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good morning to everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church and a welcome to visitors one announcement before we begin worship this morning there's a box the pew at the back uh not the back here but in the in the foyer there's a box with dishes dishes and various kitchen items so if you're missing something uh have a look at that box before you you leave today we'd like to we'd like to clear it out if possible so just at the back the pew at the back by the uh the door there the front door well let's turn in our Bible then please as we begin our worship this morning you can turn with me to the Book of Daniel Daniel 7 our call to worship this morning will be a reading of Daniel 7 verse 9 to verse4 Daniel 7 beginning in verse 9 this is the word of the living and true God I watched till Thrones were put put in place and the Ancient of Days was seated His Garment was white as snow and the hair of his head was like pure wool his throne was a fiery flame its wheels of burning fire a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him a thousand thousands ministered to him 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him the court was seated and the books were opened I watched then because of the sound of the pompous Words which the horn was speaking I watched till the Beast was slain and its body destroyed and given to the Burning Flame as for the rest of the beasts they had their Dominion taken away yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man coming with the Clouds Of Heaven he came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples Nations and languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed amen well let's stand and sing together our first hymn is going to be in the smaller red Trinity Suter we'll stand and sing Psalm 93 that's Psalm 93 let's stand as a church and sing EST the world to and from Everlasting th is are liting up their mighty the Lord on for Mighty is is the ther of the W for Breakers of the sea Exel and Hol forever please be seated let us pray our righteous and our holy God we come again on this your Lord's Day Sabbath come into this place to worship our Triune god father Son and Holy Spirit and we would ask again again that you would help us to do so we would pray Lord God that you would give us that measure of your spirit that our souls might be stirred up to high and heavy thoughts of our God that our souls might be lifted up to Sweet thoughts of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we would ask God that you would be worshiped in this place in spirit and in truth and we would pray again that you would help us to do so by your grace and For Your Glory that in this place this morning your name would be hallowed that around the earth Lord God this morning your name would be hallowed that your people would give you praise that your people would sing your praises and give you much honor for truly you are worthy we do pray that you would help us in this place and that you would Empower your churches all around the world to give praise to Father Son and Holy Spirit and to rejoice in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we thank you for that gospel we rejoice in that biblical truth that in the full of the times you did send forth your son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who are under the law we thank you for that blessed truth that Christ Jesus came into this world Sinners to save we know that we are not saved by Deeds of righteousness which we have done we're saved solely and alone by virtue of the perfect and saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ From First to Last midst and throughout our Salvation depends upon a Triune God who saves without a Helper and we we rejoice in Amazing Grace we do pray Lord God that you would forgive us aresh this morning we know that we have forgiveness in Christ Jesus our lord we know that by the shedding of his blood we have the remission of sins and we rejoice in that and we pray that you would wash Us aresh in that blood knowing that in Christ we have the forgiveness of sin we thank you for his righteousness we thank you for his obedience to the law in the stead of all who believe we rejoice in in that righteousness which is not our own which is imputed to us received by faith alone and we thank you that we have that we thank you for his doing his dying his Rising again we Rejoice that he now sits at your right hand where he ever lives to make intercession for his people where he does Rule and Reign having been given all dominion and glory in a kingdom we thank you that he rules and he reigns over the Nations that the nations of the world are the nations of our God and of his Christ and we fear not the Nations and those who rule over us because we know that you sit in the heavens and you do whatever you please we do pray that you would look down upon us this day in your grace and your Eternal loving kindness and that you would lift us up to high and heavy thoughts of the Gospel of Saving Grace and of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we do pray Lord God for those in our midst suffering physically that you would strengthen your Afflicted we pray that you would bless those who are uh diseased those who are injured those who are recovering from surgery and injury and all of these things Lord we would ask that you'd strengthen your dear Saints in this place help them to know physical strength and growth in Daily Vigor and we do just pray that you would restore them we would ask again God that in the midst of physical Affliction you would cause them to be wholly resigned to your will in all things that they would count it a joy to be found in Christ and that they would be resting upon the promises of the Gospel even in the midst of the physical trial we pray Lord God for those struggling spiritually that you would lift each and every one up that you would strengthen them in the Inner Man cause them to be rejoicing in Christ Jesus do restore your struggling Saints Lord God and lift them back up upon those high places and return unto them the joy of their salvation we do pray for all of us that by your grace and For Your Glory you would cause us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ before a watching World Lord we pray that you would help us to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation holding forth your word of Truth we do ask Lord God that you'd be with those around the world who suffer persecution for the cause of Christ we do pray that in Many Nations where uh your people are persecuted Lord God you would lift up your saints that you would cause them to be strengthened in the face of much adversity in the face of hatred and anger Lord we pray that you would give them endurance that you would give them strength that you would give them the grace uh to endure the attacks of persecutors that you would cause them even by the strength of Faith to look away as it were from their persecutors and to cast their eyes of faith upon the Risen and exalted Christ finding strength and courage and confidence in our blessed King of Kings we do pray that you would deal with those who persecute your people Lord we pray that you would come to them swiftly with spirit and gospel that you would bring them forth from The Madness of their idolatry unto the religion of our savior the Lord Jesus that you would bring them forth from the deadness of sin the madness and the blindness of transgression and that you would bring them forth to life and light in Christ Jesus the Lord and we do pray yet again for those who would remain in violent opposition to you those who would be obstinate even unto death Lord we do pray for those who persecute your people that you would remove these from that way that you would take them out of the way that they may no longer bring violence upon your people do bring temporal judgment upon your enemies Lord God that you might that your name might be Vindicated in all the Earth and we would ask for those who rule over us God yet again that we as we pray for those kings those who are in Authority we do pray Lord that you would watch over them that you would turn their hearts unto righteousness equity and Justice that you would steer them away by your Sovereign Grace and power that you would steer them away from the sanctioning of wickedness in the land that we would not no longer see the the sanctioning of evils that we would no longer see the abortion and sodomy and homosexuality praised in the land but Lord God all that all of these wickedness would be cast off by those who rule over us and that they would uphold righteousness and Justice we do pray that you would keep your PR people prayerful for these things that we would Lord God be daily coming before you pleading and supplicating and praying that those who rule over over us would do so Injustice and we pray in the meantime Lord God that in the in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation that you would keep us as those who are genuine and joyful in Christ Jesus seeking to be lights in the various contexts that you've placed us we pray for the preaching of the word now the worship of our God Lord we thank you that we have the freedom and the Liberty in this place to so gather as we have to be under the word to be under prayer to be in prayer to be singing to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs we would just pray that You' be with us and that you would be glorified and for the preacher Lord for pastor Butler as he preaches your word again give your minister strength in this Pulpit help him to know from on high the the giftings of the spirit to Proclaim richly the things of Christ help him to know that courage that only you afford as he opens his Bible to Proclaim to us the things of your scripture and we do just pray that you would give him much that you would give us much Lord as we sit in the pews be with your Saints in this place feeding us by Your Word strengthening Us by your spirit and we do pray Lord God that you would be present by that same spirit and word for those who have entered in these doors outside of Christ those in unbelief Lord we pray that you would by your power by your Amazing Grace bring them forth from deadness and sin to life in Christ do save this morning Lord God and might it be unto the praise of your glorious name we pray all these things in the name of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen well let's stand and sing again this time in the larger Himel we'll stand and sing 3:24 together 324 for for this sh and our Mighty again Jesus from to in the F our hearts this with to and to and and Grace Earth God all praise to God the Father all praise etal to with the spirit we adore forever and for please be seated you can turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19 Matthew 19 that's our New Testament scripture reading and pretty soon we're going to catch up to Pastor Butler's Exposition with our morning Bible readings Matthew 19 beginning in verse one we'll read to verse 15 once again just as Psalm 93 was this is the word of God Matthew 19 verse1 now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan and great multitudes followed him and he healed them there the Pharisees also came to him testing him and saying to him is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason and he answered and said to them have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh so then they are no longer two but one flesh therefore what God has joined together let not man separate they said to him why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away he said to them Moses because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives but from the beginning it was not so and I say to you whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery his disciples said to him if such is the case of the man with his wife it is better not to marry but he said to them all cannot accept this saying but only those to whom it has been given for there are unics who were born thus from their mother's womb and there are Unix who were made Unix by men and there are unic who have made themselves Unix for the kingdom of Heaven's Sake he who is able to accept it let him accept it then little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray but the disciples rebuked them but Jesus said let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of heaven and he laid his hands on them and departed from there amen well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this again the reading of your holy scriptures and we rejoice in this account of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ and we rejoice in his words to his uh audience in this context we thank you that our Lord Jes Jesus Christ was most certainly a defender of your creation account that he was an upholder of true and biblical marriage and that he also uh Lord God proclaimed strongly those things uh to men concerning proper marriage and uh the uh the the proper uh parameters uh within which men and women are to conduct themselves and we pray that this uh view of marriage Lord God would be such in our day we do pray Lord God for the Simplicity and the clarity to be pronounced that in the beginning God made them male and female we pray Lord God that the people of our Nations that the rulers of our nations would uphold this and would uphold the sanctity as well of marriage that uh these two things are brought to these two persons are brought together male and female and they are as it were one flesh and Lord God we would pray that man would not separate such a blessed Union we would ask Lord God that you would give us uh abidingly uh High thoughts of your creation account High thoughts of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ and high thoughts of what he defended here and proclaimed the the sanctity of marriage be with us now as we continue in worship we would ask Lord God that you would help us as we continue again might our thoughts not wander we pray Lord God that we'd be focused upon the worship of father son and spirit and Lord God that we'd be focused upon that Central act of worship the preaching of your word now might we be attentive might we be wellfed might Sinners be be saved Lord God and might all these exercises of worship be done unto the praise of your glorious name we pray in the name of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen our final hymn then before the preaching if you'll stand with me is 600 that's 600 in the larger Himel to a familiar tune We Stand Christ Glory and I hear the the rocks and Hills to fall I the I stand the beauty my the prise of for up inor Earth please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24 Matthew 24 we are considering the olette discourse taught by our Lord in chapters 24 and 25 as I've mentioned several times there are a few one of a few different ways to take this particular passage of scripture one of the popular ways today is What's called the futurist interpretation it works alongside of a dispensational eschatology and essentially the bulk of the prophecy is in our future not in jesus' future or in the disciples here in the first century another popular approach is the two event theory that what we have in Matthew 24 specifically is Christ dealing with the destruction of the temple in ad70 and as well uh dealing with his second physical uh physical coming at the end of the world and then there is What's called the prist interpretation that is the position I hold to I realize it's a minority position but the text does drive my understanding and because of time we can't look at all three and I am constrained to do what I believe the spirit has intended in scripture now when I say that I don't mean that if you disagree you're somehow a heretic or you're wrong or you're going to be and feathered but rather I do believe that this is what is In this passage so I want to read the discourse specifically verses 1 to uh 35 and then we're going to focus on verses 15 to 20 this morning but Matthew 24 beginning in verse 1 then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple and Jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly I say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down now as he sat on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age and Jesus answered and said to them take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will deceive many and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet for nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom and there will be famines pestilences and earthquakes in various places all these are the beginning of Sorrows then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by All Nations for my name's sake and then many will be offended will betray one another and will hate one another then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and because lawlessness will abound the love of many will gr grow cold but he who endures to the end shall be saved and this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the Holy Place whoever read s let him understand then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house and let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes but woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days and pray that your flight may not be in Winter or on the Sabbath for then there will be Great Tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time no nor ever shall be and unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or there do not believe it for false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive if possible even the elect see I have told you beforehand therefore if they say to you look he is in the desert do not go out or look he is in the inner rooms do not believe it for as the lightning comes from the East and flashes to the West so also will the coming of the son of man be for wherever the carcass is there the Eagles will be gathered together immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light the Stars will fall from Heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribe tries of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the Clouds Of Heaven with power and great glory and he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the Four Winds from one end of Heaven to the other now learn this Parable from the Fig Tree when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near so you also when you see all these things know that it is near at the door assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place Heaven and Earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away amen let us pray Father in heaven we thank you for the written word and we pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit we know God that scripture did not originate with man but it's given by inspiration of the of the Lord God most high we acknowledge that it's prophet Prof itable to us for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness and I pray that you would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work help us to think clearly concerning matters of Prophecy help us to think clearly concerning what is written in the word of God itself may you guide us and may you direct us and may you help us to understand this portion of scripture we ask that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions do cleanse Us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for certainly God no matter how we interpret the all of that discourse we must interpret properly the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus we must by Grace Look to Him and live and I pray that any that have come here this morning that are outside of Christ would hear the gospel and by your spirit they would believe the gospel and they would be saved by your grace for you are a great God a sovereign God a God who is able to do those things that that are impossible with men namely the salvation of Sinners bless your word as it goes forth may it go forth conquering and to conquer and we pray these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well CH Spurgeon says concerning this particular section of the olette discourse he says this portion of our savior's words appear to relate solely to the destruction of Jerusalem I want to give you just a bit of a historical back ground or a sketch uh this uh uh uh concerning this particular time frame in' 66 or ad 66 the Jews revolted against the Roman Empire the Roman Empire was the Empire they were the world power at that time they had subjugated the Jews but the Jews then revolted and so in ' 67 and 68 the Roman Commander vaspian conquered most of Palestine Civil War broke out in Rome itself in' 68 and 69 so they suspended military operations in the east at about that time Jerusalem was subject to its own civil turmoil there were various sects and various groups that were seeking to occupy the temple and seeking to be the authority in the city itself so that demoralized the nation it demoralized and uh and and weakened them so that when the Roman civil wars were finished vaspian was promoted to Emperor and then vespasian's son Titus went in and Siege the city specifically it was about a femon period where the city of Jerusalem was surrounded reading Josephus this past week one of the main Killers was famine the persons didn't have food Marauders were going about stealing food from anyone that had it and there was all sorts of activities like that so this 5 month seed culminated in the destruction of the of the city and of its temple in the fall of ad70 so I propose that that is what our Lord is speaking to when we look at the passage specifically in verses 4-4 we see that all of those things have a first century fulfillment all of those things were accomplished prior to verse 15 if verse uh verse 14 speaks of the end of all things everything follows is Superfluous it is unnecessary for our Lord to command his disciples to flee the city if verse 14 is the end of the world there will be no place to flee to when Christ comes again in glory to judge the living in the dead there are no mountains to find Refuge yet there is no safety that the natural phenomena will afford to you when Christ comes in glory to consummate the age to offer up the kingdom to to the father then the the righteous will go into everlasting life and Bliss and the unrighteous will be cast into hell so if you read this particular passage and you somehow conclude that when Jesus returns I'll either a have a second chance or B have a place to flee to and hide you are absolutely mistaken you are wul wrong you must flee now to the Lord Jesus Christ to be protected on that day when he comes get in glory You Must Believe on him you must look and live you must trust the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 that one who lived in obedience to his father's law that one who went to the Cross as a substitute and a sacrifice that one raised on the third day as Paul the Apostle says Christ was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised up for our justification so do not conclude from this portion of the all of that discourse that you will actually be able to escape when the Lord Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead you cannot you will not nor will you ever be able to you must flee now you must run now you must heed the words of Solomon the the Lord the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run to it and are safe run to Christ believe on Christ look to Christ listen to the word of Christ and flee for your safety now because there's not going to be a time when he comes in glory to run and hide in the mountains of Judea let's look at what Christ instructs his disciples in verses 15 to 20 he speaks first of a time to flee and then secondly concerning the command to flee remember the broader context this is the Tuesday evening of the passion week the Tuesday day the Lord Christ spent in the temple complex the Lord Christ spent in confrontation with the religious leaders he condemned them and the nation three times via Parable there were four interchanges of direct confrontation three times where the religious leaders come to press him and ask him questions and then the last concerning the identity of Messiah he presents to them so this is the broad context and in that particular section he mentions the destruction of their City we'll see that in a few moments and then chapter 23: 1-2 he cautions his disciples and the multitudes from listening to or following rather or obeying the religious leaders of his day in verses 13-36 he condemns them woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites in verses 34 to 36 specifically he tells them on you the righteous Judgment of God is going to come you are culpable you have filled up the measure of your father's guilt and then in verses 37 to39 he laments over Jerusalem why because is their house is left to them desolate it will be destroyed by the Roman armies and in verse one of chapter 24 he departs from the temple this parallels yahweh's departure from the temple in Ezekiel the prophet chapters 8-1 the the disciples say well look at the beauty of the Temple they've understood what he meant when he says your house is Left To You desolate they know what he's talking about so they say but look at the beauty of the temple and Jesus makes this declaration in verse two I say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down and they asked the question on the Mount of Olives tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the End of the Age the most straightforward reading of the discourse sees Christ answering their questions not trying to confuse them or confound them any further not trying to wrap riddles and in riddles but simply addressing the questions that they present he takes up their second question first this whole idea of what will be the sign of your coming the end of the age that occupies Verses 4 to 35 and we have seen Verses 4 to4 and their first uh Century fulfillment and that brings us to consider this time to flee the city note verse 15 he says therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the Holy place now I'm going to ask you as your teachers used to do when you were little children to not not suggesting that you're little children I I know I say these things I feel like I have to qualify them I get email saying you called us little children I'm not trying to do that but put your thinking caps on we need to pay attention to what the text is actually saying saying I think one of the faults that we do and I think this is particularly true with reference to what's called uh uh dispensationalism and their futuristic approach is they bring a system of Theology and they read it into the passage I mean take one of the most famous tenants of dispensational theology today it's called The pre-trib Rapture you've probably all heard that prior to the tribulation the church will be raptured there is absolutely nothing about that in verses 15 to 22 this is the Great Tribulation it happened in the first century Jesus identifies it as such in verse 21 there's no pre-trib Rapture he's speaking to his disciples and telling them they need to flee from the city if the pre-trip Rapture was a reality he wouldn't have to educate them at all because they would be caught up in the air their clothes would be left in a pile their cars would be left unmanned you've seen those bumper stickers in case of rapture this car will be unmanned that is absolutely foreign to our passage of scripture a text that actually teaches the Great Tribulation and yet there's no pre Great Tribulation Rapture I suggest that persons bring it to the passage and see it in there it's not brought out of The Passage through faithful and responsible ex of Jesus now note what Christ says when you see he's not talking to us all of the Bible is written for us but not all of the Bible is written to us he is talking to first century disciples and he says when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the Holy place the spefic specific terms employed come from get this Daniel the Prophet the word Abomination means a an Abomination a detestable thing that which is repulsive it was used in the Septuagint of idols and cultic objects and of sacriligious or of a sacriligious object or right causing the desecration of a sacred place this word desolation I've been a little bit more keen to it as I'm working through all of that discourse in my Old Testament readings it comes up all the time God renders or God will render Israel desolate for her violation of the Covenant all throughout the Old Testament Pagan Nations that rise up against Yahweh and against his people they will be left desolate it's a term of judgment it's a term of condemnation it's a term that is absolutely in this particular section of scripture now in terms of the prophetic background you can turn to Daniel chapter n Daniel chapter 9 dealing with the abomination of desolation what does he mean when you see the abomination of De desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the Holy place the holy place is Jerusalem uh uh the the temple it's the place where God was worshiped where sacrifices were offered well this whole idea of a mination of desolation appears three times in Daniel's prophecy notice specifically in verses 26 and 27 of Daniel 9 and after the 62 weeks this is the 70th week the after the 62 weeks follows the seven weeks already mentioned 7 + 62 is 69 so that brings us to the 70th week we're not deposit a huge gap between the 69th and the 70th this is the 70th week after the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off what does that refer to his crucifixion his death at Calvary the fact that he would shed his blood the fact that he would Usher in all the benefits that are given to us in verses 20 uh uh in verse 24 this is what Christ accomplishes when he's cut off notice in verse 24 he finishes transgression he makes an end of sins he makes reconciliation for iniquity he brings in Everlasting righteousness he seals up vision and prophecy and he anoints the most holy so after the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city in the sanctuary this not a reference to some future Antichrist this was a reference in Daniel's future to the time of Christ and his first coming when the Roman Empire would be the authority and they would come and they would destroy the city and the sanctuary the end of it shall be with the flood until the end of the war desolations are determined then he shall confirm a covenant with many again not the Antichrist Christ in in in in initiates institutes and inaugurates the New Covenant in his blood in Matthew 26 he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering how does Jesus bring an end to sacrifice and offering by the once for all sacrifice of himself such that anything that continues beyond that is itself an Abomination notice and on the wing of Abominations shall be one who makes desolate even until the consumation which is determined is poured out on the desolate now this abomination of desolation appears again in 1211 and from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up there shall be 1,290 days I take both of these as a reference to ad70 there's one other use in chapter 11 note specific specifically in verse 31 verse 31 and forces shall be mustered by him this Northern King and they shall defile the sanctuary Fortress then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation now most interpreters most commentators recognize that this refers to a man by the name of anti Antiochus epiphanies and Antiochus epiphanies was a seusd king in the helist Syrian Kingdom from about 175 to to to 164 and this man took over Jerusalem this man erected an idol to Zeus the Pagan God in the temple in Jerusalem and they initiated their own sacrifices you want to guess what they sacrificed in there they sacrificed pigs nothing could be more loathsome to Jews than a pagan standing in their holy place offering up sacrifice to a pagan God and doing so via pigs which were an unclean animal this was the abomination of desolation in the 2 Century BC now this came to an end because of a man by the name of Judas macabus and in 164 they defeated the the the the seusd king they took the temple back and they purified it and restored it you've heard of the word Hanukkah that that feast day for the Jews that occurs around Christmas time it means dedication and it refers to that time in 164 when Judas macabus took the temple back and they rebuffed this particular Abomination so this is the backdrop of the language this is how Jesus is using it in Matthew 24:15 and again I think it's Daniel 9 and 11 uh 9 and 12 that speak specifically to this particular issue but but there are several sort of discussions on what verse 15 means what does he mean the abomination of desolation some suggest it was Emperor gas who in the 40s wanted to put a statue of himself in the temple I mean thankfully I I don't know if that's the right word to say but a year later he died he exited this world so they never did put a statue of G gas in the the temple comp uh compound at that particular time others suggest the abomination of desolation was when the zealots that was a Jewish revolutionary sect seized control of the temple and they were Marauders and they were vicious and they shed a lot of blood but I think what Jesus is speaking to with reference to the abomination of desolation is explained to us in the parallel passage in Luke's gospel you can turn there Luke 21 Luke 21 Luke's version of the olette discourse and when I say version I don't mean different I mean that each author in the gospel narrative has a the logical emphasis each author in the gospel record gives us a shade or a side or a meaning or a facet or a glimpse of something that perhaps the others don't it's a very helpful tool to weave the picture for us of who Jesus Christ is but no Luke's specific statement in Luke 21:20 but when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then know that it's desolation is near Luke's audience was primarily Gentile for him to use the Lang of Daniel the Prophet in terms of the abomination of desolation his mostly Gentile audience it would have been lost on them Matthew's audience is specifically Jewish for him to say the abomination of desolation invoking the Prophet Daniel it makes absolute sense in that particular context we have this Antiochus likee figure invading our holy place setting up sacrilegious objects worshiping desecrating it and destroying it but note what Luke goes on to say 21:20 when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then know that its desolation is near then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains you see we're dealing with the same subject matter some say well of course Luke is talking about the ad70 event but Matthew's not how do you ever end up with that exegetically some of it's just mindblowing here's how I think it goes well Matthew doesn't support what we believe so we can't maintain he's dealing with 8070 that's irresponsible TR really trying not to have an ax to grind against these sort of other interpretations but that is irresponsible exog Jesus to put Matthew 24 and Luke 21 right next to each other and say well Luke's dealing with 870 but Matthew's dealing with the future as we know it he's dealing with some future Antichrist and a future revived Roman Empire and a future Temple that is a system of theology driving our understanding of the text it's not the text driving our understanding of Theology and we all need to be careful of this don't let our theology run rough shot over the Bible we let the Bible inform our Theology and I know everybody says that I'm joining the ranks today of every other person that ever says that we talked to some Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday guess what they say we need to let the Bible inform our theology but Brethren the proof is in the pudding when we compare scripture with scripture and we see the identical subject matter in Matthew and Luke we cannot conclude or assume that Matthew's not dealing with 8070 notice what he says then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains let those who are in the midst of her depart and let not those who are in the country enter her for these are the days of Vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled I took pains several weeks ago to show you that same concept in Leviticus 26 these are the days of Vengeance that all things written should be fulfilled the things written and do Deuteronomy 28 Leviticus 26 in terms of the Covenant curse for the violators of God's holy law this is what they reaped having broken Covenant with Yahweh these are the days of Vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled notice and woe but woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days for there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations and jerus M will be trampled by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled it is a futuristic eschatology that drives us to consider that this is in our future was in the future for the disciples that Jesus was speaking to was on the horizon in terms of the Judgment it applied to the then standing Temple that they all set their gaze upon and said wow look at this beautiful Temple they would have never thought never in a million years that he's not really talking about this he's talking about something that lay in the future for the 21st century now we're just stretching it to complete incredulity why in the world would Jesus try and comfort his disciples with an answer that isn't applicable or relevant until our future you take the parallel I think it's a parallel in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 I don't believe that Paul there is pointing to our future either I think he's giving us a snapshot of the all of that discourse he is able to tell the Thessalonians concerning the man of sin that you know what is restraining him how would the Thessalonians ever have known what was restraining the man of sin if the man of sin was in our future see Brethren it is bringing a system to Bear rather than listening to the text of scripture so what we have in 2415 when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet scanning in the Holy place we have the city of Jerusalem surrounded by Roman armies we have their encroachment upon the holy Place itself we have their seizure of the temple and their ultimate destruction of the temple now remember Roman soldiers carried something that was very offensive to the Jews They Carried encens and on these encens they were basically flags that had Eagles do you know that they would actually worship these enens there's an account in Josephus where men actually offered sacrifice to the image on the incent this is the abomination of desolation this is the desecration and the sacrilege committed in the Holy place this is what Jesus says you will see in your lifetime in this generation according to 2334 all these things will take place in this generation and he says to them when you see this run hide leave flee get out of Dodge don't try to fight for the the Integrity of the temple don't try to rans sack the Roman armies don't try to resist them but use the better part of wisdom and run Spurgeon says specifically as soon as Christ's disciples saw the abomination of desolation that is the Roman enens with their idolatrous emblems now listen to this comment from Josephus I told you at the very beginning we're not going to get heavy on Josephus but it is interesting that riy says Josephus is the best commentator on the all of that discourse he speaks in Vivid detail of everything that our Lord says and when you consider that Josephus was not a Christian he had no dog in the Christian fight he didn't try and prop Jesus up and say well this was fulfilled then and this was fulfilled then no Josephus was a was a he rejected the Lord Jesus Christ he speaks of him in certain places in his history but he was a Senator and a historian in the first century so he was not on the side of the Christians but when you read josephus's account you will hear the Illusions you will hear the the specific descriptions by our Lord but this is Joseph's commenting on Daniel's prophecy he says and indeed it so came to pass that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus epiphanies according to Daniel's vision and what he wrote many years before they came to pass in the very same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government and that our country should be made desolate by them it's pretty amazing that an unconverted Jew in the first century understood the all of that discourse better than a whole lot of people that make their living at understanding the all of that discourse he knew that this is what was spoken by Daniel the Prophet he knew that in the days of these Kings the Lord God would raise up his kingdom that's the Roman Empire Brethren they came they saw they conquered to use a popularism that is precisely what Christ is dealing with in this section now before we get to the specific command to flee the city note the statement at the end of verse 16 this is where the red letter black letter thing is a bit difficult those of you who have a redl edition of the New Testament realize that's an interpretive call was that the words of Jesus the ESV or is that the words of Matthew the new King James I don't know it's a tough one if it's the words of Christ whoever ever reads let him understand it is an encouragement to the disciples to understand Daniel's prophecy Vis Daniel 9 12 concerning the abomination of desolation if it's black letters if it's the evangelist's comment he could certainly be referring let whoever reads let him understand Daniel's prophecy or it could be an indicator of a pre a70 composition in other words Matthew wrote in the early 40s and Matthew gives this editorial aside to all of those who will read prior to the destruction in ad70 and he's urging his readers and he's encouraging his hearers whoever reads let him understand because if you mess up on this if you join the ranks of dispensationalism if you see this as future in the 21st century you are going to die in The Siege upon Jerusalem so I'm not sure whether it's red or black if it's the comment of Jesus or the comment of Matthew but let's move to the command to flee the city I want to look at four things here first the command stated secondly the location specified thirdly the urgency highlighted and fourthly the specific difficulties identified the command stated verse 16 then let those who are in Judea flee it's a command it means to flee you've been dazzled today with Greek EX Jesus now again Brethren do you see the super uh the superfluousness of this if verse 14 is the end of all things why would Jesus tell us to flee how could we possibly flee how could there be a safe space when Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead the very argument in verse 16 assumes presumes uh a a presuppose mes that what we have here is a judgment that persons can flee from it is specific to this particular judgment on Jerusalem in ad70 we ought to recognize the wisdom and the the the the the the Prudence of times to flee turn back to chapter 10 which is a very similar passage chapter 10 are the instructions given to the disciples for the Jewish and notice specifically in verse 22 verse 10 or chapter 10 verse 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake but he who endures to the end will be saved we see that in verse 13 in the all of that discourse when they persecute you in this city flee to another we see that in the ol of it discourse for assuredly I say to you you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the son of man comes it's the same coming that is in the ol of that discourse it is the reality that Christ enth at the right hand of the Majesty of God on ey must Reign till all of his enemies are made his foot stol he comes in judgment in the first century he comes by historical means and Providence Visa the Roman armies the way Yahweh used Egyptians against Egyptians the way that Yahweh orchestrated the movements of the Nations to promote his glory and his honor and his praise it's the same coming in chapter 10 that we'll see in chapter 24 but no the Prudence of verse 23 when they persecute you in this city flee to another now Brethren it's good to die for the cause of the Gospel but there's a time a season a place for prudence and wisdom if they persecute you in one city and you can flee to another city Jesus doesn't condemn that now that doesn't mean you lie about being a Believer you pretend to be a Muslim you wear the the outfit so they don't know that's not what he's talking about but if you can flee to extend the kingdom of God then by all means flee there's Prudence in that and that's specifically what Jesus is telling the disciples back in Matthew 24 when you see the abomination of desolation or as Luke says when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies what are you supposed to do you're supposed to run you're supposed to flee you're supposed to get away You're supposed to put distance between you and and that City eus in his ecclesiastical history notes that the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation vou safe to approve men there before the war to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Pera called uh uh uh Pera in Pella I'm sorry it's Pella in Pera that's the region they did actually flee to that particular region when the Jewish war broke out doesn't this reflect God's instructions to lot as well what was Lot supposed to do when judgment Came Upon Sodom was he supposed to try and reform it was he supposed to be Salt and Light there was he supposed to you know start a Bible study with the perverts in Sodom Brethren there's a sense in a time where certainly we ought to reach people for the gospel but what was Lot told lot was told to flee to get out of Dodge Don't Look Back run to safety it is very intriguing that in Luke 17 which in many respects is parallel to what we have in the olette discourse Luke 17 specifically in verse 28 likewise as it was also in the days of lot they ate they drank they bought they sold they planted they built but on the day that lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all even so will it be in the day when the son of man is revealed in that day he who is on the housetop and his goods are in the house let him not come down to take away uh take them away and likewise the one who is in the field let him not turn back remember Lot's wife this ought to condition their flight out of Judea remember Lot's wife don't turn back you're not going to fix the Roman issue or the Roman armies you're not going to win them to the Savior you need to get out of town so go back to Matthew 24 that's the command stated note secondly the the location specified verse 16 says let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains again this makes no sense if verse 14 is the end of the world do you feel that pressure does it ever bother you that if you've assumed that verse 14 means the end of all things that one we're actually told to flee two we're not but the disciples in the first century are actually told to flee and thirdly it's those in Judea the very underscoring of Judea highlights the fact that it's a localized judgment it was Judea that was attacked by the Romans in the mid to late 60s it was Judea that was attacked ultimately and had their their city and their Temple fall to the Romans in 8070 you see it is localized it is particularized it is specific then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountain to the mountains now note the urgency highlighted that he indicates in verses 17 and 18 what's the obvious emphasis in 17 and 18 run go just just go look at what he says in verses 17 and 18 let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of out of his house why because if you go down from your rooftop to take something out of your house you're going to get slaughtered you may get captured you may be treated roughly you may be abused you may suffer hardship don't go back for the cat don't go back for the photo album don't go back for the China don't go back for the heirlooms don't go back for the jewelry don't even go back for the gold just get out of town you see the emphasis emphasis here in verses 17 and 18 is on making haste notice in verse 18 let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes why because when you go back to get your clothes the Roman soldiers are going to pick you off when you go back to get your clothes you're going to be seized upon when you go back to get your clothes you are going to be execute it there's a whole host of reasons why but the bottom line in 17 and 18 is simple you need to make haste when you see the abomination of desolation when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies run don't go down from your house go into your house and get your belongings don't if you're in the field go get your coat and then run and hide and I think these two things in terms of their major emphasis show us the necessity of making haste but they're very particular to Jewish life aren't they think about what he says here this is not peculiar to the 21st century but it's very peculiar to the first century the Jews had flattened roofs didn't they Josephus says of another time there was an invasion persons ran from roof to roof to roof in order to escape this whole idea of flat roofs is addressed in the law of Deuteronomy if you had a flat roof you had to put a parapet you had to put a fence around it so that persons wouldn't fall off and break their head open and die the language architecturally confirms that we're dealing with a localized judgment now it could just be the language of the day that we need to apply to our particular time but that doesn't stop some from doing all sorts of outlandish things with language used in the day and making it say things that we want it to say he's talking about Jerusalem in the first century this whole idea of an outer cloak this is very important in Jewish life to keep you alive you needed your clo cloak when it was cold so a man would go out to work the field In the Heat of the day he'd take the cloak off he'd lay it on the other side of the field what's jesus' instruction Jesus says don't go back and get it and don't run down your uh uh roof into your house and get your stuff so that you can go then it is the uh the urgency necessary in escaping but again both of these things are absolutely useless or unnecessary if verse 14 means the end of the world what difference does it make if Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead and to usher in the the Eternal state does it matter if you go down from your roof or you stay on your roof does it matter if you fetch your cloak does it matter if you do any of no it doesn't matter because that's the end end here is obviously meaning the Jewish age the old Covenant dispensation to use their word for a moment it means the end of the temple the end of the Covenant the end of the special status of God's covenantal people in the Old Testament I realize this is offensive to some they say well this sounds anti-semitic Brethren anti-Semitism is to tell us that this is in the future and that two-thirds of the Jews are going to be slaughtered in our future I don't want to entertain that thought I'd rather see that what we have here is the historical fulfillment of God's covenant people breaking Covenant reaping upon themselves the judgments or the curses associated with that Covenant and then the Jewish people as a whole enter the rank and file of Every Other Nation we don't hold them any more culpable for what they did or you know that that that language well they killed Jesus no this generation did and Jesus said upon that Generation all of the blood from Abel to Zechariah would be requited at their hands it's not anti-semitic to interpret the Bible the way that God I know this always sounds so self- serving the way that God calls us to interpret the Bible they're going to say oh yeah you proud arrogant wret again I think that this is any of this like no way I can't see this isn't it obvious we look at Ro uh Luke 21 Jerusalem surrounded by Army and then we have language that is specifically inappropriate to a people living in the first century in Israel in Jerusalem run hide go but notice Jesus doesn't stop there he addresses specific difficulties verses 19 and 20 woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days this isn't a woe of condemnation I mean we just left 23 where Jesus says woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites and that's a note of condemnation woe to you scri sces or wo do you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites but this woe used here by our Lord demonstrates his compassion it's a woe of sympathy it's a woe of pity it's a woe of kindness It's a woe expressing expressing that that benevolent heart that characterizes Our Savior now what's the challenge in view in verse 20 Jesus isn't saying I feel sorry for you that you're pregnant I feel sorry for you that you're giving sock to your infant that's not the problem it's a problem when the Roman armies have invaded it's a problem when you are told to flee to the mountains it's a problem when you have to get out of Dodge because Rome is coming to destroy the city it's not pregnancy it's not nursing that brings out the sorrow and the pity and the compassion of our savior it's the reality that at The Siege there will be some that are pregnant there will be some that are nursing and there will be those who have heeded the words of the Lord Jesus Jesus must pick up those babies must clutch them close to their breast and they must flee before the invading armies get them this is the woe and again if this is the end of the world what difference does it make if you're pregnant what difference does it make if you're giving suck to your infant what possible uh uh usefulness would this have if this was the end of all things but if it's the end of the Jewish dispensation via the Abomination of desolation Vis the Roman army surrounding Jerusalem to sack it and its Temple then the language makes perfect sense consider the realities of of of the horrors of War I mean there are several instances in the Old Testament 2 Kings 8:12 2 Kings 15:16 Isaiah 13 Hosea 10 Amos 1 naam 3 where pregnant women in times of War had their uh bellies ripped open and the babies taken from them there are instances in the book of Lamentations and as well in the prophet Zechariah of women in Wartime being raped so Jesus is saying woe to those who are pregnant woe to those who are nursing at that particular time it's going to be a struggle it's going to be a hardship it's going to be a difficulty woe to them because when the Romans come they're not kind to pregnant women they're not going to carry you out of the city to Pella they're not going to just say well you know you're pregnant we're going to let you that's not what happened in The Siege that's absolutely not what happened in The Siege note something of a parallel in Luke 23 Luke 23 boy our time goes quickly on these Sunday mornings Luke 23 specifically in verse 27 and a great multitude of the people followed him and women who also mourned and lamented him but Jesus turning to them said Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me but weep for yourselves and for your children for indeed the days are coming in which they will say blessed are the barren wombs that never bore and breasts which never nursed have you ever read that and thought that Jesus is against big families he's not he's talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 870 blessed are the barren in those days when the the abomination of desolation is in the Holy Place blessed are the wombs of never bore and breast which never nursed why because when you have to hi tail it out of the city to spare your life it's going to be a great difficulty and a challenge if you are pregnant or if you have little ones in tow then they will begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us for if they do these things in the Greenwood what will be done in the day you know what one of the other atrocities was during The Siege in Jerusalem again if we had more time actually we got time we're going to do this because I want you to see that what Jesus is saying here is nothing new if you've attentively read your Bible through the Old Testament when you get to the all of that discourse you're not going to put it into our future that's my thought if your theology of you know a dispensational theology is not driving your interpretation you just read the Old Testament you're going to say see the same themes coming out in all of it do you know what one of the other abuses was during the time of The Siege cannibalism Pastor Porter asked me how the studies were going I think something to that effect I had mentioned I had been reading some Jo Josephus and again it wasn't hey cam I read Josephus I actually texted him and called him brosephus and said I've been reading Josephus and that's that's the reason for the reference and he said how how is it and I said it makes me want to go buy beans and rice and oats and stuff and put it in my garage because famine famine was a killer in those days but cannibalism Josephus gives a couple paragraphs on a particular woman named Mary that took her little child I don't mean to be offensive I don't mean to be unkind you Google Josephus and you'll find it she killed her baby roasted her baby ate half of the baby and when people came to take uh to find out if she had food she offered them the remaining half and they were repulsed and they wouldn't even take it she said say Butler that just seems so outlandish do you realize it was a curse of the Covenant in Deuteronomy 28 you can turn to Deuteronomy 28 I think if we see anything in this passage and I think it does function typically for us what God does at ad70 ought to terrify us it ought to terrify us God does not shrink back from executing the Vengeance of the Covenant note Deuteronomy 28 beginning in verse 52 this whole context speaks of Exile if Israel breaks Covenant they will be Exile this happened historically through the Assyrian Empire in 722 it happened historically through the Babylonian Empire in 587 86 BC verse 52 they shall bes you at your Gates until your high and fortified walls and which you trust come down throughout all your land and they shall besiege you at all your Gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you you shall eat the fruit of your own body the Flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you in The Siege and desperate Straits in which your enemy shall distress you the sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother toward the wife of his bosom and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind so that he will not give any of them the Flesh of his children whom he will eat because he has nothing left in The Siege in Desperate Straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your Gates the tender and delicate woman among you who would not venture to set the soul of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity will refuse to the husband of her bosom and to her son and her and and to her son and her daughter her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate Straits in which your enemy shall distress you at the gate at all your Gates now if you say well I can't believe this actually happened in ad70 it happened in uh uh even in the in the Assyrian Siege and as well in Babylon look at Lamentations written by Jeremiah concerning the fall of Jerusalem Lamentations specifically verses uh chapter 2 verse 20 I'm not trying to disgust anybody or horrify anybody or give anybody bad dreams but we ought to understand what Jesus is talking about was no new thing this was a curse of the Covenant you violate God they're going to tear down your walls they're going to seede your city you're going to get so hungry you're going to turn to cannibalism instead of treasuring those beautiful little children you're going to eat them because you're starving to death notice in 210 of the book of lamentation or I'm sorry 220 see oh Lord and consider to whom have you done this should the women eat their offspring the children they have cuddled should the priest and Prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord notice in 410 Lamentations 4:10 the hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children they became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people isn't it intriguing that Jesus laments over Jerusalem at the end of chapter 23 you see a pattern he's Jeremiah the prophet he's weeping over the city that is going to going to reap the curses of the Covenant the same things are taking place to the same people who violated the same Covenant which found its Pinnacle in the rejection of the Son of God sent to save his people from their sins he came to his own and his own received him uh received him not and so they reap all the curses of the Covenant so going back quickly to Matthew 24 notice the other two difficulties that are indicated by our Lord so this location is specify Judea the urgency is highlighted go run don't go down from your house to get stuff out of your house but rather flee and also don't get your coat if it's on the side of the side of the field run it's going to be a difficult time for those ladies who are pregnant but as well notice the difficulty of escaping during the winter what does that matter if it's the end of the world and isn't it intriguing that he says pray that your flight be not on the winter or in the winter on the Sabbath aren't we accustomed as Christian people to pray even so come Lord Jesus do we look out or you know I I check my weather this is cheating right I I look at my iPhone to see what the weather's like to know if I'm going to need a coat when I step outside I mean I guess I could open my door put my arm out but I like to look at that to to tell me what my day is supposed to be like do we put our arms out do we look at our iPhone and say wow it's the low 40s Fahrenheit could you could you delay your second comment it makes no sense but if it's the flight from a city under siege where in heavy rains or cold conditions would make that flight difficult it makes perfect sense to pray that that flight be not in Winter have you ever thought Lord I want you to come back in July because it's really beautiful out you don't do that you pray even so come Lord Jesus you don't care if it's winter in fact for most of us by November or December we're really praying come Lord Jesus this cold and this rain is too much Deliver Us from it we're not told to pray that he delays his coming to a specific condition or climate that is more suitable to us but we're told to pray that if our flight from Judea to the mountains during the abomination of desolation when the Roman armies have surrounded Jerusalem if our flight occurs in the winter it will be especially difficult so we can pray to The Sovereign God and say may it happen in the springtime may it happen in the fall and pray not or pray that it won't be on the Sabbath why after the maban Revolt in 816 uh 164 BC They concluded that it was okay to break the Sabbath it really wasn't breaking the Sabbath but it was okay to engage in combat on the Sabbath day but the question was still debated in jesus' times other words if we're being invaded on the Sabbath day can we take up arms to resist it's kind of an odd way to approach the Sabbath isn't it I would conclude with my Lord that's a work of necessity and do all necessary to protect the city at that particular point but remember the Pharisees had gained a stronghold over people you couldn't walk more than half a mile on the Sabbath day there were still fastidious ones even among the the the the Christian uh uh Jews and as well on a real practical level if your flight was on the Sabbath day you couldn't pick up a bag of Oats you couldn't pick up a bag of rice you couldn't get the necessary supplies when you are fleeing the city because the Jewish Jews are fastidious and they're certainly not going to open their shop to serve the Christians so they can get the needs that they or get their needs met while they flee the city you see these are all very particular very specific with absolutely no application if in view is the second coming of Jesus who cares if it's on the Sabbath who cares if it's in the winter who cares if one's pregnant or giving suck to infants who cares if if you're in Judea or wherever you are when Jesus comes in glory you are not able to run and hide you cannot flee you cannot Escape he will find you he will judge you he will cast you into the lake of fire if you are a rebel rejector of his mercies and his grace but those who are in Christ will enter in to the joy of their rest all of this stuff verses 15 to 20 would be absolutely irrelevant if verse 14 dealt with the end of the world well Brethren I think that's probably enough at this particular point just want to underscore some things concerning fulfillment the broader context chapters 21 to 23 with its recurring emphasis on the destruction of the city in 2118 and 19 what does Jesus do he curses the Fig Tree and says that no fruit will ever grow on them again what's he saying something terrible is going to happen to Israel the the Fig Tree there Jesus isn't an Environ naazi he's not against fig trees he doesn't get up in the morning with this you know desire to curse the nature around him the Fig Tree is representative of Israel and when he curses the Fig Tree and says that no fruit will ever grow on it again guess what he means as well 21 41 to 44 after the parable of the of the the servants working in the vineyard the Pharisees got that one what will the vineyard owner do to those servants he will destroy their city and take away their stuff and then Jesus says yes I am taking from you the kingdom of of heaven and I'm going to give it to a nation that bears the fruits of it and then in 227 the parable of the the wedding Feast what is the king do when the propers of Grace concerning the the wedding Feast of his son have been rejected sends his armies and destroys the city of those who reject and then in 23 again we couldn't see it more clearly 2334 therefore indeed I send you prophets wise men and scribes some of them you will kill and crucify some of them you will Scourge in your synagogues and persecute from City to city that on you what does on you mean it means on them again that doesn't mean that we're not going to get judged for our sin there's not any tribulation in our future there's no hardship that's not the argument the argument is there is a specific judgment pronounced upon these people that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of bariah whom you murdered between the temple and the altar now notice the time reference assuredly I say to you all these things will come upon this generation notice 23 uh 2434 assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place my argument is is that he was absolutely correct all those things took place in that generation or else we have Jesus suggesting something concerning his second coming that didn't take place remember this is what caused Burch and Russell to mock Christianity to question the wisdom of the savior he read the gospels and he concluded Jesus thought he was coming back in the lifetime of the generation that was living when he spoke he didn't come back ER go Christianity is wrong no he came back bertran Russell he came back en throned at the right hand of the Majesty on high where he's lowering his foot on his enemies and it was via the Roman armies destroying the city that is the coming en visioned by Jesus in Matthew 24 that's the argument all these things did take place and we will see when we get to that passage that it's not unique Yahweh rides a cloud into Egypt to bring judgment that doesn't mean everybody saw this Apparition or emblem of Yahweh on a cloud it is the language suggestive of coming in judgment that's what Jesus employs In this passage the immediate context he departs the temple they ask about the temple he tells them about the temple it will be destroyed what possible reason would they ever have to conclude he must not mean this Temple he must must mean a temple in the future for those living in the 21st century as well the fact that Verses 4 to 14 did in fact have a first century fulfillment verse 15 the abomination of desolation if it puzzles us how it works in with Daniel's prophecy Luke Cuts right to the Chase he says the abomination of desolation is when you see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies as well the specific command to flee in verse 16 the specific urgency highlighted the reference to Judea the agricultural reference the the architectural reference and the fact that there would be problematic difficulties for pregnant women if it was a flight on the in the winter or on the S all of this underscores that what we're dealing with is a particular judgment and it's the Judgment in ad70 and you know don't forget Brethren that actually happened some say that jesus' words are so precise that he must have or that it was written after the fact I argue for an early date for Matthew I mentioned that earlier I actually think the black letters are Matthew's editorial comment telling us to pay well telling first century readers to pay attention you better listen you better understand because if not you're going to be standing there when the Roman army surround the city but I argue that it's an early date Jesus prophesied Matthew records the prophecy This is 40 2 uh ad42 the destruction comes in ad70 some say that the words are so specific that there's no way it was written prior to 8070 do you all get that there's people out there that say Daniel's prophecy was so specific that it couldn't have been composed prior to the events listen to that that's what people think well it's so spoton Antiochus epiphanies completely fulfills what we find there in Daniel 11 So Daniel couldn't have been prophetic it couldn't have been before the event it must have been ex adventue it must have been written after the event that's what people do with the all of that discourse because it really happened in ad70 and if you want some reading that will cause you some degree of distress read Josephus if as riy says he's the best commentator on the olette discourse it might be behoove you to read some of it for yourself just to see I'm not pulling rabbits out of hats it is very heavy judgment that came upon these people in this first century context we get to verse 21 and Jesus describes this as the Great Tribulation we say well no it it wasn't that it must be something in our future you don't understand what happened the argument isn't that there will never be tribulation again but on the Jewish people this was the Great Tribulation not in terms of body count but in terms of covenantal significance their Temple was destroyed their status is stripped the kingdom of God is removed from them that was tribulation for a first century Jew so before we start pontificating and say well that couldn't happened then we ought to understand the gravity the enormity of the situation and to see and I hope that you'll do this see it in the context of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 this completes I think the Book of Revelation completes the story of old Covenant Israel God dealt with them he judged them they broke Covenant he came against them so in conclusion I want to underscore two things first as I mentioned earlier this is typical okay this really happened 8070 not arguing against that but it's nevertheless typical of what will come again what will come in the future the argument of prism isn't that you know it's going to be easy sailing and we're going to skip our way there's been great persecution in the church I've read it said that or heard it said that more Martyrs in the 20th century then in all the other 19th centuries put together prism doesn't teach that everything's going to be happy we're going to sing Zippity dudah and skip our way and there's persecution there's turmoil there's hardship there's difficulty the language of the Apostle in Acts 14 is applicable throughout the church age uh through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God that's not the argument but if what we find here is a picture of God's judgment and wrath we have to see how far it will be exceeded in that time when Christ comes to judge the living and the dead there will be no command before that time there can be no command before that time to flee let those who are in chil chillak shimmy up Mount sham too bad if you happen to be PR it it's useless y'all need to be ready young and old the gospel isn't this interpretation of the olette discourse the gospel is that Jesus lived Jesus died and Jesus rose again because in our lives we've made a mess of things and we need one who keeps the law Jesus died because in our lives we've made a mess of things and we need to be cleansed in that precious fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness and Jesus was raised the third day Jesus sits en throned at the right hand of the Majesty on high and Jesus says all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out listen to those words the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out do you know what he's saying that right now on this side of the judgment to come is when we take what he said in this localized condition and we heat it we flee we run we hide we seek Refuge not in the mountains of Judea but in the Lord Jesus Christ we come by God's grace to that one who is able to save us to the uttermost let this this picture of a localized judgment strike Terror in your heart that what happens when he comes in glory to judge the living in the Deb will exceed it it will be more harsh it'll be more difficult because ultimately if someone didn't make it out of the city but they happen to be a believer when they were dead at the hands of the Romans they entered into the presence of God most high and the lamb who sits upon the throne if you perish apart from faith in Jesus Christ all the that they suffered in Rome or uh in Jerusalem all that they suffer on this side of that is just a foraste it's just a shadow it's just a type of eternal hell that's in the future and the way of Escape is made clear now it is through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ believe and you will be saved flee and you will be welcomed run and you can hide Christ is a gracious Savior for Sinners well let us pray Our God in heaven we thank you for your word and we pray that you would help us to see these things and help us to be affected by them specifically Lord if we are not right with God through Jesus Christ I pray the Holy Spirit would open eyes and hearts and ears to the truth that Sinners would look and live everybody here forgets anything about the interpretation presented but they are found in Christ we will bless and praise and glorify your Most Holy Name forever and ever for God you are worthy of praise and we know that you are powerful to save and we ask that you would exercise that sovereignty even here in our midst and do what is impossible with men and Open Hearts to receive the truth as it is in Jesus go with us now bring us together again that we may worship you in spirit and truth and we pray through Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed for