord,
Whether you live to see these days or not.

Now I could also say, “We might be there” (no one can be dogmatic)

In which case you had sure better be ready.

But the point is, this world will not pass away
Without intense deception and intense devastation.

Don’t let lies deceive you and don’t let wars panic you.
Keep your trust in the Lord and endure for Him.

NEVER FALL AWAY FROM HIM

The Olivet Discourse
Matthew 24:1-3
October 21, 2012

Well this morning we enter what is routinely referred to as
“The Olivet Discourse”

It is called that of course because Jesus gave this sermon to His disciples
While sitting on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem.

And there is little doubt that this is one of
The most popular messages that Jesus ever gave.

People throughout all ages have been literally mesmerized
By the events surrounding the end times.

People love to try and “Crack the code”
In regard to the events and timing of the end.

Even in our own day we continually have people who not only study the end, but some who are so bold as to predict when it will occur.

There is a fascination about it.

Well, that fascination is not a new thing,
This fascination dates all the way back to Jesus and before.

You don’t really have to study Jewish history very long
To figure out that the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom
Was a long anticipated event in Israel.

Isaiah said:
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Zechariah said:
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Micah said:
Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

And Israel continually anticipated that time.

Even in the day of John the Baptist some came to him asking:
John 1:19-23 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

The ironic thing of course is that the actual Messiah
Was right under their noses and they could not see Him.

That is in fact what led Jesus to say at the end of chapter 23
Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

The Messiah did come, and the Messiah
Was ready to institute His kingdom, but they rejected Him.

But you still see their desire none the less.
And this fascination was also one shared by the disciples.

And it is their curiosity that sort of jumpstarts this message
From Jesus on the end times.

This is Jesus teaching on the end.
So we listen with eager and open ears.

And this morning what we are going to do
Is just sort of take a survey of this entire discourse.

Let’s look at the whole forest and then we’ll come back and examine the trees.

So let’s get into this sermon this morning,
Initially by looking at the first 3 verses.

#1 THE CONVERSATION
Matthew 24:1

So Jesus has just finished what really was
One of the most glorious and inspiring days of His initial stay on earth.

For one day Jesus held His rightful place as teacher in the temple.

And after correcting the foolish and rebuking the hypocrites
Jesus then pronounced the coming judgment of Jerusalem.

And again it is important to remember what He said.
Matthew 23:38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!”
• Jerusalem was those who rejected God’s Word.
• Jerusalem was those who ignored God’s Savior.
• And now Jerusalem was about to lose her house.

WHAT WAS HER HOUSE?
The temple.

Jesus just said it was going to be demolished.
(And as we said in about 37 years it would be)

And we reference that statement, because it is obvious that
The disciples really must not have been paying attention.

Because as soon as Jesus leaves the “temple and was going away” “His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.”

Now they weren’t showing Jesus where they were,
They were marveling at them.

Mark’s gospel says this:
Mark 13:1 “As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

The disciples were blown away with
The monumental structure which was the temple.

It is like they didn’t even hear what Jesus just said.
He just said it would be destroyed and yet they are marveling over it.

It sort of reminds me of that mindset back in Jeremiah’s day
When he was telling people that the temple would be destroyed
And they didn’t believe him either.

Jeremiah 7:3-4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. “Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘ This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’”
Jeremiah was telling them that Nebuchadnezzar
Was about to destroy the temple, but they didn’t believe him either.

They kept saying, “The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”

Despite Jeremiah’s warnings they just could not bring themselves
To believe that God would allow His own temple to be destroyed.

And you really kind of see that same mentality here,
Not only in Israel, but also in the disciples.

Jesus just said it would be left desolate and yet they are marveling at it.
That is their conversation.
#2 THE CORRECTION
Matthew 24:2

Jesus paints a clearer picture to them here.
“Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone there will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

So Jesus reiterates it again.

“Maybe you didn’t hear what I just said…”
This house is being left desolate.
This house is being destroyed.

The rejection of the Jews will not bring about victory, only judgment.

And apparently His tone was such
That the conversation at this point stopped.

The Conversation, The Correction
#3 THE CURIOSITY
Matthew 24:3

And here is where we certainly begin to identify.

Jesus has now climbed the Mountain has taken His seat
And the disciples can’t stand it anymore.

“Tell us when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Does that question not fully encompass
Everything you want to know about the end times?

• WHEN will it happen?
• WHAT will take place?

That probably sums up everything you want to know as well.

If you’ve ever wondered those things then let me assure you
Matthew 24 and 25 are your kind of chapters.

No question in Scripture does Jesus give
A longer or more detailed answer to than this one.

Most of the time His answers can be summed up
In a couple of verses if not a couple of words.

But here Jesus answers this question with two chapters of Scripture.
And for the remainder of our time here I want to just sort of
Give you the overview of His answer
Because there is in fact a main point to what He says.

So let’s make sure we get the main point and then we’ll spend some time
Over the next couple of months examining His answer in detail.

I’m going to give you an outline of His answer this morning
• There are two main points (Roman numeral 1 & 2)
• And each point has 4 sub points (A,B,C,D)

So the disciples want to know “When” & “What”, here is Jesus’ answer

I. The Explanation (24:4 – 24:31)

The first thing Jesus does is simple explain some of the facts and events
That will transpire in and around His coming.

And there we see four things.
A. Devastation (24:4-8)

Jesus is very clear in these 5 verses
That there is a coming period of devastation.

• There will be an intensified frequency of wars.
• There will be an intensified frequency of earthquakes.
• There will be an intensified frequency of famines.

Furthermore this will be a terrifying and confusing time.

With all the disasters, animosity between countries, and devastation
People will naturally desire an answer.

And to give an answer there will arise a number of false Christs.

(5) “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”

In the end will be such tragedy that men will seek answers,
And Satan will supply plenty of men to give people answers.

It is what Paul spoke of to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

It will be a time of great confusion and subsequent deception,
And because the world has so hated God’s Word,
God will allow them to be deceived.
Now it is important to point out that the devastation is not the end.
It is the beginning of the end.

(8) “But all these things are merely the beginning of the birth pangs.”

Often in the Old Testament the anguish that accompanies
The Day of the Lord is described as a woman in labor.

And Jesus says here, “All of these devastations will make you think this must be the end, but it isn’t, this is just the beginning.”

So the first thing that is coming is devastation.
B. Tribulation (24:9-14)

Notice the word “Then”
So devastation is just the start of it all, it gets worse from there.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

• This is not just pockets of tribulation scattered throughout the world.
• This is not just a few Muslim hot-spots where Christians are in danger.
• This is not just a communist government making Christianity illegal.

This is global.
This is universal.
This is everywhere.

Every nation will “deliver you to tribulation”
Every nation will “kill you”
Every nation will hate you.

And it is tribulation so severe that it will be accompanied by
A great defection from the faith.

(10) “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”

And of course there in verse 11
Are the false prophets again helping people defect.

We read from 2 Thessalonians a moment ago,
Perhaps you remember what one false prophet had told that church.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”

A false prophet told them they had missed the rapture.
The idea there was to cause them to turn away from Jesus
So that God’s wrath against them would stop.

That is the sort of message that will be preached on this day.
It will be such tribulation that men will be looking for a reason to fall away
And false prophets will give them a reason.

It will be a day of tremendous purification among God’s people.
There will be no casual attenders or social observers.

Men will either be all in or all out.
And the tragedy is that more will be out than will be in.

(12) “Because lawlessness is increased, MOST people’s love will grow cold.”

Devastation, Tribulation
C. Abomination (24:15-28)

And if you are wondering why all this will arise to such a horrific degree
It is because there will be a catalyst.

There will be one event
That will get the whole ball of devastation and persecution rolling.

That event is what Daniel and Jesus call “the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION”

We’ll talk much more about this later,
But it is nothing short of the public rise and declaration of the Anti-Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

And according to Jesus, this is the event you need to watch for.

When you see this, Jesus says, “those who are in Judea must flee”
• And don’t delay even for a coat.
• And you’d better hope it isn’t winter.
• And you’d better hope you aren’t traveling with an infant.

Because that is the event that will open the (21) “great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”

This will be such a horrific time that if God didn’t limit it, no one could withstand it, not even those with the supernatural faith of God.

And once again Satan will capitalize with false prophets.

But Jesus says:
(25-26) “Behold, I have told you in advance. “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.”

You are going to want deliverance long before it comes,
But don’t be fooled and fall into some sort of trap.

You will know it when I return, no one will have to tell you about it.
My return will be like lightning.

(27) “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

So don’t fall into some sort of deceptive trap.

Devastation, Tribulation, Abomination
D. Coronation (24:29-31)

And then we get actually our second reference to “When”

The first came back in verse 14, “The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Here comes the second “time” reference.

(29) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days…”

(30) “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky”

The point of course being that the Son of Man is coming.
That the King will take His throne.

But it will not occur until after a severe period
Of devastation, tribulation and abomination.
But you get the explanation from Jesus.

Now point 2
II. The Exhortation (24:32 – 25:46)

And I don’t mind telling you that the main theme of Jesus’ exhortation
Is “Readiness”

Jesus spends more time telling us how to prepare for the end
Than He does telling us what the end entails.

And when you think about it, this is far more important.
It is far more important that you be ready for the end
Than it even does that you understand it.

And so after an explanation we get an exhortation,
And this also has four points.

Four things you need to be ready.
A. Vigilance (24:32-52)

Jesus starts here with the parable of the fig tree,
And namely that a fig tree is a great indicator of summer.

When a fig tree puts forth leaves you know summer is near.

The point is that when you see signs of the times,
You ought to know what is coming.

In other words, when abomination comes, followed by devastation, followed by tribulation, then you will know the end is near.

And following that parable comes the most important “when” reference followed by a stern warning.

(36) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Now this is important.
Jesus is not going to tell you the exact time, in fact He didn’t know it.

The only info you are going to get are the signs of the times.
You can’t put a date on your calendar,
But you can pay attention to what is happening around you.

And then Jesus gives a warning.
Don’t be like the people in Noah’s day.

(38-39) “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Be alert. Be vigilant.
It won’t do you any good to ignore the signs.

And in fact Jesus spells that out specifically in verse 42.
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

Be vigilant
B. Endurance (25:1-13)

This of course is the parable of the 10 virgins.

And the picture is of 5 virgins who were not ready to go the distance.
The groom took longer to arrive than they thought.

And so Jesus calls not only for vigilance, but also endurance.

Vigilance, Endurance
C. Obedience (25:14-30)

This is the parable of the talents, where two servants were faithful,
But one of the servants was not.

• He was not obedient to do the task he was left to do.
• He was not faithful to use his Master’s money.

And his wickedness or lack of obedience finds him being judged.

Vigilance, Endurance, Obedience
D. Benevolence (25:31-46)

Here Jesus actually says that judgment will come down
To how you treat “the least of these”.

• If you were faithful to care for them, you are a child of God.
• If you were not faithful, then you are not.

That really helps us understand the main point to Jesus’ answer.

The disciples were focused on
When it would occur and what would happen.

Jesus seeks to curve their focus from when it will occur
To HOW to prepare for it.

Over and over Jesus stresses readiness.
Jesus stresses being prepared for it.

And when you look through these two chapters
You see several commands to that affect.

Look back at (24:4)
“See to it that no one misleads you”

Jesus saying prepare yourself by being discerning of what is going on.

Look at (24:6)
“See that you are not frightened”

Jesus saying to prepare yourself by being courageous.
Don’t walk in fear or you will be more prone to follow false teachers.

Look at (24:13)
“the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Jesus saying prepare yourself by being faithful,
Don’t fall away, stand firm.

Look at (24:16)
“flee”
Or (24:20)
“pray”

The idea there is to be wise.
Don’t be naive, recognize the danger of those times.
A failure to do this will only make the tribulation that much harder.

You prepare yourself by being wise and listening to what I say.

Look at (24:42)
“Be on the alert”

Look at (24:44)
“you also must be ready”

Look at (25:13)
“Be on the alert then”

And you get what he is saying.
It is not so much about you understanding the facts about the end,
As it is that you prepare yourself for it.

And friends this is the message of the New Testament.

TURN TO: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

TURN TO: Romans 13:8-14

TURN TO: 2 Peter 3:10-15

You get the point.
It’s not about understand it, it’s about preparing yourself for it.

The point that I want you to see is that the disciples were very curious
As to WHEN the kingdom would be established,
And WHAT sort of events would accompany it.

Jesus clearly says, don’t worry so much about that.

What you need to know is that when it comes it will be preceded by a very difficult time and you need to prepare for it.

Be Prepared.

And preparation consists of
Vigilance, Endurance, Obedience, and Benevolence.

AND WITH THAT, I ASK ARE YOU PREPARED?

Not are you ready?
People walk through things in this life and say, “Oh, I’m so ready for the Lord to return.”

That’s all fine and well, but are you prepared?
• If Jesus returned today would He consider you that faithful slave that did the Master’s will while He was gone?

• If Jesus returned today and you had to give an account of your talents, would He be pleased with what you’ve done with them?

• If Jesus returned today would you be able to say you fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited the sick and in prison?

• But even beyond that, if persecution broke out today, would you be prepared to endure to the end?

You get the idea.
Don’t worry yourself with when,
Concern yourself with preparing for it whenever it comes.

Matthew 24:44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

A Blueprint for Destruction
Matthew 23:37-39
October 14, 2012

As you know we have entered the Passion Week,
And what an appropriate name that has been.

• On Monday we saw the passion of the crowds as the proclaimed Jesus the Messiah.
• On Tuesday we saw the passion of Jesus as He cleared the temple.
• On Wednesday we first saw the passion of the Pharisees and chief priests as they sought to condemn Him.
• And later on Wednesday we again saw the passion of Jesus as confronted the hypocrites of Israel.

It has been a passionate journey.

One almost gets the feeling that the hypocritical parade
That was called the Triumphal Entry fired Jesus up.

And I think there is evidence in our text this morning
That the event was truly burned into His mind.

For here He references what the people said on that day.

(39) “For I say to you, from now on you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

In other words, “You won’t see Me as your Deliverer until you say it for real.
On Monday you said it for show, but until you say it from the heart you will get no deliverance.”

That statement helps us see that
Their hypocrisy on that day greatly troubled Jesus
And He has been on a war against that hypocrisy ever since.

• We saw Him clearing the temple…
• We saw Him cursing a fig tree…
• We heard Him giving condemning parables…
Disobedient son
Disobedient Tenants of the vineyard
• We have heard absolutely obliterate the Pharisees…

Their hypocrisy fired Jesus up and in our text today He reiterates that.

Now as we study this text, DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE of assuming this is the same event as when Jesus wept over Jerusalem, it is not.

That event happened
Immediately after the triumphal entry back on Monday.
Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

There Jesus is heart-broken.

This is a different event.
Here Jesus is frustrated.

And what we get is the final public address
Jesus ever made to the nation of Israel.

He would deliver a short message to the weeping women
As He traveled to Golgotha, but this is the final public address.

And in this sermon Jesus explain ahead of time
For all the horror that has become Jewish history.

Many have wondered over the years
How God could let such tragedy come upon His chosen people.

If Israel is indeed the apple of His eye…
If Israel is indeed His chosen people…
If Israel is indeed His bride…

Then how could God let them endure such hardship and persecution
As they have endured.

And all one has to do to find the answer to that question
Is read the final sermon Jesus ever preached to them.

For in our text this morning Jesus fully explains
Why Israel has walked such a difficult road.

In these words culminate all the frustration that God has had for Israel
Since their conception,
And in these words you and I find the simplest of warnings.

For Israel has literally given us the blueprint for destruction.
If you want the judgment of God upon your life
All you have to do is follow this blueprint.
There are four things we see here.
#1 THEIR REBELLION
Matthew 23:37a

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!”
It really is, quite the revealing statement.

We recognize first the fact that Jesus repeats Jerusalem twice,
And we understand this.

It speaks to His tone.
Let me show you a couple of other times He does this.

Luke 10:41 “But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;”

Acts 9:4 “and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

When Jesus called you twice, it was a way of communication
So as to sort of confront an inconsistency in your life.

A way to get your attention and call you to listen to the truth about yourself.

• Martha needed to see that she was off-base with her serve first, love later
mentality.

• Saul obviously needed to see that he was off-base with his determination to kill
the church.

That is the same thing Jesus is doing here.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” He is trying to get their attention to reveal they are off-base in their thinking.

And here was the first way they were off-base.

“who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!”

In the previous verses Jesus has just condemned the Pharisees for adorning the tombs of the righteous while yet plotting to kill them.

The main difference is that there Jesus became specific, actually naming Abel and Zechariah.

Here Jesus speaks in general terms.

The Pharisees were condemned for specific murder,
All Israel is condemned for general rebellion.

Jesus wasn’t confronting them for the murder of some specific prophet, but rather for the fact that they resist every prophet.

If God sends them a prophet, Israel “kills” them.
If God sends someone else, Israel “stones” them.

What we have here is a general and yet consistent rebellion
Against the word of God.

And to hear that certainly doesn’t surprise us.

We remember Israel from the beginning.
• God had brought them out of Egypt and carried them to Sinai where He began to speak to them and give them the Law.

• In fact Moses told the people to consecrate themselves because on the next day God was going to speak directly to them.

And this was Israel’s response.
Exodus 19:7-9 “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.”

What a statement! We will do everything the Lord says!
Just speak, we’ll listen.

And if you read on, God does speak, He gives the Ten Commandments.
(I know in the movie that is just between God and Charleton Heston, but in real life, all of Israel heard God speak those commandments)

And then came a glimpse of things to come.
Exodus 20:18-21 “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.”

So the people didn’t like hearing directly from God, that was too terrifying.
Instead they wanted an intermediary; they wanted a go-between.

That was really the start.
It’s hard to listen directly to the voice of God and ignore it,
But we have a better chance ignoring a human that he sends.

That was Israel’s first step in the wrong direction.
And by the time we reach Exodus 32,
They are already ignoring those initial commands.

They build a golden calf and worship it.

But on that day Israel set herself up that instead of hearing God,
They only wanted to hear a messenger from Him.

And you will remember how they responded to those messengers.
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

• FIRST it was let a prophet speak, not God.
• NOW it is don’t even let the prophet speak.

Ezekiel 33:30-33 “But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.’ “They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. “Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. “So when it comes to pass — as surely it will — then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.”

And that reveals that at times they would tolerate the prophet,
But they still didn’t listen to him.

And this was always characteristic of Israel.
They rebelled against the word of God.

Jeremiah 13:8-10 “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ‘This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless.”

And this rebellion ultimately led to her destruction.

Remember Pentecost?
• What happened at Pentecost?

The Holy Spirit came and the original believers
Began to speak in other languages.

You will remember this astounded all of Jerusalem.
Acts 2:12 “And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

I can tell you what it meant.
Paul explained this for us quite clearly.

1 Corinthians 14:20-22 “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,” says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.”

Now Paul there gives the doctrinal explanation for tongues.
Corinth had quite a few mystical explanations for tongues,
But Paul gives the doctrinal explanation.

Tongues are for a sign for non-believers.
What kind of sign?

Is it a powerful sign convincing them of the presence of the Holy Spirit so that they will be saved? No.

That is what prophecy is.
1 Corinthians 14:23-25 “Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”

Tongues is NOT a sign leading the lost to salvation.
Proclamation of the word of God is what convicts a sinner and reveals to Him that God is among you and leads him to worship.

So what kind of a sign is tongues?
All you have to do is read the Old Testament passage that Paul quoted.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 28:1-13

God told those people, since you won’t listen in your own language,
I’ll start speaking in a language you can’t understand.

Tongues was the ultimate sign of condemnation.
It was an indication that God is about to stop trying to get through to you.

It indicated a loss of the word of God.
Remember what Amos said?

Amos 8:11-12 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.”

It is a loss of the word of God.

That is what Pentecost was.
• It was the ultimate condemnation on Israel.
• They had rejected God’s word for so long that God was about to speak it in a language they didn’t understand.
WHY?
Because Israel continually rebelled against the word of God.
They killed prophets and they stoned those sent to her.

And friend that is step one on the blueprint for destruction,
Just refuse to listen to God’s word.

If you want to be destroyed,
You can start off by ignoring all that God has to say to you.

That is how Israel started.

Their Rebellion
#2 THEIR RELUCTANCE
Matthew 23:37b

“How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

And there is another tragic statement.

We are reminded again of the heart of God.

Paul says it is God:
1 Timothy 2:4 “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Peter gives the flip-side to that reality.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

On a negative side God doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed.
And a positive side He wants all to be saved.

That is true of the nature of God.
He does not delight in judging sinners.

(That, after all, is why He sent His Son into the world –
“that the world might be saved through Him.”)

I mean we have never been confused about God’s plan for Israel.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

We know this about God, and it is certainly true about Christ.

“How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”

Jesus here pulls from a couple of Old Testament passages.

Psalms 36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”

Psalms 91:4 “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

You’ve probably received emails or heard various stories about the remains of a fire, in which someone will come across a burned chicken or other mother bird, and when the bird is moved they find under her wings her surviving young.

The mother bird literally protecting her chicks under her wings, costing her life.

Jesus said, that is what I wanted to do.
• I wanted to draw you to Myself.
• I wanted to protect you.
• I wanted to save you.

Is that not what Jesus said back in chapter 11?
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

There it was again.
If you’ll just come to Me, I’ll take care of you.

BUT WHAT DID WE LEARN OF ISRAEL OVER AND OVER?
They “were unwilling”

Instead of coming to the Messiah to find comfort and protection and deliverance and salvation, they refused.

• They loved their sin…
• They loved their hypocritical religion…
• They loved their own self-styled manner of worship…

And so they rejected Him.
They were reluctant to follow.

WANT TO KNOW HOW TO BE DESTROYED?
Just ignore the word of God every time it comes to you,
And resist the calling of the Holy Spirit to come to the One who can save.

God’s word is meant to expose your sin.
God’s Savior is the One who can deliver you from it.
Israel rejected both.

That is a blueprint for destruction.

Their Rebellion, Their Reluctance
#3 THEIR RUIN
Matthew 23:38

And what a horrifying statement.

Jesus was in effect saying, Since you ignored the prophets, since you ignored the Savior, there is only one thing left for you and that is destruction.

Remember what the writer of Hebrews told us?
Hebrews 10:26-27 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”

The writer was reminding that if you reject the only sacrifice for sin,
Which is Christ, then salvation is impossible.
All you really have to look forward to is destruction.

And that is the predicament here.
• You won’t listen to the prophets…
• You won’t respond to the Savior…

You really only have one fate, and that is destruction.
“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate.”

And this was certainly true in a literal, physical, and historical sense.

In A.D. 66 a Jewish revolt broke out against Rome
• Rome struck back and killed thousands of Jews in northern Galilee.
• Eventually Titus came to Jerusalem with an army of 80,000 and demanded surrender.
• The Jews responded with laughter and mocking.
• In A.D. 70 Titus slaughtered them. (Josephus gives account)

The building [The Temple at Jerusalem], however, God long ago had sentenced to the flames; but now in the revolution of the time periods the fateful day had arrived, the tenth of the month Lous, the very day on which previously it had been burned by the king of Babylon…One of the soldiers, neither awaiting orders nor filled with horror of so dread an undertaking, but moved by some supernatural impulse, snatched a brand from the blazing timber and, hoisted up by one of his fellow soldiers, flung the fiery missile through the golden window…When the flame arose, a scream, as poignant as the tragedy, went up from the Jews…now that the object which before they had guarded so closely was going to ruin…While the sanctuary was burning…neither pity for age nor respect for rank was shown; on the contrary, children and old people, laity and priests alike were massacred…The emperor ordered the entire city and sanctuary to be razed to the ground, except only the highest towers, Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne, and part of the wall that enclosed the city on the west.”
(MacArthur, pg. 308-309)

And so the temple and the city were burned.

• About the same time, the Gentiles in Damascus were said to have slit the throats of 10,000 Jews.

• In A.D. 630 emperor Heraclitus banished all Jews from Jerusalem.

• During the first crusade as Europe tried to deliver the Holy Land from Muslim Turks, they feared Jews would want to resettle there and as they marched through Palestine they slaughtered Jews. They executed them in brutal ways including trampling them under horse foot. The horrors were so great many Jews committed suicide.

• Throughout the years in England Jews faced various other persecutions, including false accusations and imprisonment.

• In London a group of Jews had their arms and legs tied to separate horses which were driven away ripping the people apart, and then their dead bodies were put on display.

• When the black plague of the 14th century swept across Europe many blamed the Jews.

• In France they were accused of poisoning water wells, and in one town a synagogue was burned to the ground filled with worshipers.

• Some Jews fled to Russia where thousands were massacred.

• In Spain Ferdinand and Isabella dug up the bodies of Jewish converts and desecrated them. They then seized the property of other converts to warn people against converting. In 1492 most Jews were expelled from the country.

And stories of anti-Semitism continue throughout the ages.

We are all familiar with “The Holocaust”
Where 6 million Jews were exterminated.

And Israel has endured persecution after persecution to this very day.

Israel’s house has been left desolate.
They rebelled against the word of God and they refused to follow their Savior, what did they expect to get?

Now that is their physical and historical judgment,
But their spiritual judgment has been even more severe.

TURN TO: ROMANS 9
Read 9:30-33
Read 10:1-4
Read 10:18-21
Read 11:7-10
What a tragedy!
Because of their rebellion and reluctance,
Israel has been brought to both physical and spiritual ruin.

It is not hard to understand friends.
If you ignore God’s Word and resist God’s Savior,
There is really only one option for you.

Their Rebellion, Their Reluctance, Their Ruin
#4 THEIR REQUIREMENT
Matthew 23:39

Now, there is no doubt that this is a dark text for the nation of Israel,
But Jesus does leave it with a glimmer of hope.

In fact He spells out for them how to reverse their fortunes.

He was their deliverer, but since they rejected Him, He was now leaving.
But here was His final instruction.

“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

But I thought they already said that at the triumphal entry?
They said it with their mouth, but not their heart.

They wanted a deliverer from Rome,
But they didn’t want to submit their lives to Christ.

Jesus was saying that their desolation was coming,
And it would be real until they submit to and truly worship Him.

Acts 3:19-21 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”

Peter was saying that Christ has now done all He ever had to do
To bring about salvation and deliverance.
He died upon the cross, and said, “It is finished!”

The ball is now in Israel’s court.
Before He will return and wipe away their sin and deliver them
And usher in the times of refreshing (the Millinnium)
They must repent and return to Him.

Simply put, Jesus is waiting to return until Israel returns to Him.

But notice the confidence of His statement.
He doesn’t say, “you will not see Me UNLESS you say…”
He says, “you will not see Me UNTIL you say…”

In other words their confession is coming.
We’ve all read Zechariah 12 and know that Israel will one day look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him and thus be saved.

Even in Romans 11 Paul says:
Romans 11:25-29 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Israel will come back to Christ one day,
And it will usher in His return and millennial reign.

That means that not only do we have a blueprint for judgment,
But we also have a blueprint for redemption.

• If you want to be judged…
• If you want your house to be desolate…
Simply ignore God’s Word and reject His Savior.

• If you are currently under the heavy hand of God and see the effects of His judgment in your life…
Then repent and return.

Confess your sins to God,
Turn from those sins and call on the name of the Lord.

It couldn’t get any clearer from the lips of Jesus.
• If you won’t listen to the prophets who confront your sin…
• And if you won’t follow the Savior who can forgive your sin…
• Then you will die in your sin.

But if you will confess your sin, and turn from your sin,
And trust in the Savior, He will save you and deliver you.

So this morning I simply ask you to learn from the lesson of Israel.
• Open your heart to the conviction of God’s Word.
• See the salvation of Jesus Christ.
• Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.

Hebrews 10:26-27 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”