Well, we have the privilege now of giving our attention to the study of God's word. And let me begin by inviting you to take your Bibles and turning together with me to Matthew chapter 24. I've entitled this morning's message the sign of his coming, a sign of his coming, because that's what very much what Jesus is going to talk to us about this morning in verses 15 to 31 in our continuing study of the Gospel of Matthew. And just to kind of set a little bit of the anticipation of what we're going to be talking about this morning, let me let me just share a little bit of a personal illustration that I think sets the tone properly, at least for those of us who are believers. I know that not everybody grew up with a dad like I did, but my dad, from the time I was the smallest of kids, was was my best friend and my biggest hero. And I still to this day remember my dad's commitment to us as a family. He would be home every day somewhere between about 10 after five and 25 after five, depending on traffic and the weather and things of that nature. And I still remember, I think it was Hogan's Heroes that would end at five o'clock. And from that point on, it was about a 10 to 20 minute wait until my dad walked through the door. And there was a sense of anticipation and a sense of excitement, a sense of joy that kind of filled really all of us as kids, but me in particular, that I just couldn't wait for my dad to get home, for him to walk through the door. And, you know, sometimes we'd be bouncing and we'd be competing with each other to see who got the hug in first. if we were upstairs or whatever else, and then we heard him come in, it was nothing but screams and yells, and we ran downstairs to greet Dad and hug him. That's the environment that I grew up in, and that's the kind of relationship I had with my dad. And even in the times when I was in trouble, There was a sense of dread and the certainty that my dad wouldn't necessarily be happy with something that I had done, and I knew my mom was going to talk to him about it. I wanted to get to him first, and I wanted to set things straight, admit I was wrong, and please forgive me, and those kinds of things, because there was nothing more important to me in my life as a kid than my relationship to my dad. Now, that is, I think, a tiny, tiny picture of what a believer's relationship with Christ ought to really be like. There should be an expectation, an anticipation, a real joy, a real sense of hope and assurance and certainty that Christ is coming back for us. And I really appreciate, and it was the Lord who orchestrated the events so that we were singing about nobody loves me like Jesus today, but that's That's really the sense that I think sets the tone for a believer's look at a passage where Jesus himself is talking about his return. If you're if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ's return should not be something that you're disinterested in or that you hope doesn't happen today because you have too many things that you would like to do. that you hope that it doesn't happen now or tomorrow because you're just getting ready to start on vacation. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, there should be nothing that is more precious to you than His return. And I think certainly when we're sick, when we're staring in trials, when we're struggling with sin, we've got challenging relationships, we've got heavy, heavy tasks on our heart and on our plates, Then we look forward to the return of Christ as an escape. But from a true believer's perspective, there should be an anticipation of Christ's return that really trumps everything good and bad. There should be nothing more precious to you than the return of Jesus Christ and everything that it means, not just for you, but also for him. In fact, if you if you look at what the Old Testament anticipation of when the Messiah shows up and establishes this kingdom, you get a very clear taste with regard to what the Old Testament even promised was going to be a part of Christ and his coming. And just by way of introduction, you can keep your finger in Matthew 24. I want you to turn to the left a few pages. And I want you to look at a couple of passages that are maybe not quite so familiar to you, but really set the tone for this in Zechariah 12, 13 and 14. In case you're not familiar, it's the next to the last book in the Old Testament. So you're in Matthew. Turn back to Matthew one and then back left about eight pages and you'll be in Zechariah 12. Zechariah chapter 12. It starts by introducing this as the burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. In other words, this is a prophetic proclamation from God Himself through the prophet Zechariah to the nation of Israel regarding what God is going to do to, through, and for the nation. In the middle of the verse it says, Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. So this is straight from God Himself to His people. He says, starting in verse 8, In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David. And the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. In other words, God is going to strengthen and empower His people. And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. This is a promise of the coming of the Kingdom and the Messiah. You want to know why Israel expected the Messiah to show up and throw off the Roman yoke, to throw off the nations and to reestablish them as a sovereign power? It's because God has promised to do just that. It says in verse 10, I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, the spirit of unmerited favor and prayer. That's a restoration of a relationship with God. I will pour out on the house of David, notice the focus on the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, this is pouring out his spirit on his people, Israel. And he will do it so that they will look on me whom they have pierced. Oh, now that sounds familiar to those of us who are familiar with the cross, right? They will look on me who's speaking, by the way, God is. And he says they will look on whom? Me, whom they have pierced. So when Christ is crucified, who is it that dies for us? God. This is all stated before it ever happens, but now that we know that it's happened. Listen, as I read, they will look on me whom they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. The loss of your firstborn child, they will be struck to the heart and grieving over what they've done and the rejection of their Messiah. In that day, there will be great mourning in Jerusalem. Like the mourning in, literally there, the valley of Megiddo. The land will mourn every family. You skip down into chapter 13. And pick up in verse six. This isn't one will say to him, what are these wounds between your arms literally in your hands? What's that make you think of? The nail prints in the hand and the palms. What are these wounds in your hands? And they will say to him, those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Makes you think of John 1, doesn't it? He came unto his own and his own received him not. Verse 7, a Waco sword against my shepherd and against the man my associate declares the Lord of hosts strike the shepherd and the sheep will be what? Scattered. You remember what Jesus quoted in the night in which he was betrayed? He said tonight the shepherd will be struck and the sheep will be scattered. This is the passage Jesus is referring to. But notice what follows. And I will turn my hand against the little ones and it will come about in all the land declares the Lord. The two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them and I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is my God. See, there's the ultimate promise of salvation and deliverance for Israel. In fact, you go to chapter 14. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord. when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you for I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished and have the city exiled but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city and then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle and in that day his feet will set foot or land or stand on the Mount of Olives which is in front of Jerusalem on the eastern side and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half will move toward the south." What's that referring to? The second coming. Now you see it all smooshed together here, right? You see the piercing of the Messiah, the shepherd being struck and the sheep being scattered, and you also see it climaxing. in the return and the establishment of the kingdom and the judging of the wicked and the putting down of all the nations. It's all put in here in one passage repeatedly in the Old Testament. That's why the disciples needed God to open their minds to be able to understand that he came first to suffer and die as the suffering servant. But second, he is coming in glory to judge the living and the dead and to establish his kingdom. We come now to Matthew chapter 24, and I hope you have a little bit of an understanding, especially in the weeks of preview that we did in setting up the eschatological hope of Israel, as well as for Christians and seeing the plan of God from both perspectives. And we come now to Jesus telling us exactly what the sign of his coming is. We are in Passion Week from a broader context. Remember in Matthew, starting in chapter 21, Jesus comes into town, seated on a colt, the fall of a donkey. And all the people say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, recognizing him as the Messiah, quoting from Psalm 118. And he goes into the temple and he cleanses the temple and he begins to teach and he begins to do miracles and he begins to silence his critics and he faces nothing but opposition. By the time you get to Matthew chapter 23, he pronounces the woes against the religious leaders, and then he exits the temple. End of Matthew 23, starting at verse 37. And this is the declaration he has for Israel and for Jerusalem. Listen to it again. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling. Therefore, behold, your house is being left to you desolate, for I say to you from now on, you will not see me until you say blessed is he who what comes in the name of the Lord. Until you say what you said the beginning of this week in the triumphal entry and you mean it and you truly recognize me for who I am. And you truly give your hearts and your allegiance to me and acknowledge that I am the Messiah of God, the Lord's anointed himself. Until you as a people recognize me for who I am, until you fulfill Zachariah and mourn for me as one mourns for an only son. Until you recognize that it's me you have pierced and rejected your Messiah and acknowledge me as such, you're not going to see me again. The next time I come, it'll be in glory and it'll be when you recognize me as your Messiah. And so in verse one of chapter 24, and this picks up where we were last week, Jesus came out from the temple and he's going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. And we talked about this last week. They were pretty phenomenal. We just got back a couple of weeks ago from Jerusalem and the Temple Mount even today is amazing. Herod built arches and then filled in the whole of the Temple Mount area to expand it beyond just the area it was even in Solomon's day to turn it into a huge flat area building up around the mountain this huge, huge platform the size of 26 football fields. And some of the stones were as big as, as a significant portion of the inside of this building. And those are all the base stones. Those have nothing to do with the temple. That's the construction necessary to create that huge 26 foot feet football field platform. Those are just the outer walls of the base upon which the temple is built 15 stories high. Then the temple itself sits upon on top of that in the middle, another 15 stories high. and all this done without cranes and without elevators, without tractors and bulldozers, or like when I was a kid, bulls doers. Without all that, they just did this all by hand. Amazing, amazing workmanship. And it's really interesting, I put this in as a footnote, if you see pictures, and I'll show you some of them, Lord willing, on the 29th on a Sunday night service when I go through kind of a brief tour of Jerusalem today and in Jesus' day. when you see the stones and you can look at it on the Internet. If you look at a picture of Jerusalem today in the Western Wall, you can see the huge stones at the bottom. And after just a few layers from the bottom, those really big ones, those big ones were put there in Herod's day. That's what the disciples would have seen. The smaller ones above of kind of like a patchwork pattern. Those are put in by the Crusaders and the Muslims and the various and Romans. And as they came in and refurbished and reconstructed, that's kind of a patchwork. And none of it looks anywhere near as cool as it was in Jesus's day that Herod's construction did. And when the Romans came in in 70 AD, they wiped everything off the top and knocked out a great deal of those stones that were holding up even that wall that made the platform to begin with. The temple itself was made out of a polished white marble with gold inlaid all over it. And so it flashed in the city. It's glorious, not to mention Solomon's porch and everything else. And it explains very well why the disciples would come up to Jesus and point out how cool those buildings were. plus the whole worship context and they're with the Lord and they're looking forward to the kingdom and they're and they're sitting at the feet of the Lord as he teaches and they're seeing the miracles and they believe he's the Messiah. And you can imagine why they'd be overwhelmed with worship and impressed by the temple. So I'm here to tell you the only thing that's there now is the dome of the rock. It's only 70 feet tall. It's not even to the true God. And it's still a pretty cool place. It's still pretty amazing to walk around there and realize Jesus was there. To realize Solomon was there. To realize some of the greatest of the saints in history have been there in worshiping God. To read the prayer of Solomon that specifically requested that even a Gentile like me, if I went there, God would hear my prayer. It's an incredible place to be even today. And it's nothing like it was then. And he says to them, just to just to put things into perspective, why? Because he's come to die. He's coming later to rule and reign, he came this time to die. and to get and to get their mind off of the stuff and the place and fix it on him and on God and on salvation and of things of eternal significance. He says to them, do you not see all these things? And he's talking about the temple. Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down. Don't get all excited about the building. Don't get all excited about the stuff that you see. It's all going to be torn down. Verse three, and as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us, when will these things happen and what will be key, the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? You want to know why they're asking about the end of the age? Because they expect it to be now, when you get into Acts chapter 1, after the resurrection, right before he ascends back to the right hand of the Father. What do they ask? Is it now you're restoring the kingdom? They do not see the church age. They do not understand the gap of time that God has in His plan that extends from the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension until the second coming. They don't understand that. That's why they're looking for the sign that it's going to happen. They are still expecting it now. They expected it when they got to Jerusalem this time. That's why Peter pulls Jesus aside and rebukes him when he says when Jesus says, who do you say that I am? The Christ, the son of the living God. Well, when I get to Jerusalem, I'm going to be rejected, crucified, die and rise again the third day. Oh, no, no, no, no. It's not going to happen that way. Get behind me, Satan. Why? Because they can't connect all these dots. Well, you know something? From this perspective 2,000 years later, you can connect the dots, can't you? You can connect the dots. Now, as we go through this text in verses 4 to 14 that we saw last week, Jesus makes it clear. You want to know what the sign of my coming is? You want to know when the kingdom is coming in? You want to know what the end of the age is? Let me tell you, it isn't any of these things. It isn't when somebody shows up and says, I'm the Christ. You're going to have lots of those kinds of people don't believe any of it. You're going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. You're going to hear of famines and earthquakes. All of these, verse eight, are merely the beginning of birth pangs, the beginnings of birth pains. Yet they're like Braxton Hicks contractions. Oh, they're real. You can feel them and they feel like the real deal. But it isn't started yet. It's just part of the whole process of pregnancy, like morning sickness. Like pickle cravings and ice cream and all that, it's just all part of it. The aches and pains, the discomfort. It's just all part of it, but it's not the real deal. The real deal is when the baby actually comes. He says they will deliver you to tribulation, kill you, you'll be hated by all nations because of me, but that's not the sign that I'm coming. Many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. That's not the sign. Many false prophets will come. They'll mislead a whole bunch of people. That's not the sign. Lawlessness will increase. People's love will grow cold. That's not the sign. Verse 14, this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. And then the end will come. The end doesn't come until the Great Commission is fulfilled, when the Great Commission is fulfilled. That's when it's time to watch. And that's what brings us up to our text this morning, starting in verse 15. Jesus gives his disciples two sure signs to look for that mark his coming. One is a prelude to his coming, and the other is the proof of his coming. The prelude and the proof. We'll take a look at each in turn. First, the prelude, verses 15 to 22, the prelude to his coming. Verse 15, Jesus says this is an early warning indicator. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountain. This is the preview. I thought about saying it's a preview of coming attractions, but that's kind of like a a misnomer. Preview of coming attractions suggest that what's coming is going to be cool and exciting and something you want to see. The fact of the matter is this is more like... I grew up in the Midwest. We have these things called sirens that go off when it's a tornado warning or watch. Okay? A tornado warning means someone's seen one, it's touched down, it's in your area. If you can hear this siren, Get into the basement. Because you and your stuff could be gone if not. Same thing in Kansas. Same thing through the Midwest. This is a siren. This is the warning signal that destruction is at hand. This is the prelude to Jesus' return. They ask, what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? You know what he tells them to look for first. And again, remember, his focus is on the disciples and his focus is instructing Israel. And preparing them for the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the age. Remember, and we've talked about this in the past, the next major event on the horizon for Christians is not the tribulation. It's not the second coming. What is it? The rapture. But for Israel, You know what the next major event is? The tribulation. Daniel's 70th week. That seven-year tribulation. What he points out here in verses 15 and 16, is the event that takes place in the middle of that seven-year period that says, from this point on, it's destruction until I return. This is the prelude to the consummation of the age. They ask Him the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. He says, here's the prelude. By the time we get down to verse 23, He'll start talking about the real deal. When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken through Daniel the prophet. So where should we expect to go in the Bible to find out about this? Daniel, right? And we'll go there in a minute. When you see that abomination standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. Now, what's that tell you when he says let the reader understand? What's that tell you? That tells you that this wasn't for the disciples. This is for people who are what? reading the gospel is why the disciples were looking forward to the rapture. That's why Paul was looking forward to the rapture, not the tribulation. This is for readers, those that are not part of the church. This is for Israel and those that are here during the tribulation. Let the reader understand when you see the abomination of desolation Daniel wrote about and when you see that set up in the holy place. Those in Judea flee to the mountains. Now it's interesting. You say, well, why flee to the mountains? This is one of the things that the trip to Israel did for me. Cath will remember, we spent a lot of times walking through Israel. We put on 45 miles a week on our shoes. OK, and a little bit more than that on our legs. But but we went we walked everywhere It is a land of stones and bones and I'm here to tell you there are so many rocks and so many stones and so many hills and mountains and everything I have never that when it talks about In the scripture God hiding you a cleft of the rock. There are so many clefts so many little places where you can hide away So many little getaways in the mountains in the rocks. It's that I'm like no wonder that's imagery That's so prevalent in the Old Testament it's abundant around here in this land. It'd be like us talking about the tumbleweeds, right? There are more rocks in Israel than there are tumbleweeds here. That's a lot of rocks, right? And we went and spent a whole afternoon one time climbing up a mountain and climbing down the other side. I even got to go up into some of those caves in some of the mountains. that the rebels in Herod's day. Herod the Great was given the kingship over Israel by the Romans when he finally figured out how to get rid of all the rebels that were left over. You know how he did it? The rebels had hidden in the caves and they're inaccessible. You have to go straight up a mountain and there's no way an army or soldiers go straight up some of these mountains without getting crushed by rocks and shot by arrows, etc. So people hid their families up in these caves. And there were just so many of these. I went up into some of them. It's a hike. I'm here to tell you that there are just caves like this everywhere. And the caves link into other caves. And you want to know why Jesus says go to the mountains? Because it's the perfect place to hide. There are just so many hiding places in the caves and families live there. You know, I still remember we were all talking about boy, you know, families lived in these places. Yes. How'd they get water? Well, at night they would sneak out and they would go get water and they would bring it back to the caves. Jesus says, flee to the mountains. Why? Because that's a place you can hide. And there are numerous places like this to hide. This is this is for safety. This is because the alternative is dying. That's what he's saying. That's how dangerous it's going to be. That's how deadly it will be. It's how frightening it will be. That's what you need to do when you see the abomination of desolation spoken through Daniel the prophet. When you see that set up in the holy place, what's the holy place? It's right there in the temple. It's right there at the altar. And if you read in the parallel in Mark 13 and verse 14, it says where it should not be. What should be there in the holy place? An altar to whom? to God. And what will you see instead? An abomination of desolation. The word abomination refers to something that is loathsome, disgusting or defiling. It speaks of something that is particularly detestable to God and in God's sight in this context. And the word desolation refers to the state of uninhabitability or someplace that is depopulated. When you put the terms together, it speaks of something or someone who is particularly an offense to God and whose presence or actions results in desolation or depopulation. Well, something that is an abomination to God, that is in a place it shouldn't be, namely the holy place that results in desolation, no longer worshippers of God that should be there, but instead worshippers of himself. That's how you know you're in the middle of the tribulation and it is time to flee. And that's Jesus's point. If you take your Bibles and turn to Second Thessalonians, chapter two. I'll give you this from another perspective. Paul. writes to the church in Thessalonica. They're about a year or so old at this point. They're still pretty new believers. They're still a model church in many, many ways. You remember in First Thessalonians, Paul commends them for being a model to all churches of what a church is supposed to be, even though they're brand new, because they're looking forward to the return of Christ and they're proclaiming the gospel everywhere. But they still have some doctrinal error and holes in their theology and understanding. And in 1st, excuse me, 2nd Thessalonians 2, Paul addresses one of those and specifically it relates to the second coming and it relates to the tribulation and the day of the Lord. You'll remember in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, he says with regard to the rapture, I don't want you to be uninformed, brethren. that those who have fallen asleep in Jesus aren't going to miss the rapture. The dead in Christ rise first. And after that, we who are alive will be caught up together with them. Right. Because they had a misunderstanding of the rapture, thinking that, listen, those Christians who die before the rapture don't get to be part of a part of the rapture. And they were sad about it. So he writes first Thessalonians four to help them through that second Thessalonians two. He's now dealing with another issue, namely some people were writing to them or telling them or both that, hey, you missed the rapture and you're in the tribulation. Chapter two in verse one, Paul says in Second Thessalonians, Now we request of you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus and our gathering together with him. So Christ's return and the rapture that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or by a message or a letter as if it was written from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. I don't want you to think you missed it and you're not in the day of the Lord. How do you know? Let no one deceive you in any way because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being who? God. See, this is the Antichrist. This is the one who sets up the abomination of desolation, an image unto himself there on the temple mount, and he causes the whole world to worship him as if he's God. Verse five. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things and you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed because the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Who's the one who restrains Holy Spirit and how is he restraining? Well, in part in his presence in us. Where is the Holy Spirit reside today in believers? He is a seal guaranteeing our inheritance. He is empowering us to live the Christian life. We are we are children of God, if we have the Holy Spirit and we don't have the Holy Spirit today, guess what? We're not children of God. Romans 8. And nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ. How is the spirit taken away? The rapture. When Christians are taken out of the way, that's what opens the door for the tribulation to begin. And now the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in. Now we're down to Daniel 70th week. Now you're down to the tribulation the last seven years before Christ returns. Verse 7, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains, holds it back, will do so until he's taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed. As soon as he's taken out of the way, that lawless one is revealed. The one that unites the world and makes the covenant with the nation of Israel and allows them to start the sacrifices again. That's how you know it's the tribulation. Guys, it's not the day of the Lord. You're not in the tribulation period. How do you know? Because the Holy Spirit's still here. because the church is still here, because the man of lawlessness hasn't been revealed. Much less. The establishment of the abomination of desolation in the middle of the tribulation, none of this has happened, so you didn't miss it and you're not in it. That then that lawlessness, lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming. See the tie. Jesus comes at the end of that tribulation. Jesus is the one who beats the Antichrist. Jesus is the one who sets all things right and judges everybody. That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, knows he's going to do miracles and signs and wonders and with all deception of wickedness. for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason, God will send upon them a diluting influence so that they will believe what is false in order that they may all be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness. God's going to turn the whole world over to following this guy and worshiping this guy and believing in this guy. You go back to Matthew 24, and this is exactly what Jesus is announcing. When you see the abomination of desolation spoken through Daniel standing in the holy place, it's time to flee, because from this point on, it's disaster for Jerusalem and for Israel. This is the great tribulation. Now, go to Daniel 9 for one last cross-reference. And let me walk you through what it's been several weeks since we've gone through. And that is Daniel 9, starting in verse 24. Daniel 9, 24. 70 weeks or 77 have been decreed for your people and your holy city. So these 70 weeks are specifically decreed for who? Who is Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city. Daniel's people is Israel and Daniel's holy city is Jerusalem. This prophecy doesn't have to do with the world and it doesn't have to do with Gentile salvation. This prophecy is focused on God's plan for whom? Israel and Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people in your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. That's what it's ultimately to accomplish. It includes salvation. It includes justification. And it includes the permanent establishment of God's kingdom. All in these 77. And so you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Remember, Daniel is in captivity in Babylon when the decree comes out to rebuild Jerusalem. From that point on until Messiah, the prince, there will be seven weeks and 62 weeks or seven sevens and 62 sevens, seven plus 62 is how many? Seven plus 62 is. 69 I have too many rocket scientists in here simple math doesn't work. So I wait for the wives to help out. Okay 69 sevens, right you do the math and from the time of the decree of Cyrus Until the triumphal entry guess what you find to the day. It's those 69 prophetic years 69 sevens or 69 sevens not 69 years to the day And it will be built again with a plaza, with a moat, even in times of distress. There is the reconstruction of the temple. Jesus was in it. Then after the 62 weeks, that second one, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing. And the people of the Prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will come with a flood. Even to the end there will be war. Desolations are determined. So you know what happens? The Messiah is presented and he is rejected and cut off and has nothing. And you know what? The people of the prince who is to come, it's not the prince who does it. It's the people of the prince who is to come. Now, whether this is Gentiles or or Romans or whether this means the Antichrist in the future will be Italian or whatever, or the pope or any of the various suggestions, the fact of the matter is the cities wiped out and desolations. There are so many destructions of Jerusalem and so many contests between the Crusades and between the on and on it goes through all the centuries. I don't think any place has been overrun and changed hands as many times as Jerusalem and that's exactly what Daniel says. There will be even to the end there will be war and desolations are determined and then He that is the prince who is to come, he will make a firm covenant, an agreement, a pact with many for a week or one seven, literally a seven year agreement. But in the middle of that seven, in the middle of that seven year period, he will put a stop to the sacrifice and grain offerings. And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate. An abomination that makes desolate. An abomination of desolations, even until a complete destruction that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate. Even until that Antichrist, in the end, answers to Christ personally. This is what Daniel said is going to happen. Now, from today's perspective, if you want kind of the Sunday school version of this or my everyday explanation of this. You know what's going to happen when. When the rapture takes place. Either within the immediate context of that time frame or very quickly thereafter, the Antichrist will be revealed and it will become evident that he is the Antichrist because he has the solution to the Middle East problem. And that solution includes restoring to Israel the right to have the temple mount and do sacrifices again. And you know what it's already set up so that could happen today. They already had. We saw the huge Menorah the big candles the golden candlestick. I got a picture of me next to it. It's huge by the way. But it's in glass it's sitting right down there in Jerusalem. Remember we did get a picture me didn't. Yeah huge it's bigger than I am. And yes I know I'm not that big but it's I mean how many of you have ever seen a candlestick bigger than me. OK, they got all the furniture ready. They got everything ready to set up worship on the Temple Mount. The rapture happens. And in that immediate context, the man of sin will be revealed, who has a great idea for world peace. Even settling all the complex issues in Jerusalem by by having everybody back off and letting the Jews have the Temple Mount area at least a big enough area to do their sacrifices again and everybody's happy. And in the middle of that seven year. Tribulation period the first half is great for the people of earth and they all unite and they're all happy but by the middle of that. They're all ready to absolutely wipe out Israel. And that antichrist breaks that agreement and sets up an image of himself. Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 16. I think it's 13 or 16. Can't remember. Revelation 13 verse 11. I saw another beast coming up out of the earth He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast Whose fatal wound was healed. You know what this tells you the Antichrist pulls off a miracle that includes his own resurrection He performs great signs so that even He even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. Everybody see. Can you imagine the impact that if somebody could have fire come down from heaven, how everybody be who? Isn't that exactly the kind of thing that the religious leaders in Jesus's day when they said, show us a sign, if he had done that, that would have been what he was. They were asking for. Right. He refused because he wouldn't cater to unbelief. Oh, you know what? The Antichrist has no problem catering to unbelief. He's into it. He's trying to sell a bill of goods. He deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given to him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come back to life. And it was given to him to give the breath to give breath to even the image of the beast so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. That's the abomination of desolation. Set up right there on the temple mount. And the world buys into it and the world follows him. And the world's thrilled to follow him. And the world sees signs and wonders and mighty things. And God lets the wicked one do all that. The world wants to believe a lie. He's going to let them. But those who are true to Christ and the nation of Israel who recognizes Christ as their Messiah, they need to listen to his words. Now you go back to Matthew 24 and we can rip through this text pretty quick now. Matthew 24, starting in verse 15, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken through Daniel, the prophet standing there in the holy place, the image of the beast doing signs and wonders. OK, when you see that, it's time to flee. Those who are in Judea, those who are anywhere in the immediate vicinity, need to flee to the mountains. Whoever, verse 17, is on the housetop, do not go down to get the things that are in your house. Whoever is in the field, do not turn back to get your cloak. Your possessions are not worth your life. Housetop. What are you doing on the housetop? You ever read the Bible and go, what are you doing on your roof? Right? Are you cleaning the solar panels? That's the only time I ever go up there. Or to drive out a couple of pigeons. Well, what are you doing on your roof? You know something? Having been to Israel, we know exactly what it's like to be on the roof. Even the roof of our hotel was a huge area with even tables set up so that you could go up and sit and drink coffee or pray or read your Bible or whatever and look at the sunrise in Jerusalem or look at the Temple Mount. In fact, one of the things I learned, it came out so vivid. This is kind of a side note so it doesn't count against my time. We were there and we saw Jerusalem. And when we were in the old city about where David's somewhere in the vicinity of where David's palace might have been in some of those places. And you're you're on the upper area and you're on them on one of those the roofs of some of the larger buildings. You know when David got up at the end of the day and he walked out on his roof and he saw Bathsheba bathing OK, first of all, his his palace is bigger. Second of all, the elevation of where he is is higher. So he can look out over the whole city from where he is. And the roof was the place you went in the evening because it was nice. It's like your back porch here. Because the back porch in Jerusalem is actually either the street or your neighbor's wall. The porch is the roof. and to get away. Sometimes you go from roof to roof because they're connected. You know what? If you're on the roof, if you're already out of the house, don't get down off your roof and go around to the front and go into the house and gather some key possessions. As soon as you hear the abomination of desolation is set up, you flee. Get out of there. And if you're already in the field, don't go back and get your cloak, even if it means you're going to be cold. your possessions are not worth your life. In fact, he goes on to say in verses 19 to 21, but woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days. Why? Can you imagine trying to care for an infant in a time of war and in a place of war? Pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. Why in the winter? In the wintertime in Israel. that you guys know what the Jordan River is right. That's where John the Baptist preach. That's where the baptisms took place and everything. That's where Joshua leads the nation of Israel across into the promised land. You know I've been to the mighty Jordan River. Look at the grin. The mighty Jordan River. At one point we got a picture. There was a guy in a canoe and there's about three feet on both side of him. That's how wide the mighty Jordan River is now. Now in wintertime. It's the size that you're thinking it will be. Right now, when it's dry, it's about 10, 12 feet across. Now, I didn't bother getting in it, because I saw it. It's kind of like, actually, it's worse than the Great Lakes outside of Cleveland. So I wouldn't get in it. Did you get in it? No. Yeah. And she got in the Dead Sea. So that tells you about the Jordan. I'm just kidding. All right. But it's only about 10 feet wide. You can get a car. You can wait to cross it. In fact, that was the one of the things I mean, we could cross the boundary into Jordan. So, you know, you got guards on both sides. So there's no incursion. Well, in wintertime, you don't wait to cross it. In wintertime, you either need a boat or God to part the waters for you. And God only did that for Joshua. So I'm pretty sure. Well, and Elijah and Elisha. But unless you're one of those guys, he's probably not going to do it for you. Pray that it doesn't happen in winter. Why? Because the wadis are flooded. All those wet areas are now impassable. It's much harder. And pray it doesn't happen on the Sabbath. You'd say, I thought the Sabbath was done away with. Well, yeah, but do you realize that even today in Jerusalem, the Sabbath is honored and everything pretty much shuts down Friday night and doesn't start up until Saturday night? I'm going to be harder to flee. Then there will be a great tribulation. A great tribute tribulation means means hardship, suffering. Philipsis. And this isn't just tribulation, it's a great tribulation, and it's a tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. You know what he's saying? This will be the worst time in all of human history, all of redemptive history. When he says from the beginning of the world, when's that? Genesis one until just now. When's that? Jesus's day, Matthew 24 or ever will be. What's that? Ever throughout the rest of redemptive history. throughout the rest of the existence of this entire creation. This is the worst period of time, period. You want to know how I know, despite what some commentators say, that Jesus isn't talking about what happened in 70 A.D.? Because that wasn't the people say, well, one point one million Jews were slaughtered or crucified or killed or murdered or or just wiped out. by the Romans in seventy A.D. when they came in and destroyed the temple and the city for its rebellion. That's true. That's true. It's tragic. It's horrific. It's a calamity. You ever hear of the Holocaust? That was six million Jews. Six million Jews. We went to one of the Holocaust museums there in Israel. It was a fresh reminder of just how horrific it was. Some people say, well, 70 AD was worse because of the percentages or whatever. You know what? The very fact that I can argue with you as to whether it was 70 AD was worse or 135 AD or or the Holocaust or at any other period in history that might have been worse than than 70 AD. You know what that shows you? It isn't any of those times. This is way worse than all those times. This is the worst time of all time, period. This is it. This is the Great Tribulation. This is the 70th seven that is decreed for Daniel and for his people and for his holy city. This is what Israel goes through. This is the context in which God carries them through the fire and purifies the remaining third of them and makes them into his people. In fact, he goes on to say here, Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. I get a kick out of reading commentators who want to explain this. Well, what does it mean those days are cut short? Are they not 24 hour days anymore? Dear friends and neighbors, you know what it means cut short. It was it was set to a seven year period because if it had gone any longer than that, then all of God's elect during the period of that tribulation would have been caught and killed. In fact, when you read the book of Revelation, you know what you find? There are so many martyrs, so many believers that are killed that they're gathered around the altar in heaven saying, how long, O Lord, faithful and true, are you going to let this go on before you act? And he said, not until the time. Here's a robe. Sit back. Now watch it play out and just keep trusting me. It has already been cut short. The Great Tribulation is the second half of those seven years, the three and a half years, which evil is allowed to run its course fully. Daniel 7 and verse 25, as well as Revelation 12 and verse 14, both agree, again, that it's three and a half years is the Great Tribulation. And even Daniel 12, verse 11, which talks about the consummation, says it's three and a half years, 1290 days, plus 1260 days, plus the 30 that are required the full month for judgment to take place at the end, right before the beginning of the tribunal of the millennial kingdom. You know something? Before Christ comes to judge. There will be the tribulation. And the key point in that tribulation period when it's time to flee is when you see the abomination of desolation should set up in the holy place. Notice he goes on in verses twenty three to thirty one. Now to talk about not the prelude to his coming but the proof of his coming and there are two points he makes here you ready. He says that when he comes and it's the consummation of the age, first, it will be unmistakable and second, it will be inescapable. It will be unmistakable and inescapable. Unmistakable, verse 23 there, then if anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ or there he is, don't believe him. because false Christ and false prophets will arise and they will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. If you're there in that tribulation period, which, by the way, is that going to be any of us? If you're a Christian, the answer is no. So that let the reader understand. If anyone says to you, behold, here's the Christ or there's the Christ, don't believe him. Because there are going to be false Christ and false prophets who are going to arise and they're even going to do signs and wonders so as to mislead. Well, why would God let them do that? So he is turning the world over to its unbelief. You want to believe in evolution. You want to worship the Antichrist. You want to worship Satan. You want to worship you. You want a world that that that has God step away and let you do whatever you want with it. That's what he's going to give it. That's what he's going to give the world. He's going to let him do signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. You say, wait a minute, misleading the elect. Notice, he says, if possible, misleading even the elect. You know what that means? The elect won't be misled, but that's how powerful and how persuasive those signs will be. They'll be real signs. Some people say that misleading even the elect means it's it's possible to commit the sin of apostasy and even for believers to to fall into this. Well, according to what Paul writes in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ, according to what Jesus teaches, even in the parable of the soils. Remember when Jesus talks about the parable of the soils and the four types of soils? Right. The one is the road and the gospel makes no impact whatsoever. And it's like they never heard it. OK. Those are the people that flat reject the gospel when they hear it or ignore it. The other three all have a positive response to it, but only one of them is true. That's the one who produces fruit, some 30, 60 or 100 fold. Right. Another one is evergreen, but never fruitful. So it's not really good soil. It's not really true salvation. And the one is the one who believes for a while. And then what? falls away. That's apostasy. And falls away because of tribulation, because of trials, because of a test. Behold, I've told you in advance. I'm letting you know this in advance. If you want to know how to be sure it's me when I come back and it's the end of the age, it won't be because somebody's telling you. It won't be because somebody says he's over here or over there. Verse verse 26. If they say to you, behold, he's in the wilderness, don't go out there or behold, he's in the inner rooms. Don't believe them. He's not going to be hidden away. He's not going to be out in some remote place. Verse 27, just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the son of man be. Now, we don't see it so much here. But even here, once in a while, we have lightning. Have you ever noticed lightning? When the lightning flashes, even if it's just that heat lightning, but when the lightning flashes, tell me something. If you're outside, if it flashes over here on the mountains and you're way over here and you're looking the other way, do you still see it? You maybe don't see the bolt, but it lights what? The whole sky. The whole sky. This is what Kath misses most about the Midwest and Ohio. is the rain and the thunderstorms. We go back home, we have a thunderstorm. Everybody's all unhappy because all power electronics have to be turned off, and it's just sitting there again in the rain and in the dark. And Kath goes, oh, this is perfect. Boom! Flash! Lights up the whole room. Right? You know what Jesus is saying? When He comes back, that's what it's going to be like. You're not going to have to guess at it. You're not going to have to have somebody take you to Him. It's not going to be hidden away. I don't care what movies say. I don't care what bestseller suggests. You want to know how you can be sure that Christ comes back when he comes back? It'll be like lightning. And I don't just mean quick. I mean obvious. In fact, you look at verse 28. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Now, some say because it's referring to the corpse, this must talk about judgment. And certainly, as we read in Revelation 19, judgment and the birds consuming the bodies is true. I really think when you're just looking at this and reading it naturally, Jesus says, just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. When there's a corpse, Is it hard to find the corpse? No, you just look to the sky and you can see the buzzards, the vultures circling around. Notice in verse 29, it's not only unmistakable, it's inescapable. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. When Christ comes back, this world will answer for everything. The sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky. Yes, I believe this is this is a cataclysmic judgment against the totality of creation. In fact, when you read about the kingdom and a thousand years, God is going to refurbish the entire earth, the whole of creation. This is a description of the second coming of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom here on this earth, like described in Revelation 19 and 20. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Everybody will see it and nobody will escape it. Notice he says all the tribes of the earth will mourn. Everybody. Why? Why mourn? Why grief? Aren't some of them believers? Yes. If you've read the book of Revelation, John, a couple of times after talking about the wrath of God that's going to be displayed during that consummation of redemptive history, a couple of times John talks about it. He talks about the glory it will be for Christ and the glory it will be for his people But he also talks about the judgment and the wrath that will be on most of mankind. And you know what John says? Even so what? Come Lord Jesus. I don't know of anything that should strike fear and compassion into your heart like a text like this. It is frankly, it should be embarrassing to all of us that we do not fear for the lost, that we do not have compassion for the lost like Jesus did. Knowing this reality, we are so selfish and self-centered. When we think about the second coming, the only thing we think about typically is ourselves. Oh, good. How good it's going to be for me. You know what? It's going to be judgment for the world, and that's most of the people in it. It's going to be eternal wrath for the world. including those loved ones that you have that do not yet know Christ, have not yet given their lives to Christ. It is eternal condemnation for them. That's why all the tribes of the earth mourn. Everybody, in a sense, is struck with a sense of grief. It's eternal destruction and there is no escape. The sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. You know I read. So what is this sign. I'll go and catch Tim before he catches me in a cool. So what is the sign. Do you know what commentators typically say nowadays when they when they identify it with a specific sign. They say it's the sign of the cross. You know why. Because of Constantine. when Constantine supposedly saw the sign of the cross and had a vision that says in this sign conquer. So he had it painted on all of his soldiers shields and then he conquered the world and he made Christianity the state religion. Ever since then commentators have typically said if they say the sign is a sign they say it's the sign of the cross. I don't believe it's the sign of the cross. I think if you just take it simply and listen to what Jesus says, I think that sign is what he says it is. Look at the verse. The sign of the son of man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see what? What will they see? What is this sign that they see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory? You know what the sign of the coming is him. in full glory and power and majesty. It's it's Revelation 19. It's him on a white horse with a host of heaven, the name written on him, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Coming to set things right. Coming to establish his kingdom. To save his people and to judge the world. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other. One end of the sky to the other doesn't mean that that we all got lost coming down with him. That's just the way you refer to all four points of the compass. He gathers together all of his elect from the four winds, from the four corners of the earth. And we'll see later. that he also gathers together all the rest of humanity and judges them. What does all this mean to us? Well, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be sure Christ is coming back. Every time we celebrate communion, we declare the Lord's death for us to pay for our sins and reconcile us to him until he what? until He comes. And when He comes, it means glory for Him, that He'll be worshiped and honored and acknowledged the way He should be. And we'll be in perfect relationship with Him and faithfully serve Him and live for Him. You know, when you understand clearly that He is coming, it's real, it's sure, it's certain, then live like it. Live like it. Let me just say, are you living the kind of a Christian life that is being lived in light of the imminent return of Christ? Are you really looking forward to it, not just so you escape, but so that he is honored? Are you living the kind of life that if he were to show up today, if the trumpet sounded and he called us home today? Would you be unashamed at his call? And if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, if you have not placed your faith in him and what he's done for you on the cross, if you have not submitted yourself to his authority and to his will, then be sure your sin will find you out because Jesus is coming back. And when he does for you, it means wrath. You can count on it and you cannot escape it. And you know what? In the same way that my eternity in glory will be because of my faith in Jesus Christ. So to your eternity will be determined by the fact that yours is not. It isn't that either one of us is a better person. It is that Jesus has made a way for all sinners to be reconciled to himself. And if you want a place in his kingdom, there's only one way to get it. You're going to have to come to him. You're going to have to acknowledge you're a sinner deserving His wrath, repent of it, and give your life to Him. If you don't want to, that's fine. That's fine. But as sure as I'm standing here, one day He will be, and you'll answer to Him. Father, have mercy on us, and forgive us, and thank You so much for dying for us. Please open all of our eyes to the truth of Your return, that we might truly acknowledge You and worship You in a way that begins to approach who You are and what You're worthy of. In Jesus' name, Amen.