Mark 13, taking as my text verses 14-23, we'll be reading verses 1-32. Mark 13, beginning at verse 1, hear God's holy word. As he was going out from the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down. And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately. Tell us. When will these things be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled? Jesus began to say to them, see to it that no one mislead you. Many will come in my name saying, I am he and will mislead many. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened. Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pains. But be on your guard, for they will deliver you up to the courts and you will be flogged in the synagogues and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever is given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit and brother will deliver up brother to death and the father, his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. and you will be hated by all on account of my name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saying. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be, but the reader understand. Then that load that then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let him who is on the housetop not go down or enter in to get anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days. But pray that it may not happen in the winter. For those days will be a time of Tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of creation, which God created until now. And never shall. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ or behold, he is there. Do not believe him for false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. But take he behold, I have told you everything in advance. But in those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send forth the angels, and will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near. Right at the door. Truly, truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day, or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. So far the reading of God's holy word. Please be seated. As we go to prayer, once again to see God's face for the blessing of the preaching of his word. Let's pray together. Oh, Lord, our God. One who has put the prophetic calendar in place, the one who has decreed all things that have come to pass are now coming to pass and shall come to pass. We bow our knee. Before your throne, To bless your name. For the marvelous nature of your decree. And the way you have revealed it to us. The Lord, as it contains things that are difficult to understand. We call upon your name and ask that you would give us insight into your word. And that you would help by the illumination of the Holy Spirit to make clear the things that are necessary for our faith and salvation. Hear our prayer, for we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Just like there seems to be every time of year, wildfires have ravaged Southern California near Los Angeles. Every year we hear of the calls to evacuate those areas where the fire has reached, where it's impacting, where it's threatening homes and threatening lives. And inevitably, there always seem to be some who ignore the call to evacuate and instead of fleeing the danger, stay there instead to protect their property, protect their homes, that which it would seem ought to be insignificant, at least in comparison with their own lives. This year, as those fires raged in Southern California, there were some who were trapped in the fires, who ignored the warnings and who then subsequently called for help and couldn't be reached because the fire was too intense. As we come to this text, there is a scenario looming on the horizon for the disciples. A scenario from which the Lord warns them to flee. He warns them to run. He warns them not to take care of any of their property. He says it doesn't matter if you leave anything behind. There is something coming that will bring such difficulty, strike such fear into your hearts that you'll need to flee immediately. Don't listen, he says, to those who tell you to stay back. Don't listen to those who say there's really no danger here. Everything's going to be all right. But flee. We flee from from the judgment that that is coming. Jesus is preparing the disciples. He's preparing them to face what was ahead, the persecution, the trials that would come upon them. And now he's doing much of the same here. This is in that section of his ministry to the disciples when he's getting them ready for what's going to come. Now, I've preached through these sections Not all at the same time, not even in sequence. Perhaps that would have been a better idea. But I preached as I saw fit and as the opportunity came up, as there were breaks in my preaching schedule. But I'm doing so because these are Matthew 13 and it's parallel text in Matthew 24 are perhaps the most important passages in the Bible as concerns prophetic teaching. And I'm working through this text, not so that you'll have all the answers. I'm not seeking to answer every question in the prophetic calendar as we work through Matthew 13. I want to give you a. A template. For interpretation, because there's so much misleading teaching out there now, if you haven't been impacted by that teaching, if you haven't heard about many of the aberrant. Teachings regarding prophecy, then you count your blessing. But in the event that you have, my purpose tonight is to show you that some of the things that are being said don't have any biblical basis. That there is a right understanding of this text that does not encompass much of what's being said today in the apocalyptic movement. We want to look at this text this evening and understand what it is that Jesus is telling his disciples. Now, is he speaking about the day, the judgment day, as we find ourselves in these first verses, verses 1 through 31? Is he speaking about the last day, or is he speaking about something else? Now Jesus has prophesied the destruction of the temple. We dealt with this a few weeks back as he's speaking to his disciples and as he makes known to them that as they look at these buildings, these beautiful buildings, these marvelous buildings, that they draw to his attention as they're sitting across from the temple on the Mount of Olives. And they say, Teacher, what wonderful stones, what wonderful buildings. Jesus says, Do you see these great buildings? All these buildings in which you put your hope? Buildings that have meant a great deal to the Jewish church? All these are going to be destroyed. Not one stone shall be left upon another which shall not be torn down. Now that's an important thing to keep in mind as we seek to interpret the text that Jesus has just made a prediction of that the destruction of the temple is coming now actually the disciples had asked a twofold question. We that that becomes clear as we read. Matthew twenty four and verse three as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives is the disciples came to him privately and said tell us When these things will be. He's made the prophecy of the temple and then the disciples asked him a twofold question. Tell us when these things will be. That is. When will the temple be destroyed? Secondly, what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus proceeds in Matthew 24, just as he does in Mark 13 to answer a twofold question. When will these things be and what will be the sign of the coming of the end of the age? Those are essentially the two questions that Jesus is seeking to ask. Now, again, he answers the first first these things. When, they ask, are these stones going to be torn down? When is this going to happen? And then another point in the text, he begins to take up actually to the very last verse of the passage we read. Tonight, it may not seem that way. Because he uses some language that is that seems as though he's he's talking about the second coming of Christ. But. we're going to notice that there's some very clear indicators in the text that he doesn't get there until verse 32 and then he begins to, he talks about that day. That's a technical term for the last day, the day upon which Christ will return to judge the heavens and the earth. So he's answering the first part of the question. That's the important part for us to understand tonight. When will these things be? Jesus, Lord, Master, tell us, when is this going to happen? Well, he says, he warns them that a tribulation is coming soon that is going to be associated with the destruction of the temple and that they need to flee. That's the first thing we see in our text. that the Lord warns his disciples to flee the coming tribulation, verses 14 through 16. He gives them an indication of its approach. He says, you'll know what it's approaching because there will be this signal when you see the abomination of desolation standing Where it should not be. Let the reader understand then those who are in Judea. Are to flee to the mountains when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it shouldn't be now he first gives them. Some things that do not indicate that the time is about to happen in the prophetic time clock the prophetic time clock is ticking but he says There are going to be those who will want you to think that this great tribulation that he's spoken about here, 19, in those days is going to be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now and shall never be. It never shall. A great tribulation is coming. And you'll be tempted, just as many are tempted today, to think that it's right around the corner, because there are all these signs that are taking place. Many will come in my name and will mislead many. And when you hear about such things as wars and rumors of wars, that's not yet the coming time of this Desolation and destruction. Don't be frightened. Those things must take place. But that's not yet the end. Kingdoms are going to rise up against kingdoms. Nations against nations. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will also be famines. These things, he says, are merely the beginnings. These are just the birth pangs. The birth is coming. And in the context, the birth that he's speaking about is not the end of the world. the great tribulation that's coming during which the temple is going to be destroyed. They're going to be persecutions, Jesus said. Be on your guard. They'll deliver you up to the courts and you'll be flogged in the synagogues. You'll stand before governors and kings. For my sake, the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. He tells them that first, this great apostolic thrust is going to move forth and the gospel is going to go out to the nations of the earth and then this great tribulation is going to come. Those are not signs, he says, of this coming desolation. when the temple be destroyed, this great tribulation. But there is a sign, he says, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be. Now, what is the abomination of desolation? Ask that question to a broad spectrum of theologians and you'll get many, many different answers. What is the abomination of desolation. Well here we get some interpretive help. It seems as though theologians don't read the other Gospels so that when we compare Scripture with Scripture it really does help us to understand what's going on and what Jesus is teaching here. Luke tells us in the parallel account concerning that desolation that Jesus spoke these words. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation uses that word in particular, doesn't mention the passage from Daniel. Mark is borrowing that language from the prophet Daniel. But he does mention that word desolation that's at hand. Luke interprets the prophetical language borrowed from Daniel's prophecy as this encircling of Jerusalem by armies ready to raise her to the ground, ready to bring desolation upon her. The Romans encircled Jerusalem on at least two occasions, once under Vespasian, early in the siege of the city, and then later under Titus. When the Christians saw that first encircling of the city, the walls of Jerusalem were surrounded. They were to flee. That's what Jesus is warning them about here. That's the whole picture that we get from the Gospels. They know that the time is short. They know this great tribulation is coming when the city is surrounded by those armies. Now, interestingly enough, the Lord in his providence caused Vespasian to withdraw when Nero, when the Emperor Nero died. And it gave Christians a window of opportunity to escape. When that opportunity came, many of the Jews did just the opposite. They went back into the city and they were destroyed. In the desolation, there was a great bloodbath that took place as the armies rushed into the cities. But Christ's followers fled and they found refuge in the city of Perea called Pella. And then finally, when the Roman soldiers got the upper hand in that terrible battle at Jerusalem, that ensued for many days, we read in Josephus, The Jewish historian, the Romans, upon burning the burning of the Holy House itself and of all the buildings lying round about it, brought their incense to the temple and set them over against its eastern gate. And there did offer sacrifices to them. And there did they make Titus Imperator with greatest acclamations of joy. The incense is a religious symbol of the Roman Legion. It was brought into the temple. It was laid against the wall and there the Romans bowed in the temple of the living God and offered sacrifices. Caesar. That's the abomination of desolation that took place in seventy A.D. When you Jerusalem fell. And when the temple was destroyed. But our Lord, in his infinite mercy, gives his disciples, gives his followers a sign. So that they might take flight in order to escape to escape the judgment that was coming, the judgment that was coming upon Jerusalem. As a result of this great sacrilege that was taking place. Today, it's often associated that abomination of desolation is often associated with some world ruling antichrist of the future. But both in the text and in the immediate context, there are some clues to establish a first century fulfillment of the abomination of desolation. In the first place, we've already mentioned that the whole of this discourse is predicated on the destruction of the temple. Jesus is answering that question. When are these things going to happen? The disciples asked. We want to know. You've told us the temple is going to be destroyed. All these beautiful buildings are going to be destroyed. When is it going to happen? All of what Jesus says here, up until verse 31, is predicated on the destruction of the temple that Jesus had predicted. They said, when will these things be? In reference to the temple's destruction. Jesus is in the middle of answering their question, and he says, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it shouldn't be, Matthew 24 helps us to understand more precisely what Mark means here. It says when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. The holy place of the temple, the holy of holies. They were sitting just opposite of the temple, they were looking right at it. And so Jesus says, when you see these things happening, when you see that this abomination is coming upon the temple, then it's time to flee. And as a matter of historical fact, that destruction took place in 70 A.D., and so the sign, which is often associated with something off in the future, took place in that period of that day. But then, secondly, you notice the repetition of this idea of these things. Notice, for example, in verse 30, Jesus says, or rather, verse 29, First, even so, you too, when you see these things happening, Recognize that he is near, right at the door. Truly, truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Well, if that abomination of desolation refers to something way out in the future, how can it possibly be that all these things have taken place, all these things that Jesus described, were to take place before that generation passed away? It's quite clear that up until this point in verse thirty one, Jesus is talking about that temporal judgment that would come upon Jerusalem. And so he warned them about the coming tribulation so that they would flee. He's preparing them. He's preparing them for the difficulties that they're going to face, that their descendants are going to face, so that they can pass the warning on to their descendants. Secondly, Jesus warns them about the severity of that coming tribulation. Notice the way he speaks about it with such great urgency in verses 15 and 16. Let those who let him who's on the housetop not go down or enter in to get anything out of his house and let him who's in the field not turn back and get his cloak. Now, that's often thought to be a reference to the so-called rapture when Christians are supposedly going to be taken off of the earth and we're told, well, we're not supposed to turn back to get anything because of the urgency. Well, in fact, In point of fact, Jesus is speaking about the coming tribulation that would occur in association with the destruction of the temple. And he's telling them, just like those who were warned about impending destruction today with wildfires and hurricanes and floods to evacuate, so Jesus also is warning them, get out of the city, get away from the city, flee from its destruction. Housetops were a place of prayer. The Israelites did things on their housetops. They were flat. They weren't pitched like our housetops are. And so they spent time up on their housetops. Remember that Peter was up on the rooftop at the ninth hour, which was the hour of prayer, when Cornelius came to him. when all that God is revealing what's going on with the Gentiles. Remember that story in the book of Acts. Peter's up on his housetop praying. And the way you got up to the housetop was not through an interior stairwell, but an outside staircase. And so Jesus is saying, if you're on your housetop, say you should be on your housetop praying, And you see this destruction coming. Don't go down and get your things. Don't go back into the house. Don't descend that staircase and go back into the house. You get out of the city right away. He also speaks about a cloak. Those who let him is in a field and not turn back and get his cloak. A cloak was something that the Israelites, the Jew wore to keep himself warm at night. And often as they were, this is, remember, largely an agrarian society, they were farmers, and so when they went out to the field, they'd leave their cloak in the corner of the field. They didn't work in that cloak, just like you and I would shed our outer garments when we're getting ready to do some hard work, because it makes you too hot to keep it on. He says, don't go get your cloak. If your cloak is across the field, don't go get your cloak. You flee immediately. He's telling them, he's warning them. to flee from the coming destruction. He insists on an immediate flight from that place. He spoke of it as he defines it as a day of great adversity without precedent. Now, how can he talk about it that way? How can he use the language? that he uses here. In those days, he says, verse 19, there will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now and never shall. How can you use that language if it doesn't refer to the last day, the day of judgment? Some have used this verse to argue that Jesus can't be referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. because the language that he uses refers to a wide-scale cataclysmic tribulation. And the modern apocalyptic movement insists that Jesus here refers to the great tribulation following the so-called rapture during which all the terrors that you read about in the book of Revelation are going to come upon the earth. Those who remain here after Christians are taken off of the earth. Now, it's the language that we do want to be careful about. We want to pay careful attention to that language in order to understand this passage. We've got to have a grasp of Old Testament apocalyptic language. It's very dramatic. The Old Testament prophets used hyperbole. They overstated things. They exaggerated things to make a point. That takes place often in Scripture. And what we find in the study of the Old Testament is that the judgment language of these apocalyptic writings is formulaic. There's a formula there that is repeated throughout the prophets. And that the gospel writers then who were students of the Old Testament prophets repeat themselves. It's something like a think of it as a prophetic trade language. For example, in Exodus 11 6, we read concerning the 10th plague in Egypt when all it's all Egypt's first born were killed. Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt. such as there has not been before and such as will never be again. And we know from biblical history that there was another outcry over the slaughter of infants when Herod killed all of the male children two and under in Bethlehem after the birth of Christ. But we find something in Ezekiel 5 and verse 9, that bears more directly on our text. In reference to the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC, that's what followed was the Babylonian captivity, we read, And because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again. And yet, the very same thing is happening here in the first century. Jesus uses the same language to describe it. This is apocalyptic, dramatic imagery used here by Jesus to make a point that this tribulation that was coming was going to be very, very severe. Now that's not to deny that there's going to be A great tribulation before. The second coming of Christ, I think it's clear from Scripture that there's going to be a great apostasy. Or at least. Perhaps I should say. Well, I did say it's my that's that's my understanding of Scripture that there's going to be a great apostasy, a great turning away before before the end comes, before the last day. So we're not saying here that there's not going to be a second coming of Christ. We're not saying that there won't be a visible return of our Lord. What we're saying is, in order to understand prophecy correctly, we've got to understand some general rules here. We've got to have a template to lay over prophecy. Nevertheless, Jesus says, though it's going to be severe, it would be tempered in their days. His compassion is very evident, isn't it? He speaks of hardship. He speaks of those who are pregnant in those days. Women who are nursing children. How difficult it would be for them in the flight. He speaks about a winter flight. It would have been difficult because the wadis, the small streams in Israel at that time, would have been engorged from the rains, the winter rains, and they would be hard to cross. It would make it more difficult for believers who were obeying the Lord's warning to get out of Jerusalem. So our Lord's compassion shines through here. Very interesting, isn't it? Even as he later says, of that time, of that day, verse 32, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Jesus speaking in His humanity, in His human nature, says, pray. Employ the means of grace that God has given you and pray that this might not take place in winter. Pray that your escape might be easier. And indeed, Christ says that there's hope. There's hope for those believers who would be around at the time of the coming of that great tribulation. He gives them hope that though it would be severe, that God would shorten that time so that the elect might be preserved. Now, as severe as the tribulation was that came upon Jerusalem, as severe as that judgment was upon the Jews because they rejected Christ, There is coming that day of greater tribulation. And that's why the prophets and the Lord himself used this language. All of these things throughout the scriptures, these temporal judgments that came during the time of the prophets, the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity. This great tribulation that took place in 70 AD. All these are temporal judgments that have come upon the church and will come upon the church until that last day. Until all things are consumed in the return of the great judge of the earth. There's coming a great day of wrath on that last day. when it will not be tempered, and there will be no escaping. Now, believers need not fear that day of judgment, because they stand in Christ. They stand in His righteousness and His protection. But what does that say about the rest of the world? It says, brothers and sisters, that even as you have been instructed to flee from the wrath which is to come, and you've done so, you've fled to Christ, so you ought to be warning others. You ought to be warning your friends and your neighbors and those with whom you work, your family members, that a great day of judgment is coming. And all of these things you see, all of these temporal judgments that have come throughout the history of the church, These are warnings, they're warning signs. God is gracious, isn't he? He's patient. He's warned again and again and again and will continue to warn. But there's coming a day. When. The prophetic time clock. Will run its course. And. All bets are off in that day. unless you stand in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our safety. That's our refuge. We must flee to the Lord Jesus Christ, even as Pharaoh told the Egyptians to flee to Joseph. God the Father tells us to flee to Christ. Then very briefly, the Lord warns his disciples to beware of those who were naysayers of the great tribulation. This is a warning in the last part here of our text. And then he says, if anyone says to you, behold, here's the Christ or behold, he's there. Do not believe him for false Christ and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. How would they try to lead them astray? The same way that false prophets have done so over the course of redemptive history. They cry peace. They cry safety. They say God is not angry. God is not a God of wrath. He won't bring judgment. Surely he won't. Surely that prediction by the great prophet, Jesus himself, won't come to pass. Jesus says, don't listen to them. Ezekiel 13, 9 and 10. God says, so my hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They have misled my people, saying peace when there is no peace. The true prophet warns and he tells us, verse 23. Take heed, I've told you these things. in advance. Take heed, that's an important biblical imperative. Jesus uses it very frequently. Take heed, I've warned you in advance. Now, how can we 21st century Christians take heed to a 1st century warning to flee when the armies surround Jerusalem? That's a fair question, isn't it? What ought we to walk away with? Well, we've already mentioned one, and that is that we are called to flee from the wrath that is to come. The great macrocosm of judgment, of which all these microcosms of judgment in the history of the church are symbolic. Of. These all point us, you see, to the last day. All the judgments in Scripture judgments upon the Jews. They all point us to the last day. When God says that he has appointed a man and through him, through the Lord Jesus, that is, he will execute judgment. And so that's one way. But then furthermore, Jesus teaches what believers should do when violent persecution comes. Now, it might seem that that goes without saying. It might seem that it would be self-evident that when persecution comes, Christians ought to flee. But we've romanticized martyrdom in our day and time, and it seems to be The romantic ideal of martyrdom is that you stay and you undergo persecution, even if it means, even if your life is threatened. But you notice that Jesus says that persecution is coming, and he warns them to flee from this great tribulation. Very interesting, isn't it? And so we're warned then, though martyrdom is glamorized, And there's this idea that. If persecution comes to the godly, the right thing to do is to hang in there and endure it. Even if death, even if it comes to death, we're warned that we ought to flee from persecution when our lives are threatened. Now. It's certainly true that it's sinful to deny Christ. We're warned against that in Scripture. It's wrong for shepherds to abandon their flocks in the face of tribulation. But it's not wrong to flee persecution for your safety and for your family's safety as well. Then. We ought not listen to those who cry peace. when there is no peace. Don't listen to teachers who tell you that the church isn't going to undergo tribulation. That's the whole idea of this so-called pre-tribulational rapture of the church that so many television evangelists speak about today. That's the modern spin on prophecy. You hear it over and over and over again. Christ is going to come in the first second coming, I guess we'd call it, and the church is going to be raptured out, and there's going to be seven years of tribulation, or he might come in the middle of the tribulation, depends on who you talk to. And then once those seven years end, then there's going to be the second second coming. And Jesus will come back. But the church isn't designed to undergo persecution. Well, that flies in the face of everything that Jesus taught us about suffering in Scripture. He says, as I've suffered, so you're going to suffer. And so the whole idea that there would be this so-called rapture of the church out of a great tribulation flies in the face of all that the Bible teaches us about what we're to do as Christians. You're going to suffer. I'm going to suffer. Because we're walking after our Savior. And He says, even to the disciples, they're going to hate you on account of me. The world is going to hate you on account of me, and so you're going to suffer. Don't listen to false prophets who cry peace when there is no peace. Don't listen to false prophets who say everything is fine in the church today. God isn't a God of wrath. Would he ever would he ever be upset with the church? Oh, they might be going a little bit astray here and there. Don't listen to such false prophecy. The temporal judgment of the Jewish church So difficult to stomach is going to happen again and again and again and again. And so the church will endure tribulation. God calls us to endure. So Jesus is calling upon his disciples to do is to endure in the face of tribulation, to persevere. Verse 13, you'll be hated by all on account of me. but it is the one who has endured to the end who shall be saved. He calls the church to persevere in the gospel, to continue in the face of that tribulation. It can't be thwarted. God's church cannot be stopped. It cannot be snuffed out. In the world you'll have tribulation, Jesus says, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. Biblical prophecy is a prophecy of victory. God has overcome the world. In the face of persecution, in the face of all that the gates of hell themselves throw against the church, Jesus, the King, the Lord of glory, will be victorious in these things. We can take great encouragement while we're heeding God's word and the warning that Jesus set for us here today. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, you are a good and a compassionate and a wise God. And we humble ourselves before your all wise and enduring decree. We ask you, God, that you would help us to to heed these things. We look to you as our judge. We recognize, oh, God, that. You have and you will come with these temporal judgments upon us. Give us strength. To know when we ought to. Endure, stay and endure, give us Wisdom should the time ever come when our lives are threatened and we have to flee. But, oh, Lord. Give us diligence in the propagation of the gospel. Grant, oh, Lord. That you might hasten the day. Oh, Lord, do hasten that day. When every knee shall bow. And every tongue shall confess that the Son of God is Lord to your glory, O God our Father. We long to see your kingdom coming with great power and splendor and glory. Teach us to wait patiently, but O Lord, hear our cries for the kind of revival that we seek. We seek it from you again and again and again. And do great and mighty things in the church these days as we watch, as we wait, as we take heed to the things that you've told us in advance, we ask in Jesus name. Amen.