Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
Jesus continued to answer the two questions that the disciples had asked Him. We need to keep those questions in mind as we seek to understand what Jesus is saying. We cannot rip Jesus’ words out of their context and make them say something we want to believe. There have been many attacks against the pre-trib, pre-millennial position of eschatology. Yet that is the only position taught in the Bible.
As we look at our text today we see again that Jesus is addressing the four disciples that asked Him the questions. The others were there as well. He speaks to them as if they personally would face the situation He addresses. Now, we have already noted that the disciples/apostles would face persecution. They faced more persecution than we have. However, Jesus spoke prophetically here. In God’s mind, and the Bible bears this out, there is no yesterday, today, or tomorrow. He has everything laid out from the beginning to the end. In “real time”, He is rolling His plan out before us.
As we noted yesterday, the “ye” in this context is to the nation of Israel. Jesus is addressing His own people in a time that is coming for them.
We have already noted that the church age is the age of Jews and Gentiles who get saved and become part of one body – the church. On earth that involves churches that are under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many churches today that have no resemblance to the Lord Jesus Christ. They reject His Word and they reject Him.
John 1:11-13 states:
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus knew His own people would reject Him. They were not forced to do so. They were so hardened that this was their response. A few Jews believed on Him during His time on earth. Acts 2 records the salvation of many Jews. However, the fact remains that churches are made up of Jews and Gentiles who are born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our text Jesus is addressing the time when the “man of sin” will be on this earth and he will be trying to destroy the Jews. The abomination of desolation is found in the book of Daniel. Jesus declared that here. Jesus also said the reader needs to understand this. Don’t rip a verse or verses out of their context and make them say what you want to hear. Let the Scripture have Its rightful place.
The time of the abomination of desolation is at the midpoint of the Tribulation. The Tribulation is the “seventieth week” of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9. The abomination spoken of is when the antichrist will sit down on the throne he has put into the temple. He will declare himself to be God and in doing so, he will defile the temple. He will desecrate that place and he will publicly decree that all people must take his mark. He will also decree his intent to kill all Jews and true Christians.
Again, Jesus is talking to the Jews in the Middle East. He tells those in Judaea to flee to the mountains. We have stated in the past, that the action is in the Middle East. North America is not important in world events. We have passed our prime. The Gospel is no longer of significance in the West. There are a few true churches, but most are just social clubs that blaspheme the holy name of God.
In the context of the time referred to, Jesus stated that the Jews will need to flee to the mountains. There will be no time to load a U-haul or any other vehicle. It will be a time to get out quickly. It will be for a short three and a half year time period. It will be short in duration, but intense in its activities. Without the possibility of buying and selling, three and a half years would be long enough to starve all those who flee. However, God will miraculously keep His remnant alive. He can do that. He fed five thousand men, besides women and children, with a few loaves and fishes. He will look after His remnant.
In verse 20 we read of the days being shortened. They are shortened to three and one half years. The antichrist will be given a limited time in which to act on his evil plan. His time will not be extended by one moment.
In verse 21 we read that there will be false teachers going around claiming to be Christ or pointing to some false Christ. That sounds like our time now, but it is referring to that same time period. It will be important for the saints of that time, to be fully convinced of the truth. That is the need today as well. We need to reject all lies and build on the truth. James says:
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Forget about what is popular. Take the Word of God as your authority and believe what God says. That is necessary now and it will be necessary in the context of our text. Jesus warned that the false teachers will be so subtle that they will give the “elect” a real challenge. Keep in mind that the “elect” will be suffering hunger and other inconveniences at that time. God will protect the elect, but that does not mean they will not face challenges. God protected Elijah when he fled from Jezebel. The ravens fed him. He did not live in a house somewhere. He lived in a cave.
Jesus ended this section with a warning to saints of every generation. Carelessness is never a good thing. Sleep walking and allowing smooth talkers to take you where they want you to go is never a wise thing. Saved people need to reject the Kenneth Copelands of this world. We need to reject the Jack Hyles of this world. We need to take God’s Word as our authority and anyone who wants to defy that Word must be rejected. We cannot put a name to them because people rise up and they die and others take their place. The only sure thing is the Word of God. If you will not accept the fact that God has preserved His Word from this generation and for ever, you are in trouble. You have nothing to build your life upon. You are being deceived and will be deceived until you repent and trust in the true God.
Jesus foretold, (prophesied), of these things. Again, we are reminded here that what Jesus said here was for a future time. Today, we are still awaiting this time to unfold. It will happen just as declared. It is foolish to wait around to experience that time. Those alive today who reject the truth will not be willing to receive the truth if the rapture were to take place today. You have sealed your doom if you harden yourself against the truth and that day comes during your lifetime. You have already chosen to believe the lie and you will believe the lie of the antichrist.
The wise person is the one who humbles himself before the true God and accepts what He declares as Truth. Submit to Him now and be prepared to be taken out of this world by the Lord Jesus Christ, to enter into His eternal home.
Pastor Bartel
