Mark 13, verse 3 through 27. And once again, as you are able, please rise out of honor for the word of our God. Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, and John asked him privately, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name saying, I am he. and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdoms against kingdoms, and there will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You'll be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death and 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 for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. So when you see that abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not Let the reader understand. And let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter 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 babes in those days. and pray that your flight may not be in winter. For in those days there will be tribulations such as has not been since the beginning of creation, which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days. Then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ or look, he is there. Do not believe it for false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive if possible, even the elect. But take heed. I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars of heaven will fall and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send his angels and gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Thus far the reading of God's holy and infallible word. You may be seated. Life can be filled with great expectations. Perhaps you are throwing a birthday party and you've invited your friends and you can't wait for your friends to arrive. You can hardly sleep the night before because you know that they're gonna be there and you're gonna have such a good time. Perhaps there is a job promotion on the horizon and you're looking forward to that opportunity. Or maybe there's a visit from a friend, a friend that you haven't seen for a long, long time, 20, 30, 50 years maybe, it's been since you've seen one another and you look forward to getting caught up again. But maybe there are unpleasant expectations, maybe the expectation of a surgery that is to take place, a serious one, open heart surgery or surgery for removal of cancer or some other disease. Maybe it's a move away from friends and from family and you're not looking forward to it. One special day of great expectations often is one's wedding day, for women in particular. Maybe you've experienced those kinds of expectations, questions like where, when, what's the food going to be, who will officiate? And the days are marked down on the calendar, 101 days, 90 days, 20 days, three days. Have you had great expectations? What were they? Were you looking forward to them being fulfilled or were you filled with dread? And perhaps maybe an even more important question, did your expectations match the reality of the event? So often we look forward to something so much and then it happens and it wasn't quite what we were hoping for and anticipating. In our passage today, Jesus describes the great expectations of believers as they wait for his return from heaven. It'll be a fearful yet glorious day as their savior comes to get them. And yet even our best expectations of that day pale in comparison to the reality that will await all believers in Christ. We are looking at the gospel of Mark and are working our way through this gospel. We are in the last week of Jesus' life as he is in Jerusalem, as he is approaching the cross. He had just been in the temple teaching and being challenged by the religious leaders concerning his authority. And they were seeking ways by which Jesus could be arrested and made to look a fool in the sight of the people all around them. But Jesus knows the heart of men and he knows how to deal with men. And he knows the hidden agendas and purposes of the scribes and the Pharisees and the Herodians as they come and ask, shall we pay taxes to Caesar? This woman who married seven husbands, whose wife will she be in the day of resurrection? And what is the greatest commandment? Jesus is preparing his people for the coming of the kingdom. In fact, he came to declare that the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, turn from your sin. And now Jesus is preparing his disciples for that second coming. For Jesus came in his first coming to pay the penalty for sin, to establish the kingdom of God. But when Jesus returns again, it will be the consummation. It will be the finalization. It will be the end or the goal for which God has established the church. It will be the point at which all believers have set their hope and are longing to see. Jesus had left the temple with his disciples on that Wednesday, and as they were leaving, they were gazing at the temple. What a beautiful temple. And Jesus says to his disciples, there will be not one stone left upon another that will not be torn down of this very temple. It was a shocking thing to the disciples for whom the temple and the worship of God was central. It was something that would never end. And so they asked Jesus this question. When will these things be? When will the temple be destroyed? And what will be the sign when these things will be fulfilled? And then Jesus answers his disciples. And he gives an answer because he's answering two questions. Their immediate question of when will this temple be destroyed, as you have just said, but also in the broader context, when will you return? For they had understood that Jesus was preparing to leave them. And he was preparing the disciples to serve him. And so you saw two weeks ago that believers must declare the gospel through many difficult afflictions as Jesus warns them that there's trials and tribulations that they will face in these last days. And it's important to note that we are living in these last days, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in various places, famines and troubles. These are events that are taking place and have been taking place since our Lord ascended into heaven. These are signs and events that are designed to remind us that this world is not our home, that there is a place that is yet to come that is so much better than the very best that we might have here on this world. And Jesus is preparing his disciples that you're gonna face tribulations, you're gonna be taken before kings, you're gonna be beaten, but don't worry about what you're going to say. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. And I will build my church. Last week you saw that the last days will be filled with affliction and deception, but will not overcome the believer. As there will be many deceivers, bogus prophets, false prophets will come seeking to deceive the elect as if Jesus says that were possible. as if they could take away from the hand of God those whom God had chosen, those whom God had set his love upon them. And I want to show you by God's grace today that terrible darkness announces Christ's glorious return to gather his elect. You'll see days of darkness and days of glory and of power. First of all, days of darkness. You'll see that when Christ returns, there will be a darkening of the sun, moon and stars. And these point to the return of Christ. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars of heaven will fall and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. In those days, what are those days? Those days refer to the final day. Once again, we have to keep in mind this prophetic foreshortening, that what looks to be one event from the vantage point of a distance in time, turns out to be more than one event. Jesus has been answering the question of the disciples, when will the temple be destroyed? But now he is focusing on an event that is yet to come. He is focusing on the final return of Christ, on what we call the parousia, the second coming of Christ, when Christ will return again. And Jesus says, in those days, in those last days, those final days. Yes, we're living in the last days, but in that time immediately before Christ's return, he says, after that tribulation. He had spoken about this tribulation, those difficult days full of trials and persecutions and pain and sorrow. And the reason that the church will experience those tribulations is because the world hates Christ. And those days will be filled with deceivers seeking to draw Christians away from the truth, seeking to shift your eyes away from the gospel onto the things of this world, onto the problems that you face here and now and the difficulties that you face. rather than seeking to fix our eyes on the things of eternity. The world hates Christ, and because the world hates Christ, it hates his church. And there will be these so-called signs, wars, rumors of wars, deceptions, abomination. But as I said, none of these indicate the imminent return of Christ, but are a constant reminder that he is coming again. Are you ready and waiting for his return? You see, we are living in those last days. These difficult days remind believers of what lies ahead, of the glory that awaits those who are seated at the right hand of God. For you see, Christ is coming soon. These tribulations, indicate that you are to be watchful. Our need to be ever on the lookout for the return of Christ. These days of tribulation remind us of our weakness. our inability to push through the trials and the difficulties in our own strength. These days remind us of our dependence upon Christ for all things. First of all, for forgiveness, but also to be able to live in a life that is filled with violence and hatred all around. It is a reminder that our hope is in Christ and not in ourselves. But these days of tribulation are also a warning to unbelievers that the same event that is to come will mean eternal destruction for them, for all who refuse to submit to Christ. This day of darkness, this day of the coming of Christ will be a dreadful day, for it will be the day of their eternal death. facing the eternal wrath and destruction of God against sin, not for a time, but for eternity. And what is the sign of those days, those days when Christ will return? The sun will be darkened. The moon will not give us light. The stars will fall. The sun will cease giving its light. Its warmth is needed for growth. Its light is needed so that we can see. We depend upon the sun for our existence. Without the sun, we could not live. We would freeze to death in this planet. The plants would not grow. There would be no food. There would be nothing. But the sun is something that we take for granted, don't we? Every morning the sun comes up, yes, even though it's behind the clouds. Every night it goes down. And it comes up again, as the writer of Ecclesiastes mentioned, day after day. It seems that the world will go on and that there will be no change. But there will be that change on that last day when Christ returns. The sun will be darkened. And the moon will not give its light. The moon has no light of its own, but its light is a reflected light. And it can't light the night if there is no sun to light the day. And it will be dark darkness and the stars of heaven will fall not necessarily literally falling to the earth but. being darkened, ceasing to give its light. If you have a light bulb on an extension cord and you drop the light, what happens when the light hits the ground? It stops. You have no more light. And this is particularly a problem if you're in a very dark place somewhere, in a dark cave or in a dark attic at night for whatever reason, and you have no more light, you can't see anything as the light has fallen. There is gonna be complete darkness. when Christ returns, but I just said complete darkness in the sense that the physical light of the sun and the moon and the stars, they will cease. But there will be a light that will shine forth, as you will see in a moment, and that is the light of the glory of Christ. For indeed, these things will be darkened, especially in contrast to the light of God Himself. And remember what the Scripture says, that in heaven there is no need of the sun, moon, or stars, for God Himself is the light of heaven. God himself provides the light for his people. But in those last days, when Christ returns, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars of the heaven will fall. And he says, the powers in heaven will be shaken. Those things that we take for granted as being consistent, unchanging, will be moved. I think those powers that he refers to here refers to the spiritual host, to Satan and his demons in particular as distinguished from the angels. In Romans chapter 8, Paul writes, And you notice how Paul separates angels from the principalities and powers. Those principalities and powers are Satan and his dominion. The principalities are one who has an authority to initiate an activity. It is often referred to of the evangelical or transcendent powers. Indeed, Satan is a principality. He has the authority to initiate activity. Think of what he did with Job. God says to Job, look at my servant, Job. There is no one as righteous as he is. Well, that's because you've hedged him in and you've given him everything. Let me take everything from him and he will curse you to his face. And so God said, you may do so. And so he removed everything from Job, even inflicting dreadful boils. And yet Job did not curse God, not once. But the principalities had the authority to do that. The powers are the transcendent rulers and functionaries. They're the forces and hosts of the spiritual world. And Jesus says that the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Ephesians chapter four says that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. And again in chapter six, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. You see the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Satan and his dominion will quake with fear, knowing that their judgment is upon them. They will be shaken, caused to totter, to tremble. They will be moved from their foundation. And this is true for all those who are paying homage to those principalities and powers. You see, Christ's return will even shake the spirit world. It will shake all of God's creation, sun, moon, stars. Nothing can stand secure, for everyone knows the judgment is upon them. Brothers and sisters, do not be complacent with the way that things are, for they will be shaken. They will be moved. Your confidence in them will be rattled. This life is not all that there is. Be ready for the life that is to come. I've heard it said that, particularly if you've ever experienced an earthquake, that you know what it's like to have your world shaken. as the ground is moving underneath you and the building is swaying and things come crashing off the walls, suddenly everything that you thought of as solid, upon which you had a firm foundation, is shaken and moved. That's what it will be like on that day when Christ returns. And these things are signs. to announce the return of Christ, that the last great day of judgment is upon us. These are not signs to indicate that they are days or weeks away, months or years away. No, when you see these things, Christ is returning now in the present. In one sense, what you see Jesus describing here brings us back to Genesis 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the sea and the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the earth and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And what was God's first creative act? And God said, let there be light. And there was light. In this great day of judgment, there is a reversal of that, as it were, as the sun and moon and stars that God created by the word of his power out of nothing will be darkened. at the return of Christ. And so as God was hovering over the face, the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. So the spirit of God will return again in Christ Jesus. And when Christ returns, darkness will come that his glory may be clearly seen by all. For you see the light of the glory of Christ is Christ himself. As Paul said, when he speaks of his declaration of the gospel message, he says, lest the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine upon them. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. When Christ returned, you will see the glory of Christ. It will be beyond anything, anything and everything that you might possibly imagine. No eye has seen nor ear heard about the glorious things God has in store for us. You see, these signs are not indicators of a new dispensation, but of the end of the ages, of the consummation, when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. For this terrible darkness announces Christ's glorious return to gather his elect. You've seen the days of darkness, now the days of glory and power. Christ's return, when he returns, will gather all people, and his return will be unmistakably obvious. You can't miss it. You see, they will see the Son of Man. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. This day of Christ will not be hidden. He will not return to some obscure corner of the world and begin a private movement, establish some kind of private army in order to get His message out to the rest of the world. No, when Jesus returns, they will see Him. You will see Him as He is in all of His glory, in all of His beauty, in all of His power. They will see the son of man coming. It's as the apostle John says in Revelation chapter one, behold, he is coming and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. There is not an eye that will be blind to the return of Christ. It will not be a report about his return, but everyone will see him with their own eyes. And who will return? They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." This Son of Man is that Son of Man that Daniel writes about in Daniel chapter seven, which we have heard. There in Daniel chapter seven, as Daniel has these visions of the beasts, he is also sees the return or he sees God sitting on a throne. As I was watching in the night visions and behold, one like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds, you see the divine entrance of the Son of Man into his throne room. Coming with the clouds, he came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near. And what did they bring him near for? He had a divine inheritance. Then to him was given a dominion and glory and a kingdom. When Christ returns, they will see when the Son of Man returns, they will see and he will be given a kingdom. He will be given the church, his bride set apart for that wedding feast of the Lamb. Brothers and sisters, that includes you and me, all who trust in Christ. He is coming again for you and me. You are his inheritance in Christ. and He has an eternal service that is due, that all peoples, nations, and tongues shall serve Him. You have the picture of the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days and being ushered into His presence and giving the kingdom, and that every nation, every tongue shall bow before Him. And his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. It is an eternal kingdom, which shall not pass away. And Jesus says, they will see the son of man coming in the clouds. You see what Daniel said, coming with the clouds of heaven? An unmistakable sign that Christ is returning to judge the living and the dead. And he will come with great power. This power is a display of his might, display of strength and ability to exert his will. When Christ comes, everyone will submit to him. This power is the ability, a capacity to act and to do something effectively. When Christ comes, his will will be done. You see, Jesus not only has the power, but he has the authority as the son of man who is seated at the right hand of God to exercise this power. And when Christ comes, he will judge the world, but he will also gather his elect. He will come with great glory. Glory is that state of being magnificent. When we think about something that is glorious, we think of that which catches our eyes. We might speak of the sunrise or the sunset and say, that was a glorious sunset. It was beautiful and it was spectacular. When Christ comes, his glory will be spectacular. This glory has the idea of the honor or enhancement and recognition of his status or power. It is something that brings or is worthy of praise. And when Christ returns, he is worthy of praise. He is worthy of honor. He is worthy of adoration. And he will return with great fanfare. There will be no one, no one who will miss it. Not the atheist, not the agnostic, not the Mormon, not the Muslim, no one, not the Buddhist, no one will miss the return of Christ. For it will be glorious and it will be powerful. For when he returns at his name, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. This return of the Son of Man will be unlike anything anyone has witnessed, anyone has ever seen. You see, even one like Moses only caught a glimpse of the glory of God. What is that glory of God? That glory of God is God's goodness. As Moses, when he asks, Lord, he says, please show me your glory. And what was God's response? God said, I will make all my goodness pass before you. What is the glory of God? The glory of God is his goodness, that he does what is good and what is right. You see, we serve a good God. That even though we live in the midst of much sorrow and suffering and tribulation and trial, God is there with us. God is there with you, walking with you. And Moses, when he asked to see God's glory, God said, I will make my glory pass before you. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, but you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and live. Even Moses only caught a glimpse of the glory of God. But when Christ returned, everyone will see his glory. And what will men see at Christ's coming? What will they see? They will see God's goodness. God's goodness displayed in his justice and grace. justice, receiving what we do deserve, that those who have not trusted in Christ for salvation, they will be judged for their sin and will receive eternal condemnation. But for those who are in Christ, you will receive grace, receiving that which you do not deserve. As God shows you his mercy, that you do not receive what you do deserve, eternal condemnation. You see, this is the glory of God, His justice, His grace, His mercy, His love, which comes together in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Christ returns, you will know He has returned. You will know His love. You will know the mercy of God in Christ. But if you are not in Christ, then you will know the justice of God and be condemned to everlasting punishment. The glory of God, He is good in all His ways. And when Christ returns, this will be evident. And when Christ returns, he just doesn't return in a show of fanfare, as if, you know, look at me, look at me, look at me. That's not what will happen. That's not the end. When Christ returns, he will return to gather his elect together. And he will send his angels and gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. He will send his angels, those transcendent beings who carry out the various missions and tasks that he assigns to them. What are the angels? The angels are spirits, immortal, holy, excelling in knowledge, mighty in power to execute his commandments and to praise God's name. Those are the angels. And God will send the angels, the spiritual beings who do God's bidding. As the angel of God came to Mary and to Zachariah declaring that that John the Baptist would be born and that the child that Mary would be carrying would be the Messiah, the one upon the hope of all Israel shall be. And even Jesus, when he was strengthened after the temptation, was strengthened by the angels. These very same angels will accompany our Lord and he will send them out to the world, to the ends of the world. And what will they do? They will gather his elect. His elect are those who are appointed by God in Christ unto glory from the foundation of the world. The elect are all those upon whom God has set his love. Even as we read in Ephesians, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. And we confess that God hath appointed the elect unto glory. And those who are in God's hand shall never be taken from God's hand. and the elect who are living on the earth in the day that Christ returned, no matter where they are, they shall be gathered together to Christ. They shall be gathered to that wedding feast of the Lamb." Notice what he says, from the four winds, from the farthest part of heaven, from the farthest part of earth, God's people are scattered all over the world. There is no place on this globe where God does not have his people. It simply means that God's people will be found, and they will be brought to Him from everywhere. No believer shall be missed. None of the elect shall be left behind, unlike that popular movie from some years ago. For when Christ returns, then all who belong to Him will be with him. You see, brothers and sisters, you do not have to worry about being missed because Jesus will send his legions to seek and to find all who are his. You see, this terrible darkness announces the glorious return of Christ to gather his elect together. This same event of the return of Christ means different things for believers and unbelievers. For the day of Christ's return for the believer will be a day of great hope and glory Not fear. When Christ returns, when the sun darkens and the moon no longer gives its light and the stars fall, you don't have to fear. If your life is hidden in Christ, you have eternal life. You will not be left behind. As Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And then what does he say? And thus we shall always be with the Lord. That's the hope that's before you. And Paul ends that portion of his teaching saying, therefore comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another, encourage one another that in Christ you will be with Christ. This is why we worship him on the Lord's Day together as a body of believers, not as individuals in a house somewhere or in the forest somewhere. But we meet to encourage one another, saying, brother and sister, Christ will return. Are you ready for his return? And it will happen in a moment. As Paul says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. This world is not all there is. But even as we live in this world, we struggle, don't we? We face trials and temptations and difficulties, and we wonder, how are we going to get through? Brothers and sisters, rest your hope fully on Christ. These promises are to you in spite of how you might feel. Fix your eyes on eternity, not solely on the here and now. For our hope is never in the here and now. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And these events of Christ's return, the signs, the wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, are meant to get you to look up. to get you to look beyond yourself, beyond the trials, beyond what goes around you, beyond what you see in society, but to that blessed hope that is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ, to fix your eyes on the prize of heaven. The day of Christ's return, however, will be a day of great trembling and fear for the unbeliever whom Christ will judge. For as Paul says, it is he who has ordained God to be the judge of the living and the dead. It is Jesus who will come and say to the goats, depart from me, I have never known you. Even as he has said to the sheep, enter into the joy of my rest. The apostle Peter says that all will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. When Christ comes, he will judge. And if your hope is not in Christ, you will be condemned. but it does not have to be that way. Turn to Christ. Rest in Christ. He is your only hope and only comfort. The warning of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as he teaches his disciples is to prepare you to be always ready. These signs are constant reminders that this life is not all there is, that these days are not even the best days. And they remind you of the glory that waits for all who put their faith and trust in Him. You see, the darkness will accentuate the glorious return of the Savior. For those who do not know Christ, those who refuse to know Him, the return of Christ will be their greatest dread. But for the believer, their greatest expectation will be fulfilled, that after the darkness, light.