Sunday
Morning Bible Study
June 5, 2005
Introduction
As we are making our way through the gospel of Mark, it is Tuesday evening
of the last week of Jesus’ life. He has
been teaching and fielding questions all day in the Temple. As He has left the Temple
and the city, crossing the Kidron Valley
over to the Mount of Olives, He sat down and began to
talk about what we call the “Last Days”.
:14-20 The Abomination of Desolation
: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,)
abomination – bdelugma – a
foul thing, a detestable thing
where it ought not – Matthew records (Mat. 24:15) that it is
standing …
…in the holy place,
This mention of the “abomination of desolation” is tucked away in a
prophecy known as the “seventy weeks” of Daniel.
(Dan 9:25-27
KJV)
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven
weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the
wall, even in troublous times.
This speaks about how Jerusalem
would be rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, and that when the rebuilding
starts, it set off a time clock that ended with the appearance of “Messiah the
Prince”. The mention of “weeks” has to do with a measure of time, a period of
“seven” years. It’s a complicated calculation that takes into account the
length of Babylonian years, numbers of days per year and such. When you put it all together, it brings you
to the date of April 6, 32 A.D., which we believe was Palm Sunday, the day that
Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey with the crowds shouting, “Hosanna
to the son of David” (Mat. 21:9).
{26} And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself:
After the Messiah would present Himself to the nation, He would be cut off.
Jesus presented Himself on Palm Sunday, and was put to death the following Friday.
He didn’t die because He deserved it, he didn’t die for himself.
Six hundred years before He came, Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would
die for us. His death wasn’t a horrible
accident, it was an event planned carefully by God.
He died for us. He died on the cross in order to pay for our sins.
… and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the
end of the war desolations are determined.
The “prince that shall come” is a reference to the antichrist. The people
the antichrist comes from would be the ones who would destroy Jerusalem
and the Temple after the death of
the Messiah. Jerusalem and the Temple
were destroyed in the summer of 70 A.D. by the Roman army. We believe the
antichrist will be part of a revived Roman Empire.
The “desolation” mentioned here is the complete destruction of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem would become a “desolate”
place. This happened in 70 AD.
{27} And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate.
The “he” here is this “prince that shall come”, the antichrist. The
antichrist will make some sort of “covenant” or “treaty” with the nation of Israel,
lasting seven years (one week).
This period of seven years is what we refer to as the “Tribulation” period.
Halfway through the Tribulation (3 ½ years, in the “midst” of the week),
the antichrist will cause all sacrifice to cease in the Temple
in Jerusalem. In addition, he will
do something that is referred to as the “overspreading of abominations”.
This is the “abomination of desolation”, an “abominable” action that will
result in make the Temple “desolate”.
Paul gives us a clue as to what this will be when he writes about the
antichrist:
(2 Th 2:4 KJV)
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God.
The antichrist will go into the Temple
in Jerusalem and declare that he is
God.
This action will be a key event of the Tribulation period. Events
throughout the book of Revelation are places in reference to this time marker
and the 3 ½ years before and the 3 ½ years that come afterward.
Why is this such a key event? Because this is the one event that points out
who the antichrist is. Up to this point, many will think that this man is a
great guy, maybe even the Messiah. But when he walks into the Temple
claiming to be God, it will be clear that this is the antichrist.
The antichrist will wonderful, natural political talents and he will be
possessed by Satan. He will have the
charisma of a Clinton, but the
heart of a Hitler. If you thought Adolph Hitler was a monster, you ain’t seen
nothin’ yet.
:14 then let them that be in Judaea flee to the
mountains:
Keep in mind, this warning is for the Jews who are in Israel
at the time that this all takes place. This is not specifically a lesson for
us, but there are a few lessons we can still learn from this.
There will be Jews paying attention to this during the Tribulation. Revelation
(12:14) speaks of the Jews fleeing
to the wilderness. Isaiah (16:1-5) hints
that it may be to the rock city of Petra
located in the mountains of ancient Edom. It’s at Bozrah, only a couple of miles away
from Petra that Jesus will return
to rescue the nation of Israel
(Is. 63).
: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:
Houses in Jesus’ day had flat roofs with a staircase going up to the top. The
roof often served as a sort of patio. In summer, the family might even sleep on
top of the roof for comfort.
One guy is up on the rooftop enjoying the view when he hears the news. He
doesn’t have time to go down and pack his bags.
:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his
garment.
The idea is that you’re not going to have time to pack up. You’ll only have
time to flee. Why flee? Because the antichrist will be a really, really scary
guy
Lesson
Possessions
What if you woke up in the middle of the night with the call for an
emergency evacuation?
The Laguna Beach Landslide (last week, June 3, 2005) – I heard an interview on the radio with a
woman who was enjoying her coffee in bed on Thursday morning, just like every
morning. She heard a strange sound – water running underneath her house. Then
she heard some popping sounds. She went outside and watched as the curb began
to separate from the street. She ran inside, woke up the only other person
still at home, her daughter’s fiancé, and ran over to the neighbor’s house to
wake them up. As she was standing on the front porch, she looked back at her
house to see it slide down the canyon. In a matter of minutes it was all gone.
I like her choice in things to rescue. She didn’t grab the TV. She didn’t
grab her purse. She grabbed a person. I like that.
If you only got out of the house with the people inside, would you be
bummed? What would you miss the most? How important are your possessions? Do
you possess your possessions, or do they possess you?
When the ship goes down, you don’t have to go down with it.
Illustration
High Seas Parrot
Well, at least they didn’t
go down with the ship…
Jesus told us to “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). As she was asked to flee from Sodom, she just couldn’t resist looking back on the city
she loved. She had a hard time letting go of the world. And she turned into a
pillar of salt.
Keep a loose grip on your possessions. Don’t
go down with the ship.
:17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!
It will be extra hard for these moms.
:18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
Unless you have snow tires.
: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.
affliction – thlipsis – pressure;
oppression, affliction, tribulation
This will be the beginning of the last half of the Tribulation period. We
call the last half the “Great Tribulation”.
: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.
elect’s – eklektos –
picked out, chosen by God
Often this word is used to describe all Christians (Col. 3:12), as having
been chosen by God. But the word is used of many other people as well. It is
used of Jesus (Isa. 42:1; 1 Peter 2:6), Israel
(Isa. 45:4), millennial saints (Isa. 65:22), and angels (1 Tim. 5:21). Here it is referring to the nation of Israel.
In order to save the nation of Israel
from the tremendous persecution by the antichrist, and to keep mankind from
completely destroying himself, God will put an end to the Tribulation. Jesus
will be coming back. We’ll be talking more specifically about Jesus’ Second
Coming next week.
Lesson
God watches me
God is going to save the day because He watches what is going on with His
kids.
Sometimes well meaning parents will say to their kids something like this,
“You better be a good boy because God is watching you”. Without really thinking
about it, we can give our kids the idea that God is only watching to see if you
blow it and then He’s going to wipe you out.
Illustration
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic school for lunch.
At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, “Take
only one, God is watching,” Moving through the line, to the other end of the
table, was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. One of the boys wrote a
note, “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”
Some of us grew up in the time when we had to read George Orwell’s book,
“1984”, the book that taught us that “Big Brother is watching”. We sometimes
can get the idea that God is the “Really Big Brother” who is out to catch us in
our sins and then throw us into prison.
Please don’t misunderstand where I’m going here. God does see my sin and
without Jesus paying for my sin, I’m in big trouble.
But when we think about God watching over His “elect”, it’s because He
loves us so much that He can’t take His eyes off of us.
When Israel
was enslaved in Egypt,
God was watching…
(Exo 2:23-25 NKJV)
Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt
died. Then the children of Israel
groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to
God because of the bondage. {24} So God heard their groaning, and God
remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. {25} And God
looked upon the children of Israel,
and God acknowledged them.
And in response to their trouble, God sent someone to
help, Moses.
He never takes a break, He never skips a beat …
(Psa 121:4 KJV)
Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
He’s up all night watching you.
In fact, if someone harms you, it’s like they poked God in the eye.
(Zec 2:8 KJV)
For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the
nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his
eye.
The “apple” is the “pupil” of your eye. God has His eye on you so much that
if anyone touches you, they poke God in the eye in the process. And it’s not
nice to poke God in the eye.
Lesson
God watches the clock
Warren Wiersbe noted that when God permits his children to go through the
furnace, he keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat.
With the nation of Israel,
God will be watching them during the Great Tribulation. Because He does not
want His people wiped out, He will bring an end to the trouble.
The Bible tells us that God knows exactly how much you can handle in life:
(1 Cor 10:13 NKJV)
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
bear it.
It’s like the little parable I tell from time to time of the teacup
explaining its “tribulations”. When it was a lump of clay it didn’t like to be
patted and punched, shaped and molded by the potter. But the potter didn’t stop
molding until He was finished. It didn’t like to be put into the furnace to be
dried, but the potter didn’t take the teacup out until it was dried. It didn’t
like to be smothered in paint or put into the kiln, but the potter kept working
until the teacup was finished.
God is at work in our lives, taking a lump of clay and making a precious
vessel. He is molding and shaping us through the trials and difficulties we go
through. We wish we could go through life without any difficulties, but in
truth we’d be far weaker if we didn’t have trouble.
God knows what you can take. And He
won’t let you go past what you can handle.