Hallelujah, what a savior, one of my favorite hymns. Certainly, the testimony of my heart as well as it is yours, I'm sure. Please take your bibles and turn to Mark chapter 13. We continue to do our verse-by-verse study of this gospel. And as always, my goal in preaching is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, that you might know him as Savior, and Lord. Because if you don't, you have no hope, you have no purpose, you have no lasting joy. And, frankly, you live in a fool's paradise, that will ultimately end a divine judgment. That's why it's so important to know what God has said in his word. And certainly, the title of this series says it all. And that is "Jesus Prophetic Discourse on the End of the Age."

This is actually part four of that series. I will not take time to review all that we've studied thus far, I have to assume that you are with me. But certainly, when it comes to the biblical promises of divine judgment, most people laugh, and they scoff. They can't believe people would actually believe anything that laughably absurd. And equally ridiculous is the promise of an eternal hell for those who refuse to trust in God's saving offer of faith in Christ. And certainly, this was the days, or this was the attitude of those that lived in the days of Noah. They laughed, they mocked, they scoffed until the waters began to rise, and then it was too late. I don't want that to be the case for you. So this is a warning, as well as a clarification, of what God has promised, that is going to happen in the world just before he returns. Because God is infinitely holy, we understand that he must punish sin, and we see this described in God's curse on Satan when Adam and Eve and their progeny, which would include all of us, including all of creation. We witness the tragic consequences of sins curse, in the things that we experience in our world, everything from tornadoes and tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes and war, to depression, disease, and death.

Moreover, God has revealed his judgment on moral creatures in both scripture and in history. The Apostle Peter spoke of this in Second Peter two beginning in verse four. He said, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly." Let me pause there for a moment. Evidence of that judgment is all over our world; our earth is scarred with irrefutable evidence of a worldwide flood. It's amazing how scientists don't want to see this. We see marine creatures fossilized in sedimentary rocks on every continent. Even on the highest of mountains. We see massive numbers of animals, including dinosaurs, in fossil graveyards where whole skeletons have been preserved, providing convincing evidence that they were buried very rapidly. A testimony of massive flooding. Every continent reveals sedimentary rock layers laid down by catastrophic flood conditions. It's everywhere. Layers that show no evidence of erosion over long periods of time. Moreover, you can see these layers and how they are folded and how they are curved, indicating that they were once soft and pliable when first deposited and yet people mock the idea of the flood.

Peter went on to say in Second Peter two and verse six, "And if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority." We now have irrefutable evidence of this in the discovery of the charred ruins of the five cities of the plain as we read about in Genesis 14 and verse eight, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and the city of Zoar. Zoar was the only city you will recall that God is spared when Lot and his two daughters fled there for safety, Genesis 19. You can see on YouTube videos, that there are golf ball sized pieces of brimstone, of pure sulfur, that are absolutely all over the place. When God poured it down upon those cities, a lot of it fell into the Dead Sea and when you drop the ball into the Dead Sea, it will be extinguished. It washes up and then sediment covers it. By the way, you need to look up Joel Kramer and his Expedition Bible. He's got a video called "Sodom Burned - Zoar Did Not: the full story of the discovery of the Cities of the Plain." He's a colleague that works with our friends at Shepherd Seminary.

And prior to this God also used supernatural means to judge the Sodomites with blindness, you will recall, in Genesis 19. And he judged Egypt with all of the plagues that he poured out upon them during the time of the Exodus. He poured down fire consuming, murmuring Israelites in Numbers 11. We see that he caused the earth to swallow up Korah and his rebels in Numbers 16. We read about the fall of Jericho in Joshua six. We read about the Syrian army struck with blindness in Second King's six and on it goes.

And in the New Testament, we see how God's judgment was supernaturally poured out upon His Son, the Lord Jesus, on the cross. And at that moment, the veil was torn in two in the temple and the earth went dark from the hours of 12 o'clock, midday to three in the afternoon. There was a great earthquake; rocks were broken, tombs were opened, many dead saints were raised. And then of course, we see the resurrection of Christ. God is a God of wrath, a God that will judge. We saw that in the death of Ananias and Sapphira, that he killed in Acts five. And in Revelation, we read of the future judgments that will come upon the earth. And yet with all of this evidence, and I've mentioned just a few, people continue to mock, and they continue to scoff. And they will continue to do this until the waters rise. Peter also spoke of this in Second Peter three beginning in verse three. "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.' For when they maintained this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

And dear friends, if you are a mocker, or a scoffer at these things, all I can say is that unless you humble your heart before a holy God and come to Christ in saving faith, you will continue to mock, because only he can give you eyes to see and ears to hear and soften your heart to the undeniable reality that God has, he is, and he will judge the earth to bring glory to his name.

And this also helps us understand some of the current events that are going on in the Middle East today, as we look at the virulent, irrational, antisemitism, that's sweeping across the world. We know as we've studied in the past, that this is a result of two things. Number one, Satan's hatred of God's chosen people. And because of that hatred, he deceives, and he empowers his followers to hate Jewish people, to remove Israel and all these types of things. And it's also a result of God's judgment on his chosen people, his beloved enemy, and all of this is going to ultimately lead to their salvation and national restoration. God made this abundantly clear in Deuteronomy 28, when he said that he would bless them for their obedience to his law and curse them for their disobedience. He promised that ultimately, he would bless those who bless them and curse those who curse them, Genesis 12 verse three. We know that prior to Christ's return, according to Bible prophecy that he would bring the people of Israel back into their land. And we saw that happen beginning in 1948, when Israel became a nation. He promised that they would once again have control of Jerusalem and that happened in 1967. That they would be surrounded by enemies, that they would become an "exceedingly great army" according to Ezekiel 37 and verse 10. He went on to say in Zechariah 12 and verse six, "I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem." And it's amazing, is it not, that despite the fact that they are outnumbered 50 plus to one, they continue to win every battle because of God's protection.

In a recent post from the quote, "Behold Israel" website, which I would encourage you to follow. Its founder is Amir Tsarfati, who is a native Israeli and a former Major in the IDF, who's also a born again believer and Bible teacher, he said this regarding the attack on Israel just the other day, "An Israeli scientists who works for the security system and is a doctor of physics, wrote the following words to his rabbi yesterday. Here's what he said, 'I wanted to share with the rabbi something that is much more than a feeling that on Shabbat night, something happened here on the scale of the splitting of the Red Sea. I am a Doctor of Physics and I worked for several years in the defense industry in Israel, and projects that are still the cutting edge of the State of Israel. When I look at what happened on Saturday night, on a scientific level, it simply cannot happen. Everyone, I mean, everyone acted as one man in overall unity.'" He continued "'The likelihood that everything works out just as it should does not exist in complex systems, like the defense systems that were operating. They never have, I mean, never even beyond the State of Israel, then tried in real time. I took a pencil and dove into the calculations to check the likelihood that such a result would materialize. The large number of events that had to be handled at precisely the right time doubles the chance of making a mistake. With all the high technologies, the expectations was for a breach in the defense of the skies of the State of Israel. Even if we got 90% protection, it would be a miracle. What happened though, is that everyone, I mean, everyone the pilots, the system operators, the technology operators, acted as one man, at one moment in total unity. If this is not an act of God, then I no longer know what a miracle is.'" And then the doctor marvels and adds this, "'This is sharper than the victory of the Six Day War, or the War of Independence. There it can be explained according to nature. The rescue that took place for the people of Israel on Shabbat night is simply impossible naturally. I believe that this miracle saved the lives of many people from Israel. If the defense system had failed to intercept a number of cruise missiles, the result would have dragged us into a very complex campaign. I wouldn't bet that next time it will work like this without divine supervision. The simple proof of what I said is that the managers of the security industries who develop and manufacture these systems guarantee no more than 90% success. '" Then he close saying, "'Since the day you came out of the land of Egypt, we have shown you wonderful things. ' And with that he ended his words." It's truly astonishing to see how God continues to protect Israel. But also, it's truly astonishing to see how the world is being made ready for the rule of the Antichrist even as God has promised, which will include horrific judgments upon the peoples of this world, including Israel, but will ultimately lead to their salvation and restoration.

And with this, we return to the pre-kingdom judgments that Jesus described in Matthew 13, an explanation of what's going to take place after the end of the age when the Lord returns and establishes His kingdom. And of course, there are parallel accounts in Matthew 24, and 25, and Luke 21, which add further details. Let me remind you of the context. What Jesus is saying here occurred on Wednesday evening of the Passion Week; he would be crucified on Friday. This was the final hours of Jewish rejection, as he's responding to the questions of his disciples. So now as Jesus leaves the temple precincts, and with his disciples, they make their way up the steep Mount of Olives. And that's why many times this is called the Olivet Discourse.

I've divided Jesus' lengthy answer into seven headings. And we've seen the first three, number one: the temples demolition, number two: the signs of the end, and number three: the prospect of persecution. And today we're going to look at the abomination of desolation. And following that we will look at the false Christ and prophets, the coming of the Son of Man and the warning to be prepared. With this, we come to our text in Mark 13 and verse 14. Jesus said this, "'But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing, where it should not be, (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountain.'" Matthew's account puts it this way in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 15. "'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.'"

The little phrase "let the reader understand" is an indication that Jesus is not addressing his disciples or the current generation, but believers who would one day read these warnings in the pages of Scripture, and through that be able to understand what was coming upon them how to respond, and the glory that will follow.

Dave Harrell

"'When you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION'“ literally, the abomination which makes desolate, or causes desolation, or lays waste. The word abomination speaks of a detestable thing, an object of utter abhorrence; that which is repulsive. We see it used for example, in the Old Testament did it to describe moral abominations like bestiality, homosexuality, transgenderism, child sacrifice, and even occult practices, dishonest business practices, and so forth. And in the Septuagint, we see it used to describe cultic sacrilegious objects, paraphernalia and rites of wicked pagan worship. Things that are repulsive, that are vile, that are revolting, that desecrate a holy place. In fact, that term is used in Revelation 17, verses four and five to describe the great horror of the final apostasy that is called "'BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OFF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.'" That will be the ultimate ecumenical church that will exist. An enormous amalgam of apostate religious people led by the false prophet that deceives the world. So bottom line, abomination speaks of anything that offends the holiness of God and evokes His wrath.

So Jesus warns those, who will be alive in that day, when you see this abomination that causes desolation, standing in the holy place, which will be a reference to the temple as we see in Acts 21:18, Run for your life. Seek refuge.

Now, what is this abomination? What is this vile object? Well, Jesus gives us a hint. He says, it was that "'which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet.'" And we see this mentioned in Daniel's prophecies in Daniel chapter nine and verse 27, Daniel 11, and verse 31, and Daniel 12, and verse 11. Now, let me take you there for a moment, first of all, in Daniel 11. It's also immediately a clear reference to the hideous defilement of the temple by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes the Fourth, who ruled Palestine as a surrogate of the Greek Empire, between 175 and 165 BC. And we see this in Daniel 11:21 through 35. And we know that Antiochus Epiphanes demanded to be called Theos Epiphanes, which means manifest God. We read from history that he slaughtered 1000s of Jewish men and sold wives and children into into slavery. He sacrificed a pig upon the altar, even forced the priests to eat the flesh of the most unclean of all animals. Worse yet, he erected an idol of Zeus in the temple. And he even considered himself to be the manifestation of Zeus. It's interesting that his enemies nicknamed him "Epimanes," rather than "Epiphanes," because Epimanes means madman or the insane one. And ironically, his inability to defeat the Jews, you will recall, led by Judas Maccabeus, actually drove him insane. And he died a madman in 165 BC.

But obviously, Jesus wasn't talking only about a past historical event, nor was Daniel, but something yet future. Daniel's prophecy of Antiochus Epiphanes was a preview of the ultimate abomination of desolation that would be committed by the Antichrist. Let me give you a little context in Daniel, where you will remember that Daniel was exiled in Babylonian captivity. In Daniel two he explained Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great statue and there God revealed to him the successive stages of Gentile world domination that would exist throughout world history: the Babylonians, the MedoPersians, the Grecians, the Romans, and then a revived Roman Empire that would eventually come. And finally, he revealed how the Messiah would defeat all of them and reconcile his covenant to people to Himself and reestablish them back into the land of promise. This is what we read in Daniel and many other prophetic books. And so he prays for his people. And in Daniel nine, two, he recalls the years of captivity that the Lord had prophesied through Jeremiah and 70 years; that time was almost over. So he implores the Lord to reestablish his beloved people back into the land of promise. And then God speaks to him through an Angel Gabriel in Daniel 9:24. And here's what he said, "'70 weeks,'" literally 70 sevens or 70 heptad which is units of seven that would be 70 years, "'have been decreed for your people and your holy city.'" And then he lists six goals. And by the way, the 70 sevens would be 490 years. And so he then lists six goals all yet to be fulfilled. Here's why that 70-week period must occur: "'to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.'" And hear God reveals the future far beyond and Antiochus, all the way to Antichrist. There must be 490 years of judgment that must occur before the six glorious objectives can be realized. And the next verse tells us when the clock would start ticking in verse 25. "'So you are to know and discern that from the issue of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and 62 weeks,'" that's 69 weeks or 483 years. "'It will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.'" And as promised, as we read in Nehemiah chapter two, King Artaxerxes, issued the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem in 445 BC. Then, as God promised, seven weeks and 62 weeks, in other words, the 483 years elapsed until Messiah the Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ, passed through the multitudes and entered Jerusalem as their Messiah, precisely as Jesus predicted.

And then notice in verse 26, "'then after the 62 weeks,'" you add the seven weeks are total of 69 weeks, "'the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.'" Indeed, after the 62, sevens are 483 years, after that 69 weeks had begun, the Messiah was cut off and had nothing. It could be translated, literally no one, had no one. All of his followers abandon him, or they were arrested during his trial and crucifixion. And at that point, the 69 weeks were fulfilled. And then 43 years later, "'the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary,'" which is a clear reference to the Roman invasion in 70 ad. But it's important to note that all of this occurred before the final 70th week is even revealed in verse 27.

And then God reveals what's going to happen after the fall of Jerusalem. He says at the end of verse 26, "'And its end will come with a flood; even to the end, there will be war; desolations, or are determined.'" A more literal rendering could be "and the end of it will be in the overflowing, and unto the end, there will be war, a strict determination of desolations, or the determined amount of desolations." So you can see God is in charge of all of this. And I might add that there are undeniable parallels of Jesus' prediction in Matthew 24:7 through verse 22. So this refers to the entire intervening period before the final 70th week. And when we examine the content of verse 27, and other parallel passages, we must conclude that many years must transpire before verse 27.

We ultimately discover that the 70th week, occurs just prior to Christ's second coming. I believe that is the most compelling way of understanding these things. Therefore, a long period of war and desolations, verse 26, will be the fate of the covenant people, until the 70th week finally ushers in the kingdom. And indeed, this has been the history of the Jewish people from that day to the present, but then notice the events of the 70th week.

And once again now the prophetic texts sweeps Daniel from the near, to the distant future. He says in verse 27, "'And he.'" Now let's stop there. Hebrew grammar suggests that the subject of the verb is linked to the last eligible antecedent, namely, verse 26, "the prince who is to come, who will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Now because of the unheard, unrivaled, unparalleled events, described at the end of verse 27, or verse 26, and in verse 27, as well as other parallel passages, this cannot refer to the Roman ruler in ad 70. None of those types of things happened. So it'd be reasonable to assume that it refers to another ruler of a yet future Roman Empire, that we believe is the 10-horned beast of Daniel seven and Revelation 13, namely, the Antichrist.

Daniel 7:24, tells us that the Antichrist will rule a massive kingdom that will basically comprise the old Roman Empire. This will probably be a confederacy of a united Europe, that Daniel describes as a 10-nation empire. As a footnote, you will recall when we examined this battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 37, and 38, or 38, and 39. If that battle occurs before all of this, then bear in mind that the Islamic power base will be defeated, and a new world order will obviously emerge in order to maintain global stability. And this will probably be some kind of a NATO-like alliance of nations, which would account for the 10-nation empire that Daniel described. We can't be dogmatic, but that is plausible. But certainly this would provide the perfect scenario for the Antichrist to rise to power. However, we also know that he will eventually declare war on the 10 kings of that alliance, according to Daniel 11:44, through verse 45, and he will even kill three of them--Daniel 7:24, and Revelation 17, verses 12 through 13.

Now, back to Daniel 9:27. And the reason I'm taking you to Daniel, is because Jesus did that, to explain what he was saying. So we need to understand some of this. "'And he will make a firm covenant with the many,'" referring to the Antichrist. "'He will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.'" I find it interesting. I did a lot of research on the word "wing." The "wing of abominations." The Hebrew term "kānāp" is the subject of many controversial explanations, and some of them are rather fanciful, but I agree with a number of Old Testament scholars including Randall Price, who suggests quote, "The kānāp or the wing, might suggest the location where the abomination of desolation is placed, that is, in the Holy of Holies, in relation to the winged cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant." Which I by add must be recreated since there is no indication that the original Ark will be discovered and be used. And you will recall in Second Thessalonians two and verse four, the Apostle Paul describes what will happen, that he will take "his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Moreover, in Psalm 80 and verse one and 99, in verse one, we read that the throne of the Lord in the tabernacle, and later on in the first temple was said to be, quote, seated above or between the cherubim. And whenever you look at any of the archaeological reliefs, we see kings seated on winged thrones. What better place for the Antichrist to desecrate and defile the temple and to usurp the throne of the LORD the God of Israel, than by seeding himself between the wings of the cherubim from above some facsimile of an ark in the Holy of Holies.

Commentator Frederick Tatford stated quote, "Evidently the audacious rebel will blasphemously take his seat in the sanctum sanctorum itself." Again, verse 27, "'He will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week,'" in other words, the middle of that seven years, weeks of years is what he's talking about, "'he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate.'" So 69 weeks of judgment have elapsed, 483 years from the decree of Artaxerxes to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, but 70 weeks were decreed. There's one more heptad that still awaits; seven more years. And here in Daniel 9:27, we have the very text that Jesus refers to, as shall we say, the prophetic template, to be used to determine the chronological sequence of the beginning of birth pangs, as we read in Matthew 24, verses 15 and 16. And Mark 13 and verse 14. Which I also might add, correlates perfectly with the seal judgments in Revelation chapter four through six.

So all of that to say, here we get a glimpse of what will happen before Christ returns and what the saints of that day must look for and endure. This text describes a great deceiver will lure Israel into a protective agreement called a "firm covenant." And we know according to Revelation chapter six, and verse two, and following--we read about the sealed judgment--it will be in an era of unparalleled world peace, but it will be a great hoax; it will be the calm before a storm. We read how a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow, a bow with no arrows, implying probably some kind of diplomatic rather than a military victory; a peace sealed by a covenant, not by war. He also has a crown given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer. I believe a picture of the Antichrist; the one who will conquer the world in a bloodless triumph.

And given all that we are witnessing today, it's easy to understand why modern Israel would be interested in peace protection, right? In some kind of a covenant. I was thinking of this again, think about this. Israel today is the size of New Jersey about 9000 square miles. It's surrounded by 22 Arab countries that have 5 million square miles. 650 million people who are supported and aligned with a whole Muslim world consisting of over 1 billion people in an area twice the size of the United States; a region 672 times the size of miniscule Israel. Israel today has a population of 9.24 million people, and only 7.2 of them are Jews. It's interesting, they continue to grow every year. And yet we have antisemitism sweeping the nation, as it always has, sweeping the world. According to FLAME, which is "Facts and Logic About the Middle East," we find some things very interesting. I want to read this quote to you and it was written in 2005. Bear in mind, 2005. "The new anti Semites do not publicly proclaim their desire to bring about a second Holocaust, or to subject the Jews to mass murder or annihilation." Interesting, isn't it? They don't publicly do that. They didn't do that in 2005. They do today. It's very public here in the United States. They went on to say, "The hatred is aimed against the State of Israel, which according to the new anti Semites represents all that is evil in the world in which is the main violator of human rights and guilty of virtually every other abuse that can be conceived. This poison is now so widespread that a poll taken in Europe not too long ago found Israel to be the greatest menace to the peace of the world, far ahead of such murderous regimes as those of Iran or North Korea. The leaders and instigators of this new anti-semitism are concentrated on the political left. Its most active and vocal spokesman being found in our prestige universities, such as the anti-Zionist or anti-semitic focus of the left that almost incomprehensibly, it includes a fair number of Jewish professors and other intellectuals, not just here in the United States, but even in Israel itself. Those on the extreme left call for the abolition of the State of Israel outright, although they do not tell us what they propose to do with the 5 million Israeli Jews." It's 7.2 million now. "They would presumably be left to the tender mercies of the Arabs, who would, of course, have no greater joy than to emulate or perhaps even to improve on the Nazi model and to give final solution to the Jewish problem once and for all. That isn't going to happen. Of course, not because anybody in the world would lift a finger to prevent it, but because fortunately, Israel is a very strong and most capable nation." End quote. I would add that that is not the reason, the reason is because God is protecting them.

Daniel 9:27, "he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.'" Obviously, a new temple has been built. And we know that today plans are our already made. You can even take a virtual tour of what they want to build, it will take less than a year to build it. But he will demand that their worship be stopped. And according to Revelation 12, verses seven through nine we see how Satan, at this time, and his minions will be cast to the earth in the middle of the seven years. And this will be infuriating to Satan, who now becomes even more desperate and more determined. And according to verse 12, he says "'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 so in Daniel 9:27, "'on the wing of abominations will come this one who will make desolate.'" And we know that in the middle of the week, three and a half years, this satanically empowered antichrist will seize the temple and betray the Jews, demand to be worshipped like his four runner Antiochus Epiphanes. And he will do this for 42 months according to Revelation 13 and verse five; the last half of the seven years. And this is the one pictured in Revelation 13, verses one and five as the beast that's coming up out of the sea, given quote, "a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies and authority to act for 42 months was given to him." In verse seven and following he says "it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him; everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."

And what will he do that will be such an abomination? That will be so abhorrent in the eyes of God? Paul gives us insight here again in Second Thessalonians two verse three. It describes him as "the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god, or object of worship." And he says that he "takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Now, we know from Scripture that Satan has always wanted to be worshipped. He's always been jealous of God. And this is why he is so determined to deceive people through false religions, false messiahs, false teachers. He is the father of lies. And we read as well, in verses nine and 10, that he is "the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be this, so as to be saved." Now, the grammar that is used here indicates that this detestable thing that's going to be standing in the holy place will be some kind of a permanent image, probably of the Antichrist, that will be displayed there in the temple. And so this is the abomination of desolation, that Jesus refers to Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14.

As a footnote, in Daniel 12 and verse 11, we read "and from the time that the regular sacrifice faces abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days." Now, it's interesting that's 30 days beyond the three and a half years. Revelation 12 and verse six indicates that this period of unprecedented persecution against Israel, and this great tribulation, as it's called, where God miraculously protects some of his people, last 1260 days. So what's going on here? Well, the additional 30 days of Daniel's prophecy is thought to account for the period of time between when the Lord descends upon the Mount of Olives, and you know that it will create the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The valley of decision that Joel describes; the time between that and his judgment of the nations, in Zechariah 14 verses four through five. Moreover, in Daniel 12, and verse 12, he even adds 45 more days that would seem to be a time to establish leadership throughout the glorious kingdom. So again, 1260 days of unprecedented tribulation. And then you have 30 days after the Lord's return until he judges the nations 45 more days to establish His kingdom around the world.

Now, if I can pause for just a moment, it is absolutely beyond me how anyone can spiritualize all of these precise number of days and get them to mean something that is inconsistent with the normal use of language, especially to try to squeeze all of these things into what happened in AD 70. That simply makes no sense whatsoever to me. Dear friends, make no mistake, the prophetic Scriptures are replete with descriptions of upcoming tribulation that will culminate in the end of man's reign upon the earth, and will inaugurate the reign of the one that we love and serve, the Lord Jesus Christ. The time of inconceivable calamities will one day encompass the world. But it will be a time where God will especially focus his attention on the on his people Israel.

Let me give you a few passages in closing this morning. Isaiah 10 verse 20 and following, "Now it will come about in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined overflowing with righteousness." And the prophet Jeremiah says this, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God in chapter 30, beginning in verse 5, "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, of dread and there is no peace. Ask now, and see if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth, and why have all faces turned pale? '" This is describing suffering where people will be writhing in pain. He went on to say, "'Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it; and it is the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be saved from it. And it shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds; and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves. But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.'"

Daniel the prophet likewise says in Daniel 12, beginning in verse one, "'Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a great time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time, your people, everyone who was found written in the book will be rescued.'"

The prophet Zechariah says in chapter 13, beginning in verse eight, "'It will come about in all the land,' declares the Lord, 'That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say "They are My people," and they will say, "The LORD is my God." Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and houses plundered, the women ravished and half the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.'" And so indeed, we see as Jesus promised, in Mark 13:14, "'When you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.'"

Dear friends, the world is being prepared for the rule of the Antichrist. According to Revelation 13, three, the "whole world was astonished and followed the beast." That's what's going to happen. I want to close with a true story. On June 7, 1967, in the final moments of the Arab Israeli Six Day War, the Jews finally repossessed the temple area for the first time in 1897 years. Israeli soldiers with tears in their eyes, even ran past their Arab enemies in the final assault, because they were driven with an insane with intense passion to be near the temple mount. Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Shlomo Goren, stepped out of a half-track with a long black robe and he approached the Wailing Wall. And he sounded the shofar, calling his fellow Jews home. And he announced, quote, "The days of Messiah have begun." Many believe and have been taught that the generation that recovers the site must rebuild the temple. And Rabbi Mendel Lewis has stated, quote, "The rebuilding of the temple will be the acme of the redemption process." But also on that day, General, Moishe Dayan approached the Western Wall and here's what he said, "We have returned to our holiest of holy places, never to be parted from it again. We earnestly stretch out our hands to our Arab brethren in peace, but, we have returned to Jerusalem, never to depart from her again."

Beloved, while we would never want to use current events to interpret Bible prophecy, we would be fools not to see the miracle of modern Israel as at least a demonstration of divine preservation, if not a harbinger of the tribulation. I would submit to you on the basis of scripture that God is not finished with Israel. Isaiah 62:11 says, "Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Lo, your salvation comes; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.'" Then he adds this, "and they will call them, 'The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD', and you will be called, 'Sought out, a city not forsaken.'"

I trust that these prophetic truths will impact your heart and help you to realize that again, God is a holy God. He will judge sin, he has a plan, he's working it perfectly. And if you do not know Christ as your Savior, one day you will know Him as your judge. And I plead with you not to let that happen. But to trust in Him even this day. Come to him in repentant faith and be saved. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the eternal truths of your word. As always, I would plead with you to penetrate every heart with that which you would have them hear to understand more of who you are. To perhaps be reconciled to you and saving faith, or for those of us, who by your grace have been saved, for us to be more diligent and our desire to serve you in these last days. And to pray as you have asked, that your kingdom would come, that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We commit these things to you for the glory of Christ in whose name I pray. Amen.