Mark 13:1-13, Verse-by-Verse (1)

With this post we begin to work our way verse-by-verse through Mark 13.

·       13:1-2: Again, the setting for Jesus’ Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ response to the disciples amazement at the buildings on the Temple Mount.  “Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

·       13:3-4: In turn, the disciples (or specifically the two sets of brothers) ask Jesus about when this will happen.  In Mark’s case: When will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?  The questions are critical to understanding the Discourse, and in Mark’s case, we have noted how important the term “fulfilled” is in understanding the scope of Jesus’ answers.  We can see that 70AD is part of Jesus’ answer but He speaks of more than that event.

I also think it is important to note that the context for all this is “Old Testament.”  What I mean is, it is before the cross, before the birth of the Church at Pentecost.  True, the Twelve will be the foundation of the Church but they are also men who belong to the Father whom He gives to His Son (John 17:6).  My point is this: Jesus speaks of things that sound like, and I believe occur in the age of the Church, the time in which Jesus elsewhere says He is building His Church (Mt. 16:18).  But we should not be surprised that He also refers to His future earthly Kingdom and events or “signs” that address that event.  This is certainly on the minds of the disciples as they ask their questions.  In their approx. 3 years with Jesus the “plan” has taken some twists and turns, given the rejection by the leaders and Jesus’ recent warnings of His upcoming death and resurrection.  The announcement that the temple is going to be destroyed brings another question, since they rightly expect that both they and the nation of Israel will have a rule in Jesus’ kingdom.

·       13:5-6,22-23: The purpose for the discourse is found at the beginning and the end.  Jesus is not just answering questions, satisfying curiosity.  He is answering their questions so as to encourage them to be faith and not to be deceived.  For one thing, they are going to go through things they had never imagined.  That could be the cause of stumbling along the way.  But even more important, Jesus warns that their will be “many” who will set out to deceive them.  Some will claim to be Him!  False Christs!  Others will claim to speak in His name or with His authority (false prophets).  Some will even perform “signs and wonders” to substantiate their claim to this authority.  Whether they do these things in Satanic power or by “sleight of hand,” it will be convincing, enough as deceive the elect if that were possible.  So imagine, one of the apostles in prison for his preaching, for refusing to bow to Caesar.  And along comes someone who claims to have a word from Jesus, that Jesus wants them to be peaceable with the Romans.  There might be a lot of reason to accept that word.  So, Jesus warns them ahead of time what is coming, so that they will “take heed.”  Jesus’ words are an encouragement for those asking the questions, and for us who come after them.

Rev. 6, The Beginning of Sorrows (2)

Jesus first speaks of a time He describes as “the beginning of sorrows” (v8) seeming to differentiate it from a time of “tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation” (v19).  Let us consider this “beginning of sorrows.”

What characterizes this time, besides deception which characterizes the entire time between Jesus’ Incarnation and His “coming in the clouds with great power and glory” (13:26)?  In 13:7-8 Jesus said it will be characterized by “wars and rumors of wars,” with nations and kingdoms fighting each other, and also by earthquakes, “famines and troubles.”  A third characteristic is that the gospel will be preached to all the nations (v10-13).  This is given with the prediction that there will be great persecution of God’s people who are seeking to carry out this world-wide preaching.

Now, the question is this: is Jesus describing only the time from that day until 70AD when the temple is destroyed; or is He describing the time from that day until He returns in power and glory?  In Mark’s gospel He is saying that it applies to both.  The wars and pestilences will lead up to 70AD, and the Twelve will experience strong resistance to the gospel.  In 13:9,11 Jesus addressed the Twelve, to “watch out for yourselves,” that they would be delivered up to the councils.  But in 13:12 there appears to be a broader picture of this resistance to the gospel.  We know that by 70AD the gospel had made it to Rome when Paul preached Christ to the Jewish leaders of Rome in Acts 28:17-31, and when he appeared before the Emperor (2 Tim. 4:16-18).  What Paul says to Timothy is that the Lord was with him so that he might fulfill his ministry so that “all the Gentiles/Nations might hear.”  But he was not saying that Mk. 13:10 was fulfilled.  The fulfillment of Jesus’ words, and of His commands to make disciples in every nation (Mt. 28:19-20) and to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Ac. 1:8) will result in the fabulous description of glory in Rev. 5:9: For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 

The idea that the “beginning of sorrows” continues throughout the entire age of the Church also fits what John saw in Rev. 6.  The last verse of Rev. 6 (v17) says that “the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”  That sounds to me like we are at the middle of Daniel’s 70^th Week, when the “beginning of sorrows” becomes the time of great tribulation.  In Rev. 6 when the book is being opened, what do we see?  The first two seals reveal a rider who is all about “conquering and to conquer” and a another who takes “peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another.”  This sounds similar to “wars and rumors of war.”  Then the third rider is connected to famine and the fourth kills a fourth of the earth will various “troubles” (sword, hunger, death and beasts of earth).  That sounds like Jesus’ words in Mk. 13:8. John saw this c.25 years after 70AD.  The beginning sorrows characterize the entire age until the gospel has been preached to all nations.  As Rom. 11:25, Israel’s partial blindness continues until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Mark 13:3-13, The Beginning of Sorrows (1)

Let’s begin our verse-by-verse journey through the Olivet Discourse.  The beginning (13:5-6) and the end (13:21-23) of the discourse involves a warning from Jesus about deception.  We conclude from this that the purpose of the Discourse is to prevent deception.  Yes, Jesus is answering the questions of the disciples, and He gives what we call “signs of the times” concerning the “when” of the destruction of the temple and of His coming again.  But even these “signs” help serve the purpose of preventing deception.

It is amazing that deception in the Church had its start in the time that the Apostles were still alive and active.  Almost every NT epistle is written to deal with some kind of heresy.  We say it is “amazing” because you would think that as long as any of the Twelve were alive that their words would be the final say in any doctrinal differences.  But such was not the case.  Satan, the father of lies, never wastes any time in his desire to deceive God’s people.  Jesus said there would be many who would come in His name, claiming to be Him (13:6), meaning claiming to be Christ in His return.  He said in 13:22 there will be false christs and false prophets.  The Apostle John in his first epistle said Christians needed to “test the spirits” because “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (4:1).  Peter said that as there were false prophets in OT times that there would also be false teachers in the Church (2 Pt. 2:1).  Paul warned the Corinthian church that they had actually welcomed false apostles into their midst who were undermining Paul’s ministry (2 Cor. 11:13).  Later, in the same chapter, Paul spoke of one his constant challenges as dealing with false brethren (v26).  Jesus was right to make this a priority in answering the disciples’ questions.

We should also remember that some of the heresies the NT Church dealt with had to do with the doctrine of last things (eschatology).  In Paul’s early letters to the Thessalonian Church he had to correct the idea that “the day of Christ had come,” a deception that had been perpetrated in the church by some false brother (2 Th. 2:2).  Paul addressed the Church in Rome concerning the future place of Israel in God’s plan (Rom. 9-11, esp. 11:25-36), something the writer of Hebrews also addressed (Heb. 6:13-20).  One of the issues faced by the Corinthian Church was that there were some who denied that there would be a resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12).  In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he warned him of the deception that would be seen in the “latter times,” speaking of “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy” (1 Tim. 4:1-5).  In 2 Timothy Paul spoke of the perilous times of the “last days” as being characterized by religion with “a form of godliness but denying its power” (3:1-5). 

Thus, again, we are reminded of the importance of understanding the Olivet Discourse.  Jesus was seeking to prevent deception which could rob believers of their hope and could even distort the gospel of God’s grace.  This is an important passage!

Daniel 9:24-27, What things Must be Fulfilled? (2)

Daniel 9 provides an “official” list of what must all come together by the time Jesus returns.  Gabriel said to Daniel: Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.  Daniel, knowing the 70 years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah was about to come to an end, had sought the LORD about this in 9:1-19.  Gabriel was sent to give Daniel understanding about how God would keep His word.

God’s answer was that “Seventy weeks” or “seventy sevens” were determined, meaning 490 years.  Gabriel revealed what would happen by the end of the 490 years.  This is like the Discourse.  The disciples first interest was about the destruction of the temple.  But Jesus gave an answer that went far beyond 70AD.  Daniel prayed about the end of captivity, but God took him far beyond to His grand plan for Israel.

So, in Dan. 9:24, what must come together in “the end,” when God completes His work with Daniel’s people and city, when Christ returns in power and glory?

·       To finish the transgression.

·       To make an end of sins.

The reason for Israel’s captivity is her sinful turning away from God.  She regularly violated the covenant established at Mt. Sinai.  God regularly afflicted Israel with the judgments He had promised.  This must come to an end.  Israel must come to true repentance so she can enter Christ’s Kingdom.

·       To make reconciliation for iniquity.

·       To bring in everlasting righteousness.

The Kingdom of Christ will be a righteous kingdom.  Thus, there must be atonement for sin, and Daniel’s people must become the righteous people of God.  This calls for the cross of Christ and the provision of righteousness.  The OT referred to Messiah as “The LORD our righteousness.”  That, we know, is God’s answer to Israel’s need: their sin imputed to Christ and His righteousness imputed to them.

·       To seal up vision and prophecy.

·       And to anoint the Most Holy.

Rev. 19:10 says the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.  2 Cor. 1:20 says that all God’s promises are Yes and Amen in Christ.  Many prophecies are given in the OT with regards to Messiah, and all of these will come to fulfillment when He comes.  And, given that “Most Holy” seems to refer to the Holy of Holies in the temple, all the “prophecies” made about Christ through the sacrificial and priestly systems will come to fulfillment when He returns.

There is a lot to consider when we think of all that must happen before Christ can return in power and glory.  And yet, the Sovereign LORD has said it will happen, and at the time that He has determined. 

Zech. 12, What Things Must be Fulfilled? (1)

We are still looking at the Olivet Discourse from a distance, getting the broad picture.  We will eventually take it verse by verse.  As somewhat of a “summary” of the last few posts, let’s consider the second question that the disciples asked Jesus in Mark 13:4: “What will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”  Again, “these things” cannot be limited to the destruction of the temple in 70AD because Jesus understands the question to go beyond that.  70AD is “not the end.”  There will be a time of great tribulation, after which the end will come.  The end is said to be when He returns, in the clouds, in power and glory.

So specifically, what things must be fulfilled?  We have talked about this word, that it refers to the coming together and completion of various aspects of one event.  For example, it is used in Mt. 7:28 at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus taught on various subjects, but when Jesus ended these sayings everyone was astonished at His teaching.  There was one body of teaching, but various strands or aspects of His kingdom were talked about.  So in the Discourse.  The disciples want to know about the “end” when Jesus returns, but they have some thought that there are several things that will come together at that time. 

They did not tell us what these things were.  But we can ask the question and, by searching the Scriptures, we can come up with our own list.  For example, in the last post we saw 6 aspects to the “times of the Gentiles.”  From that list we could say …

1)    The trampling of Jerusalem by the nations will come to an end; Christ will rule the nations from Jerusalem.

2)    The succession of world empires will come to an end with the establishment of the eternal kingdom of Messiah, the kingdom given to Him by His Father, the “Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:11-14,27).

3)    Burdensome Israel in Zech. 12:2-3 is followed by a nation of Israel that is ascendent over the nations (12:4-7).

4)    Israel will be cleansed and saved by the Lord so that they will no longer be living in constant fear but will live in the strength and provision of their God.

5)    The gospel will have been preached to all the nations.

6)    The nations will no longer be God’s tool to chasten Israel, but rather the nations will be part of the kingdom of Messiah.

We do see in Scripture that these things will all come together when Christ returns.  But there is another way to understand “these things” which we will consider in our next post. 

Luke 21:7-28, Olivet Discourse Timing Keys (4)

In today's reading we have asked you to read Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse.  Remember that Luke seems to emphasize more “these things” (21:7) referring to Jesus’ prediction that one stone would not be left upon another.  He does not record a question, as do Matthew and Mark, about “the end” or the time “when all things are fulfilled.”  He does, however, include Jesus’ prophecy of His second coming (i.e. “the end, 21:25-28), even if he does not ask the specific question. 

On the matter of timing you will note that Luke does not mention the “abomination of desolation.”  Here is a list of Luke’s “timing” statements.

·       v9: the end will not come immediately (similar to Mark, “the end is not yet).

·       v12: before all these things (before the pestilences and wars the disciples, and likely He is referring to those He is speaking with on Olivet, the disciples will be persecuted).

·       v20: when you see Jerusalem surrounded (while there will likely be a similar situation in the future, in this context I believe He is referring to 70AD).

·       v24: until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (this is the phrase Luke quotes from Jesus to take the disciples and us beyond 70AD to the time of the end, the time of His return; the persecutions and troubles will continue until this time).

·       v28: when you see these things begin … look up!

What does the Bible mean by “the times of the Gentiles?”  It is the time when …

1)    Jerusalem is trampled under foot by the Nations (Luke 21:24; Rev. 11:2).

2)    The world is under the influence of a succession of world empires (from Dan. 2 and 7): Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, Roman, and a revived Roman empire in latter days.

3)    Israel will be a burdensome stone to the nations (Zech. 12:2-3).

4)    The Jews will live in constant fear (Deut. 28:64-67).

5)    There will be a special gospel outreach to the Nations (Mk. 13:10; Mt. 28:19-20; Rom. 11:25).

6)    God will use the nations so that Israel will be saved (Zech. 14:1-9).

Here is another chart, quite similar to the one in the previous post, but with the emphasis on the “times of the Gentiles” rather than the “Abomination of Desolation.”  Note that the “times of the Gentiles” begins with the Babylonian captivity, when Israel no longer had a Davidic king on the throne.  God was not ruling them through their king but through the nations.

 Rev. 11:2 speaks of this time at a point that is consistent with the “midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th week” or the middle of the tribulation period when the extreme tribulation begins.  In other words, the times of the Gentiles did not end in 70AD.  It is still a part of the story of Israel and of the world.

One last note.  Jer. 30:7-11 calls this “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”  What will occur during this time?  Jer. 30:11 tells us plainly: God will use the nations to correct Israel with justice; He will then make a full end of the nations where He had scattered them; and in the end, He will save Israel!  Daniel’s 70^th Week.  The Times of the Gentiles.  The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.  The tribulation period.

Psalm 87

What a great Psalm that, like the Songs of Ascent (Pilgrim Songs), has as its focus the City of God, Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is a picture of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the city that in Revelation is called the bride, the Lamb’s wife (Rev. 21:9).  However, the earthly Jerusalem stands glorious in her own right.  Glorious things are spoken of her (v3).  For example …

·         Jerusalem is God’s foundation city that is in the holy mountains, v1.  Jerusalem sits in the midst of a collection of hills and steep ravines making any attempt to attack the city a tremendous undertaking (cf. 2 Sam. 5:6-10).  The pilgrim, as he sets out on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, sees those intimidating hills and wonders, where does my help come from (Psalm 121:1)?  Yet, once inside the city, those same hills illustrate God’s protection against the enemy (Psalm 124:2).  Even today the walls of the Old City reveal an impenetrable fortress built on amazing bedrock.  It is a site to behold!

·         Jerusalem is loved by God above all other cities in Jacob (Israel), v2.  God had promised to choose one location out of all the tribes in Israel to put His name for His dwelling place (Deut. 12:5).  When Israel first entered the land, the tabernacle was established at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1).  But God forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had placed among men and instead chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved (Psalm 78:60,68). 

·         Jerusalem is the most favorable city in which one could be born, v4-6.  In the future kingdom of Messiah, when the Most High Himself shall establish Jerusalem at the center of Messianic worship and government, it will be an honor to have been born there.  The Gentiles will be there to worship at the holy hill (Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-3).  There will even be a highway through Jerusalem connecting Egypt (Rahab in v4, a reference to Egypt, Ps. 89:10; Isa. 30:7; 51:9) and Assyria (Isa. 19:19-25).  The nations in v4 will have a presence in Christ’s kingdom.  Yet none will match the glory of Jerusalem.

·         Jerusalem is the fountain of all God’s blessings, v7.  All my springs are in you!  A spring illustrates God’s abundant blessing.  God calls Himself the fountain of living waters, as opposed to the broken cisterns the wicked people preferred in the days of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:13).  Jesus offered the woman living water when He offered her Himself (John 4:13-14,26).  There will be an amazing fountain broken open in Jerusalem in the time of the Kingdom (Joel 3:18; Ezek. 47:1-12).  Meditate on the river of (God’s) pleasures and the fountain of life that is with God in Psalm 36:8-9.  Truly there is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God (Ps. 46:4).  This is not just a symbol.  Jerusalem is where Jesus died and rose from the grave.  There is no blessing from God outside of the Christ of the gospel (Eph. 1:3).  From the cross in the past to the Kingdom and the New Jerusalem in the future, truly, all our springs are in Jerusalem!  Repent of the broken cisterns of this world that hold no water and embrace the risen Lord, the fountain of living waters!

Luke 13:1-9, Olivet Discourse Timing Keys (3)

When Jesus mentioned Daniel and “the abomination of desolation” was He talking about 70AD or of the time around His return?  We believe clearly it is the latter.

·       In 70AD the Romans did not come in and stop the sacrifices and introduce abominable sacrifices.  When they entered Jerusalem they knocked down and then burned the temple and the city.  Any “desecration” came later, in 130AD, when Rome rebuilt the city with pagan temples.

·       Dan. 9 speak of the “middle of the week” (i.e. after 3 ½ years) and Dan. 12 of a similar time (1290 days, 3 ½ yrs plus 30 days).  The Roman siege of Jerusalem under Titus lasted about 5 months.  There was not a lengthy time of persecution “such as the world has never seen” (Mk. 13:19).

·       Jesus said that before this event the gospel would be preached to “all the nations” (Mk. 13:10).  This clearly had not happened in 70AD.  Some Supercessionists teach that Paul’s words in Col. 1:6,23 indicate that he believe it had reached the whole world.  Yet, Paul also spoke of his desire to go to Spain where the gospel had not been preached (Rom. 15:24).  Paul, who preferred to preach where the gospel had not been preached, had not been to every nation (north Africa, or the areas where the Spirit forbade him to preach in Ac. 16:6-10).  We can say the gospel was going to all the world in terms of Jews and Gentiles.  But Jesus is making a promise that covers the world just as His command to His disciples covered the world (Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).  It makes much more sense to refer the fulfillment of Jesus’ words to Paul’s statement in Rom. 11:25, that Israel would remain in their partial blindness “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”  The gospel was not preached in every nation in 70AD.

There are other arguments that can be made on this issue when we work our way through the Discourse.  In the remainder of this post I do want to establish that Jesus did, more than once, make predictions and warnings concerning what was going to come upon Israel in 70AD.  For example …

·       Luke 13:1-5: When Jesus twice said to the people, “unless you repent you shall all likewise perish,” I believe He was speaking of the coming judgment of 70AD.  My reason is because of the use of the “fig tree” in 13:6-9, that the nation had one more year of His ministry to repent.

·       Luke 19:41-44 is a precise warning of 70AD, and it comes as Jesus’ enters Jerusalem, bringing an end to the “one more year” of Luke 13.

·       Luke 21:24: I believe this is also a warning of 70AD.  This is in Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse, and Lord willing we will consider this in the next post.

Here is a chart here I hope will help with the timing of Jesus’ Discourse, with the critical event, the Abomination of Desolation, in the middle of Daniel’s 70^th Week.

 

Dan. 12:4-13, Olivet Discourse Timing Keys (2)

What was Jesus referring to by “the abomination of desolation?”  He said it was mentioned by Daniel.  Daniel’s prophecy reveals several possible references.

*Dan. 8:13-14: In the prophecy of the male goat (Greece) with the large horn (Alexander the Great) which was broken and replaced with four smaller horns (the four generals who ruled various parts of the Greek empire after Alexander), one of the smaller horns rules the area of Israel.  Under his rule he opposes or stops the daily sacrifices at the temple in what is called “the transgression of desolation.”  This period lasts for 2300 days, just under seven years.

*Dan. 11:31: In this prophecy of the time between Malachi and Matthew, there is a person who “take(s) away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.”  This lasts for many days.  It seems quite likely this is the same event as in Dan. 8.  It is during the intertestamental time when Israel was ruled by the Greeks shortly before the Roman’s took control.

*Dan. 9:24-27: This is prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks, 490 years established by the LORD to complete His purposes for Israel, including their salvation.  In v27 Daniel is told of the final seven years (final week), and that in the middle of that time “he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.  And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.”  “He” refers to the Roman prince (“prince who is to come,” v26), who destroys Jerusalem and the temple. 

*Dan. 12:4-13: This is the same prophecy as Dan. 11, except that the time has not moved from the intertestamental to the time of the end, when God’s purposed for Daniel’s people are accomplished.  Daniel is not permitted to give us the details.  But he does record that in the end time the daily sacrifice will be taken away and the abomination of desolation set up in its place.  This is not the same event as in Dan. 8 and 11; it can only be connected to the one in Dan. 9 when it occurs in the closing years that God established to complete His work with Daniel’s people, Israel.

Thus, what is Jesus talking about?  Together all four describe a time when the worship of the temple is halted and prohibited, and in its place is an abominable form of worship.  Apparently, in the earlier event, Antiochus Epiphanes replaced temple worship with the sacrifice of pigs, just to desecrate the religion of Israel.  We don’t know the exact nature of the future abomination but it will be equally shameful. 

Why do we know Jesus was talking about the later event?  Because, in c. 33AD, on the Mount of Olives, the one event had already taken place and the other was still future.  And He was talking about a future event.  Further, the later event occurs in the middle of the 70^th week, leaving 3½ years.  The next question is, could this event have been what happened in 70AD?  Or does it fit better with a still-future even related to Jesus return?

Mark 13:3-27, Olivet Discourse Timing Keys (1)

Proper interpretation of the Olivet Discourse is important.  “Supercessionism,” sometimes referred to as “replacement theology” (because they hold that the Church is now the recipient and/or fulfillment of all that God promised to Israel in the OT) believes that the entirety of Jesus’ words were fulfilled in 70AD.  The “premillennial” or “futurist” view says that the Discourse is fulfilled in the future, or as I believe, some was fulfilled in 70AD and the rest is ongoing and future.  These views are not only different; there are major ramifications to each.  So, interpretation is critical.

This difference of understanding also applies to Revelation 4-19.  Supercessionists hold to a “pretorist” or “modified pretorist” view, that Revelation is a warning concerning the coming destruction on Jerusalem in 70AD.   Premillennialists accept the testimony of the Early Church that Revelation was written by John after 70AD, and that Ch. 4-19 describe the events of a seven year “tribulation period.”  This was spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27), Jeremiah (time of Jacob’s trouble, Jer. 30:7), and several other prophets.  And they believe Jesus speaks of it in the Olivet Discourse when He spoke of a time of tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be (Mk. 13:19). 

Thus, the difference is one of “timing.”  Is Jesus speaking of things that are all in the past?  Of are His prophecies still waiting a future fulfillment?  For that reason it is important not to miss His references to “time.”  Let me show you what I mean from Mark 13.  Jesus began by warning them of deception, and then telling them they would hear of “wars and rumors of wars.”  The then He said,

·       v7: the end is not yet.  He then speaks of coming “troubles,” but says …

·       v8: these are the beginning of sorrows.  He warns of persecution, but also promises that …

·       v10: the gospel must first be preached to all nations.  He continues speaking of coming persecution and hatred, and how it should be handled.  Then He says …

·       v14: when you see the abomination of desolation.  Jesus was specific about this event, linking it to Daniel’s writings (we will review this in the next post).  This event is the time for people to flee.  After that event Jesus then said …

·       v15-19: in those days there will be great tribulation.  Then …

·       v24: after that tribulation they will see My coming.

Briefly, there are troublesome times, and then there is an event that introduces times that are even more difficult, after which He will come.  Let’s stop here, and pick it up in the next post, reminding ourselves that these “signs” and “prophecies” are tied to the LORD God of Israel, the Sovereign LORD!  He rules in all of this.  Our task is to trust Him and live according to His word.