Chapter 59

 

“The Abomination of Desolation

 

“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” (Mark 13:14-23)

 

In this paragraph our Lord Jesus both warns us of a time of great spiritual darkness, deception and trouble, which must come upon the earth, and assures us of the infallible security of God’s elect in the midst of it. As we look at these verses of Holy Scripture, may God the Holy Spirit inscribe upon our hearts the things here taught. Let me direct your attention to three things revealed in our text.

 

A Time of Great Deception

 

“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains” (v. 14).

 

            In this thirteenth chapter of Mark the Lord Jesus warns us over and over again of a time of terrible spiritual darkness, delusion, deception and danger that must sweep across the earth before he comes again. Without question, the warnings given in verses 14-18 had a specific reference to the judgment of God which fell upon Jerusalem in 70 AD.

 

            When the armies of Rome destroyed Jerusalem, when God sent Titus into that once holy city, which had become an abominable house of devils, when swine’s blood was offered up in the most holy place, when the temple was leveled, when the scepter of civil government departed from Judah, God’s judgment upon the nation was manifest and obvious to everyone except the nation of Israel. The Jews were scattered to the four corners of the earth.

 

            However, our Lord specifically directs our attention to Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:20-27). In that prophecy, though Daniel speaks of the abomination of desolation, he was also assured by Gabriel, “thou art greatly beloved.” Daniel had been praying for God to show mercy and exercise forgiveness. He had been praying that the Lord God would in wrath remember mercy toward his holy city and his chosen people.

 

            In verses 24-27 Daniel is given a vision, by which he was assured of both God’s justice and his mercy. In strict justice the Lord God declared that he would destroy the physical nation of Israel and the physical city of Jerusalem. At the same time, he assured his prophet that he would accomplish the everlasting salvation of his elect, his people, his holy city, his royal priesthood.

 

“And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:20-27)

 

            I will leave it to others to debate and argue about the 70 weeks and the time span they cover. I am not very interested in that. But I am interested in the things here promised. In these verses we are given a clear, prophetic declaration of two things: redemption and wrath, deliverance and damnation, mercy and justice. Daniel’s prophecy is a profound declaration of Christ’s great work of redemption, by which he satisfied the justice of God and put away the sins of his people. In fact, there are eight things promised here. All of them depended upon and have been effectually accomplished by the sin-atoning death and glorious exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

1.    In verse 26 we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, must be cut off, slaughtered, not for himself, but for his people. — “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

 

2.    In verse 27 we are told that after he was cut off out of the land of the living, our Lord Jesus Christ would confirm the everlasting covenant of grace to many. — “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

 

Our blessed Savior confirmed the covenant with his blood (Hebrews 13:20). When he did, when he died as our Substitute, our dear Redeemer caused the sacrifices and oblations of the Old Covenant to cease forever (Hebrews 10:1-22). Though this was done in the most public, conspicuous manner when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, pouring swine’s blood upon the altar, the oblations ceased when Christ died!

 

Our Lord Jesus confirmed the covenant at the appointed time — “one week.” At the specific time God ordained from eternity, in due time, when the fulness of time was come, Christ the Messiah confirmed the covenant with many. He confirmed the covenant with his blood. If you will read verse 24 again, you will see some of the things confirmed to us, confirmed to God’s elect by the blood of the everlasting covenant.

 

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

 

3.    The Lord Jesus Christ, by his obedience unto death as our covenant Surety and sin-atoning Substitute, finished the transgression of his people. Transgression is the breach of the law. The Son of God erased our breaches of God’s holy law.

 

4.    He made an end of sins, all the sins of his people. When he was made sin for us, he put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself.

 

5.    Our all-glorious Christ made “reconciliation for iniquity.” Iniquity speaks of failure, inequity, missing the mark. Everything we messed up, Christ fixed!

 

6.    Thus, by his obedience unto death, the God-man brought in everlasting righteousness for all the Father gave him to save before the world began.

 

7.    Thus, he sealed the vision of the Old Testament prophets (Hebrews 1:1-3). He completely fulfilled the vision of Old Testament prophecy.

 

8.    Having finished everything he came here to do, our great Redeemer has been anointed as the King of kings and Lord of lords with the oil of gladness. He is the “Most Holy”!

 

            These are the blessed things spoken of by Daniel; but our Lord directs our attention also to Daniel’s prophecy of wrath and judgment. Look at Daniel nine (vv. 26-27) again, and you will see that Daniel spoke by divine inspiration about God’s wrath and judgment upon those who refuse to bow to and trust his Son.

 

            We will not read the verses again; but the “overspreading of abominations,” by which the Lord God made Jerusalem and all Israel spiritually desolate, by which he destroyed the city, the sanctuary and the nation in the flood of his wrath, was not accidental, but precisely what God had purposed. Daniel was specifically told that these “desolations are determined.”

 

            Horrible as that act of divine judgment was, it was nothing compared to the abomination of desolation which the Lord God has sent upon this reprobate age in which we live. The things which happened in Jerusalem 2000 years ago only foreshadowed the judgment of God which has fallen upon this generation. Read the first chapter of Romans, and you will discover that ours is not a generation ripe for the judgment of God. This is a generation under the judgment of God. I can think of no age, no generation, no circumstance under which the warning of verse seventeen is more appropriate than it is in this day of apostate, freewill, works religion. — “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

 

            Just as the Jews fled for fear of their lives from Titus and the Roman armies who engulfed Jerusalem, you and I will be wise to flee the abominations of Arminian, freewill, works religion, lest we be forever damned with Babylon (Revelation 18:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Let nothing, neither house, nor property, nor clothes, not even family, hold you in Babylon.

 

“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.” (Mark. 13:14-19).

 

The danger, the trouble, the affliction spoken of here is far more serious than physical persecution. This peril is a peril of soul. It is altogether spiritual!

 

“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” (Mark 13:19-23)

 

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)

 

False prophets abound everywhere. False prophets are those preachers, teachers and religious leaders who point sinners to a false Christ, a false Savior (A Redeemer who did not redeem! — A Savior who cannot save! — A King who cannot rule! — A Priest who cannot prevail!). They seduce unsuspecting multitudes by satanic power with signs and wonders, imitating and pretending to be the apostles of Christ.

 

            I have deliberately spent the bulk of my time on the first point of my message, because it certainly leads us to and more or less takes in the last two things I want you to see. The second point of my message is…

 

A Matter of Great Responsibility

 

Our Master’s command is, “Flee to the mountains!” It is our responsibility to use the means and the good sense God gave us both to provide for and protect our physical well-being and our spiritual well-being. If you care for your soul and the souls of your family and those under your influence, you will diligently use the means God has given you for your souls’ eternal welfare.

 

Those who profess to believe God, while they idly sit still and do nothing show more contempt for God than conviction from him. Their faith is fanaticism. Their profession is pretense. They may bluster; but they do not believe! Their loud sounds are just lip service. Because he believed God, when Hezekiah said, “The Lord is with us to fight our battles,” he also built up the walls of the city and made swords and shields (2 Chronicles 32:5). Paul had a word directly from heaven assuring him that no man on board his ship would perish. Yet, he knew they would perish if they did not through over all their cargo and stay on the ship (Acts 27:31).

 

If you want God’s salvation, put yourself under the sound of the gospel. Addict yourself to the Word of God. Use God’s appointed means of grace! If you want your family saved, get them under the sound of the gospel. Addict yourself and your family to the worship of God. Use God’s appointed means of grace!

 

A Reason for Great Praise.

 

Here is the reason given by our Lord himself for great praise and thanksgiving to God — Election! — “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (v. 20). — “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect” (v. 22). Let every saved sinner give thanks to God for his free, sovereign, eternal, electing love.

 

There is a people in this world called “the elect” who must and shall be saved. Everything God does in this world he does “for the elect’s sake.” Every sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ is numbered among “the elect.” God’s elect shall not be deceived by the false prophets and false Christs of the world. And it is only because of God’s election that we are not deceived by the abomination of desolation called freewill, works religion. Thank God for electing love, mercy and grace!

 

“We are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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