Now, congregation, today we're looking at Mark chapter 13, verses 5 through 13. So I would encourage you to read along, either on the screen or in your Bibles. And remember, last week we looked at the first four verses of this chapter, where Jesus told his disciples that the temple was going to be destroyed, and they could only interpret that to mean that the end of the world was nearby. And so they asked, in verse four, two questions. When shall these things be, referring to the destruction of the temple, and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled, meaning the end of the world? And so today we pick up with that as Jesus begins to answer those two questions for the disciples. And what we're looking at today, I know in the bulletin, it's called the part two of Jesus discourse on the Mount of Olives, but really a better title for it would be misleading signs. As a lot of people take these things that we're going to be talking about today as actual signs of either the destruction of Jerusalem or the second coming. But in reality, Jesus says exactly the opposite. He said, these are not signs. So let's pay attention as we read the words of our Lord and Savior, beginning at verse five. And Jesus answering them began to say, take heed lest any man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, Be ye not troubled for such things must needs be. But the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be earthquakes in diverse places and there shall be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves For they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, Neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye, for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And thus we have the reading of God's holy and inspired word. Now, as we said, when Jesus' disciples expressed their amazement at the beauty of the temple that they were standing in front of, Jesus told them that it was soon going to be destroyed. so destroyed in fact that not one stone would be left upon another. The disciples, thinking that Jesus was predicting the end of the world, asked him not only about the destruction of the temple, but also about everything that would follow that and how it would all come to pass. Now Jesus understood all of this, and he knew that they being sinners wanted signs that would point them to when these things were going to happen. And you know, people today still want signs. They want signs that are going to tell them when Jesus is going to come back. And they assume when they read Matthew 24 and Mark 13, Luke 19, that all the things that Jesus mentioned are things that are going to precede his coming. And so they expect that when they hear about an increase in false prophets, wars increasing around the world, earthquakes and famines and troubles all over the place, that that means Jesus is coming soon. But as I said a minute ago, our text actually says something quite different. And in fact, the very first thing that Jesus tells his disciples in verse 5 is that he warns them not to let anyone deceive them about these things. Now why was he concerned here about his disciples being deceived? because he didn't want them to think that the kinds of signs that people usually look for either predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century or Jesus' return in glory. And he did not want them to be deceived about these things because there is nothing particularly remarkable about any of the things that we just read in verses five through 13, except one thing. And that's what Jesus said in verse 10, that the gospel must be published among all nations first. Now, we have to understand what that means and we're going to get to that in just a little bit. But everything else that we read in these verses that we're looking at today are things that happen all the time. And that's why I believe that this section is accurately titled misleading signs. So what are these misleading signs? Well, I think there are three of them. The first one is the coming of false messiahs. Jesus says, they'll say, here is Christ and there is Christ, don't go after them. Second sign is he says there are going to be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines. The third sign is the persecution of believers. So those are the three things that we want to concentrate on today as we try to understand what Jesus is saying. Now the arrival of false Messiah figures is the first misleading sign in our text. We see that in verse 6. Look at what Jesus says there. He says, for many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And if you drop down just a little bit to verse 22, we didn't read that earlier, but you'll notice that Jesus adds there that there's also going to be the appearance of false prophets who are going to be doing wondrous things, miracles and signs and so forth. Now, here's what I want you to understand. If these things were supposed to be a sign of the second coming, then our Lord Jesus Christ should have come back a long time ago. And why is that? It's because there are already countless false prophets and false messiahs in the world in the first century. And the Bible tells us about this. For example, 1 John 4, verse 1 says, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Even in the first century, there were false prophets out in the world. In fact, John wrote 1 John, at least partly, to help us understand how we can distinguish false prophets from true prophets. And he said very clearly that the test of orthodoxy is whether or not they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That involves an understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity and also the nature of the hypostatic union. We can't get away from that. That is the test of orthodoxy. And likewise, Peter also, probably writing about the same time as John, warned his readers about false prophets in 2 Peter chapter 2. He said, but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves a swift destruction. But you know, false prophets weren't new in the first century either. Go back 1500 years before the New Testament, and we find that when Moses performed some of his miracles in Egypt, that the Egyptian wizards were able to replicate some of those miracles. We see false prophets arising also at various times in Israel's history. Jeremiah the prophet, writing 600 years before Jesus was born, said this. He said, then the Lord said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them. They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, the thing of naught and the deceit of their heart. That's what false prophets do. But what about false messiahs? Because Jesus specifically mentions false messiahs, false Christ in verse five. Can we say that anyone pretended to be a messiah in the first century? That people thought there were messiahs in the first century? The answer to that is unquestionably yes. Listen again to what the Apostle John wrote in the same epistle that we quoted from just a minute ago. He said, little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come even now, are there many Antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. What are the Antichrists? They're those who stand against Christ and yet claim to be Christ. The Jews thought of the Messiah as a political figure, and there were certainly political figures that they recognized sort of as Messiah types. Acts chapter 5 mentions two of them. Their names were Thutis and Judas of Galilee. And if we want to limit ourselves to religious figures that claim to be the Messiah, there are plenty of them too. And one of them stands out rather clearly in the eighth chapter of the book of Acts. His name was Simon. He practiced sorcery. And remember how the people praised him in the book of Acts? They said that he was the great power of God. And when you trace his history beyond the book of Acts, you find that two of the early church fathers said some very interesting things about him. Justin Martyr in the second century said that he insisted on being worshiped at Rome. And Irenaeus from Gaul, late second century, early third century, even said that Simon claimed to be the son of God. So yes, there were these Messiah figures very early in the church. There were people that were recognized in that role. So then we move on to verses seven and eight where we find the next group of misleading signs. And look at what Jesus talks about here. He talks about wars and rumors of wars. He says, don't let that trouble you. He says, these things have to be, but the end is not yet. He says, nation will rise against nation and kingdom will rise against kingdom. There'll be earthquakes in many different places. There will be famines. There will be troubles. He doesn't say, these are your sorrows. He says, these are the beginnings of sorrows. Now, wars have been around since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. They were common in the first century. In school we learned about the Pax Romana, the great Roman peace that was secured by Rome's military. It brought an amazing level of stability to the Roman Empire, and that's true to a very large extent. But that doesn't mean that war stopped completely in the Roman Empire. In fact, the Jews were under constant threat, particularly in the first century. In Jerusalem, for example, they refused to put a statue of the emperor in the temple. And because they refused to do that, they lived in constant fear that Rome would attack them. And they didn't fare any better in the other countries. Oftentimes the Jews were attacked and they died by the thousands. At one time, there were even as many as 20,000 that died in one attack. and all of this without provocation. So yes, wars were common in the first century. Earthquakes are always common in Asia Minor. In fact, the country known today as Turkey was hit by a massive earthquake just a couple months ago that killed nearly 60,000 people on February 6th. And it's been remarked that that's one of the worst natural disasters ever. Well, there were plenty of earthquakes in the first century too, and they were often devastating. There was an earthquake in Crete, one in Smyrna, one in Laodicea, one in Colossae, one in Rome, one in Judea. There was even one in Pompeii about 15 years before the volcano destroyed the city. So yes, the world was filled with earthquakes, even in the first century. And what about famines? Jesus mentions famines in our text. The Bible also tells us that there was a famine in the first century that was so bad, particularly in Judea, that Christians from all over the world sent help. And that famine was not limited to Judea. Judea was hit especially hard, but it really affected the entire world. And according to the Jewish historian Josephus, this famine, which occurred in the fourth year of Claudius and continued for several years after that, resulted in the starvation of people all throughout the Roman Empire. So what does all of this mean? We see false cries throughout history, we see wars throughout history, we see earthquakes and famines and so on all throughout history. What does it mean? Well, look at what Jesus said. First of all, he said that the mere fact that we're hearing about wars and rumors of wars does not mean that the end is coming yet. He says that very clearly at the end of verse seven, but the end shall not be yet. He warned us also that not to use international conflicts and natural disasters to guess when God's judgments are about to be poured upon the earth. The end of verse eight, remember he said, these are the beginnings of sorrows. And therefore wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines have very little predictive value if they have any at all. The only thing that they do is remind us that judgment is coming, that awful things are going to happen, that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed and someday far off in the future. Yes, our Lord Jesus Christ will descend from heaven in wrath and fury upon all his enemies. It's kind of interesting how Jesus talks about this. Because in verse 8 where he says, these are the beginnings of sorrows, that word that's translated sorrows there literally means birth pains. Now, what's a birth pain? Well, we all know that when a woman starts to experience labor pain, that that means something good. It means a baby is going to be born, some good things are on the way. And that's what Jesus is telling us here, that the church still has good things to look forward to, even though the world is constantly filled with wars and famines and things like that. And you know what? The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, to a large degree, makes that possible. Now, why is that? because when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, it freed the gospel of Jesus Christ from the limitations that had been placed on it under the old covenant. Under the old covenant, salvation was limited more or less, not entirely, but more or less to Abraham's biological seed, his children. But that's not the case anymore. Revelation chapter 20, Speaks about this very directly when it says that during this time, Satan will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit so that he should deceive the nations no more. He can't do that now. He did it under the old covenant, but he can't do it now. That's the period that we're now living in. Now Jesus also gave his disciples a third misleading sign and that's the persecution of believers. Now this sign affects disciples directly. We're not directly affected by false messiahs because we don't pay any attention to them. We're not directly affected in every case by wars and famines and things like that. but we are directly affected by persecution. When the world mistreats us, abuses us, tortures us because we belong to Jesus Christ. And so Jesus spent a good bit of time talking about this one particular thing. He wants to make sure that we understand exactly what's going on here. So he carefully explained it. And look at what he tells us. According to verse 9 he says that we are going to be delivered up to authorities. Now pay attention to the exact wording of verse 9 because Jesus tells us there what it is that Christians are going to be delivered up to. He said that we will be delivered up to specifically Jewish authorities. He mentions the councils and synagogues. Now, of course, the highest Jewish council was the Sanhedrin, and all the other councils, because it's plural here, that operated in the land functioned underneath the Sanhedrin. But get this, the Sanhedrin ceased to function as a powerful influence in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. When Jerusalem was destroyed, the Sanhedrin relocated up to Galilee, but it already lost most of its power, and by the time we get to the 5th century, it was completely disbanded. And there have been attempts at times to resurrect the Sanhedrin, but they've all failed. So clearly what Jesus is talking about here had to have happened in the first century. The Jewish councils are not a threat to the church anymore. They haven't been for a long, long time. But notice they're not the only authorities that are mentioned here. As Jesus also predicted that his disciples would be brought before rulers and kings as well. Of course, rulers and kings are still a problem. They've always been. The state has hardly ever been a friend of the church, if ever. And so once again, we don't have to go beyond the pages of the New Testament to see this fulfilled. Just read the book of Acts. The first New Testament martyr was Stephen. Acts chapter 6 verse 9 tells us how his death came about. It says that certain men of the synagogue, notice the connection there, argued with him. They even lied about him, said he said things that he didn't say, so that they could win the people and the elders and the scribes over to their side. The very last verse of that chapter affirms that all of this took place during an official gathering of the Sanhedrin. It says, and all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel. All that sat in the council, there was the Sanhedrin passing judgment. And what happened on that occasion? Well, Stephen testified to the grace of God in Jesus Christ and the Jews stoned him to death. This resulted in even greater persecution. The very first verse of the next chapter says, and at that time there arose a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem. So there we see the Sanhedrins, the councils involved in the persecution of God's people. The book of Acts also records the first New Testament believer who was executed by the civil government. That's in Acts chapter 12, where Herod killed James, the brother of John with a sword. So we see both fulfilled in the book of Acts. Now Jesus goes beyond that and he says not only will you be delivered up into the councils and the synagogues and the rulers and the kings and so forth, he says later that we'll also be hated by all men because we belong to him. And do we find any evidence in the New Testament that this was already done even in the first century? And the answer to that is an unquestionable yes. when Paul summoned the elders of Ephesus to meet him in Acts chapter 20. He told them that's exactly what was happening. He said, for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and also of your own self shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. In the very last book that the Apostle Paul wrote, 2 Timothy, he gives us numerous examples of this being fulfilled while he was still alive. For example, in the first chapter, he says this, this thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. All them which are in Asia had turned away from Paul." That sounds like a pretty massive amount of hatred, doesn't it? And then in chapter 4, several references. Paul says, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica. There's a brother turning against a brother, so-called. A couple of verses later, he said, Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. And a few verses after that, At my first answer, that is his first defense of the gospel, no one stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. So you see, Paul himself experienced that hatred that Jesus spoke of. Now, having said all of this, there is one peculiar statement in this that is often misunderstood, needs a little bit more explanation. And that's verse 10 that I mentioned earlier, where Jesus said that the gospel must first be published among all nations. And we have to ask ourselves, can we justifiably claim that the Word of God reached the entire world in the first century? If it did, why are we so concerned about missions today? It doesn't seem possible. It doesn't seem likely that the gospel could have done that. But again, I don't ask you to trust me on this. I ask you to just look at the Word of God and see what God Himself says. Romans 1.8, Paul said about the faith of the Roman believers, he said that their faith is spoken of, catch this, throughout the whole world. Paul said that, I didn't say that, Paul said that. A few chapters later, we often quote chapter 10, verse 17, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But have you ever noticed the next verse? Paul says, but I say, have they not heard? And then he answers this question, yes, verily, their sound went out into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. So the gospel had gone out throughout the entire world. Paul said the same thing to the Colossians, that the gospel had been preached to them as it had been in all the world, and it's bringing forth much fruit. A little bit later, in the same first chapter of Colossians, He said that the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven. He said the same thing to the church at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1. I've multiplied these verses so you can see it's not just one verse lifted out of context. This is the consistent testimony of God's Word that the gospel had gone out into all the world in the first century. But does this mean that the gospel had made its way to South America, that whoever might have been living in Greenland had heard about the gospel, that it reached Alaska, the Eskimos, No. As far as I know, the gospel did not reach those particular lands until much later. But that's not what Jesus was talking about. He's talking about the fact that the gospel would go all throughout the Roman world, the Roman Empire. It would fill the Roman Empire with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And when we talk about just the Roman Empire, we can say clearly and emphatically and unambiguously that the word of God says that the gospel went all throughout the world. And why wouldn't it have had such great success then? Look at what Jesus promised to his disciples in verse 11. that they would always have the right words to say when they testified about him. This was especially true for the disciples in the first century because the Holy Spirit would bring to their minds the various things that Jesus had said and done during his ministry But it also applies, in a sense, to us today, because the Spirit of God often brings to our minds verses that we haven't thought of in a while when we're talking to unbelievers or when we're explaining the faith to people. The Holy Spirit still works in our minds, too, to bring forth the Word of God that we've committed to memory. Now, if today's text tells us things that happen all the time, false teachers, wars, famines, or things that were specifically fulfilled in the first century, like the persecution of the early church, then what does it say to us today? Why do we need these verses in the Bible? And the answer is we need these verses for a lot of different reasons. To begin with, our text today tells us that we need to be on guard all the time. We don't know when Jesus is going to come back, but we should not be putting our trust in false and misleading clues. shouldn't be looking at wars and famines and earthquakes and betrayals and persecutions to determine when that's going to happen. I remember as a young believer getting this magazine, well it was kind of like a newspaper thing called The Sword of the Lord or something like that, I think it was a Baptist thing. And reading through this and it was talking about a book of revelation, the things are flying around, that's not really talking about what we might think, it's really talking about helicopters and airplanes and tanks. And I'm thinking, really? Even as a 15-year-old child, it didn't make any sense to me. But so often people get caught up in that. Let's not trust the circumstances. The Word of God tells us to put our hope and trust only in the One who came into this world to take away our sins by His death on the cross. We look to Him because He rose again from the dead to give us everlasting life. That's where we place our faith and confidence, not in signs. But this passage also teaches us to be very discerning when it comes to the claims that people make, whether they claim to be a Christ or a prophet of some sort. And the world is always full of people who claim that they've found the truth somewhere, but there's only one question that we have to ask when they make such a claim. And that is, what does the word of God say? Our creeds and our confessions are important because they summarize the teachings of scripture for us. They're a good guide, a faithful guide to what the word of God says. Likewise, church history testifies to the work that God has done in the lives of his people all down through the ages. And that's a good help. But watch out for new ideas. Watch out for things that nobody else has ever said or would say. Stay away from anything that goes contrary to the sacred text of scripture. And then finally, our text says one more thing to us. And that is unpleasant, even more unpleasant than the workday that Kurt mentioned earlier. And that is that the persecution of the church is guaranteed. Now we might not experience it fully in our day. It may happen soon, we don't know. But we never can tell when it's gonna come. Given the hostility that's rising against the church in our time, it appears it may not be that far off. Well, if that's the case, then just like Jesus' disciples in the first century, we have to prepare ourselves for it. And we prepare ourselves not by building bunkers where we can hide in and spotting out caves where we can go to live for a while, but we do it by digging into the word of God. We do it by giving ourselves to prayer. We do it by pursuing the grace of God in our lives every single day. As you see, I never want you to suppose, even for a tiny fraction of a second, that you can handle persecution on your own. You can't. I can't. The 12 apostles couldn't. We need Jesus to get us through. Remember, Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. Amen.