Mark 13:14-23
This morning, we have a continuation of what Jesus started to address last week. The disciples had asked Him how they would know that the end was coming, and He told them that the beginning would be marked by wars, earthquakes and famines. While this will happen over an extended period of time (we are in the midst of it), Jesus transitions into a more specific moment in time that will mark the end.
Read Mark 13:14-23
We can break up our passage into 2 different parts: Abomination of Desolation, and the Great Tribulation. While we do see some truths here, we are going to have to use some other passages to get a better understanding of what Jesus is referring to. Let’s start by getting a better understanding of what Jesus is talking about here when He refers to the “Abomination of Desolation.”
Abomination of Desolation
Daniel in his prophetic book addresses this in Chapter 9. He’s talking about the events of the end and says this in verse 27: “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
The time prophesied by Daniel is one week, which is 7 days, but in the Hebrew refers to 7 years. This is where people get the idea that the Tribulation period is 7 years long. Halfway through this Tribulation period someone will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings in the temple. There will be great abominations that take place, leading worshippers to leave and the temple to become desolate.
Daniel 12:11 - “And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days,” which is roughly 3.5 years.
If we take this prophecy, and read what Paul has to say in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, we can start to get a better picture of what this event might be. Paul refers to this man as the “man of lawlessness,” and “the son of destruction.” We refer to him as the Antichrist, but look at what Paul says in verse 4: “who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”
If we take these passages out of Daniel and 2 Thessalonians, we see a few things we can know to be true:
The Abomination of Desolation:
is the act of the Antichrist sitting down in the Temple and claiming to be God
Happens 3.5 years into the Tribulation period
He will put an end to daily sacrifices and offerings, which means they will be reinstated at some point by the Jewish people before this happens
There must be a temple rebuilt for this to happen in
In 63 BC, the Romans took over the land of Israel, from that point until 1948, about 2000 years, the nation of Israel was ruled by someone else. The 2nd temple was destroyed in 70 AD, and since then there has not been a temple rebuilt.
The location of the temple complex is called the Temple Mount, and in that location there are 2 Islamic Structures, the Dome of the Rock, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This is the location where the 3rd Temple will be built. This is why there is so much conflict between Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem. This is why any news of conflict involving Israel is such a big deal to many Christians.
Last week we learned that before the “End of the Age” takes place, all nations must have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. This morning we see also that a Temple must be rebuilt in order for these events can take place.
Alright, so simply put, the Abomination of Desolation is an event 3.5 years into the Tribulation in which the Antichrist will do away with sacrifices and offerings, take a seat in the temple, and demand to be worshiped as God. This will cause the Jewish worshipers to flee, leaving the temple desolate. After this, there will be 3.5 more years, years that will be worse than anything ever experienced on this Earth.
And things change a bit here from Jesus. Prior to this, Jesus said when persecution comes to stand strong and trust the Holy Spirit for the words to say to the oppressors. But now, Jesus says, “if you live anywhere near the temple, run.”
If you live in Judea, flee to the mountains. If you are on the roof of your house, don’t go back inside to pack your things. If you are working the fields, don’t go back for your jacket. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have great difficulty surviving. Pray that it doesn’t happen in the coldest months of the year. Why?
Because vs. 19.
Great Tribulation
There are 2 different terms for us to understand. The Tribulation period, and the Great Tribulation period. We already saw from Daniel 9 that the Tribulation period is 7 years long. Jesus says in Mark 13 that an even worse tribulation will start at the Abomination, so there is a distinction between the 2. In fact, in Matthew 24 Jesus himself calls it a great tribulation. The Great Tribulation is understood to be the 2nd half of the tribulation period, because things get even worse. We aren’t getting into the book of Revelation this morning, but during this time period, Revelation tells us that the judgment of God will intensify. And we see that nothing like it has ever been seen in the history of mankind.
From a historical commentary: In 1343 the bubonic plague started to sweep across Europe. Over eight years, two-thirds of the population of Europe was afflicted with the plague, and half of those afflicted died – an incredible total of 25 million people. This coming time of tribulation will be worse.
In the same commentary, the author quotes Zbigniew Brzezinski from his book Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century(1993). He sets the number of lives deliberately extinguished by politically motivated carnage at between 167 million and 175 million. Most other statisticians have roughly the same estimates. Yet, Jesus said that this time of tribulation will be worse.
It’s no wonder he tells those who live in the surrounding region to literally run for the hills. It will be so bad in fact, the the Lord Himself will intervene for His elect. Jesus says that if God hadn’t cut the days short, no human being would survive. If the Great Tribulation continued beyond the allotted time, there would not be one human being left on this planet, or even possibly a planet to live on.
So that we don’t confuse things this morning, and keep our distance from another difficult theological question discussion, we are going to define the elect here as anyone who has placed their faith in Jesus for salvation. The Greek word literally means “the called out ones.” The elect, the chosen ones, the Christian. For their sake, God will shorten the days of the Great Tribulation. How? We’ll see how next week when we talk about the return of Christ, but that moment will bring an end to the Tribulation period, and provide salvation for those who have endured.
What else will be true in the Great Tribulation? Re-Read vs. 21-22.
A great deception will occur. See, while God’s wrath is being poured out through “natural disasters,” Satan will be enacting a great deception. He will use men and women to draw people away from the Lord. They will do miraculous things to convince people of their power. Some will even claim to be the Christ. And it’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t say that their purpose is to lead away those who are unbelievers. Why focus their attention on those who don’t believe? Instead, Jesus says that their goal will be to deceive the elect, the Christians.
Application
Jesus ends with an emphatic “But.” Even though all of this is coming. And I’m telling you this to warn you, but, in spite of all of this, be on your guard. Have your defenses up. Arm yourself. Well how do I do that Jesus?
Turn over to Ephesians 6. Read Ephesians 6:10-18.
We can only stand strong because we have strength in the Lord. We are weak, frail human beings, but the Lord has infinite strength that He has promised to give us through His Holy Spirit.
We hold tightly to the truth found in God’s Words. We protect our heart with the righteousness of Christ. Shoes imply going, so as we go we take the gospel with us, ready to preach the peace the Christ has provided. Our faith, a defense against Satan Himself. Faith in a God who is bigger, stronger, smarter, holy, perfect, and will one day defeat Satan once and for all. We stand behind our faith. And then Paul says, “praying at all times in the Spirit.” With all of these tools that we have been given through Christ, we remain in constant communication with the Lord. Watch Satan try to infiltrate our hearts and minds when this is true in our lives.
We live ready. We hope in eternity. We are driven by urgency.
