Life Between the First and Second Advents

Introduction to the Olivet Discourse and its Context

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 23rd, 1988, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:19 Now let us turn together to the Gospel of Mark and the 13th chapter, Mark chapter 13.

0:29 And will you follow, please, as I read the first 13 verses. Mark, writing with reference to the activity of our Lord, records,

1:10 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. Many.

1:42 Many shall come in my name, saying, I am he, and shall lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. These things must needs come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

2:09 There shall be earthquakes in diverse places. There shall be famines. These things are the beginning of travail. But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils.

2:26 And in synagogues you shall be beaten. And before governors and kings you shall stand for my sake for a testimony unto them. And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you shall speak.

2:50 But whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. And children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

3:12 And you shall be hated, and be of all men for my name's sake. But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Let us again seek the face of God in prayer, asking God special help as we come to a portion of the word that is often in the source of debate and confusion rather than its intended edification. And let us pray that God will make it a word of help for us, a word of edification and even salvation to some as it is expounded this morning.

3:51 Let us pray.

3:56 Our Lord Jesus Christ we bow before You as the great Prophet of Your Church. We remember the word that Moses spoke concerning You that the Lord God would raise up a prophet like unto Himself, and to Him should we hearken in all things. And we pray, And we pray, And we pray, And we pray, O our Lord, that you would come by the Spirit and be our teacher this morning, that as I attempt to expound your word and your people listen with a mind and heart submissive to your word and to your Spirit, but with a wholly critical faculty prepared to put everything to the test and to hold fast only that which is good. Lord Jesus, be the teacher of each one of your people. Come by your Spirit, we pray, and guide us aright in your truth. We plead for our good and for your glory.

5:06 Amen. As we come again this morning to our consideration of this thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. I would remind you briefly of its precise setting in the structure of Mark's Gospel. You will remember that from chapter 11 onward it is the cross that is definitely in focus.

5:37 Our Lord entered Jerusalem in what is commonly called the triumphal entry, engineering the circumstances that would openly declare him to be Israel's Messiah. And would thereby precipitate his own rejection, his being handed over to the authorities and his ultimate crucifixion. And after that triumphal entry as recorded in the opening verses of chapter 11, for the next couple of days in what we commonly call the Passion Week, our Lord spent his days in the temple area teaching, healing. And refuting those enemies of himself who came and sought to ensnare him in his words. When we come to chapter 13 of Mark, we find our Lord leaving the temple, perhaps for the very last time. And as he leaves, the disciples point out to him the magnificence of the buildings in the temple precincts and of the temple itself. And in particular, the massive stone.

6:49 The massive stone. The massive stone. The massive stone of which the major part of the temple was constructed. And our Lord, in response to their exclamation, makes a shocking prophecy indicating that a time would come when not one of those massive stones would be left standing upon another.

7:11 And as they move a bit further away from the temple precincts, our Lord sits down upon the Mount of Olives. Facing the temple, probably as the sun was setting and highlighting its grandeur and its beauty. And in that setting, four of the disciples ask him the question, when would these things come to pass and what would be the sign that they were all about to be accomplished? And in response to those questions, we have what is commonly called the Olivet Discourse given to us by the Lord.

Three Unmistakably Clear Facts about the Olivet Discourse

7:49 The Olivet Discourse is given to us here in Mark 13, 5 to the end of the chapter and also in the 24th chapter of Matthew's Gospel and sections of it in the Gospel of Luke. Now in our previous study, after some initial observations of the passage, I sought to set before you what I call the three unmistakably clear facts concerning the Olivet Discourse. I shall only name them and then we shall concentrate upon verses 5 through 13 this morning. We saw first of all that the Olivet Discourse focuses upon two great events of crucial significance in the history of redemption. Those two events are the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 A.D. under the Roman armies.

8:47 And then secondly, the conquest. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory at the end of the age. Surely that is the event referred to in verse 26, then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then the second thing that is very clear in this Olivet Discourse is that with respect to these two events, our Lord expresses.

9:19 His one fundamental concern for His people. It was His concern to impart practical directives calculated to be the means of their stability, their usefulness, their perseverance, their preservation, and their readiness in the face of these coming events. He was not concerned to give them a detailed pre-trial. He was concerned to give them a pre-written history in order to satisfy their curiosity.

9:54 When they asked Him when shall these things be, what will be the sign when all of these things are about to be accomplished, our Lord's response had one basic burning concern, and that was to prepare His people for these certain events. Not to fill their heads with details of pre-written history with respect to these events. And then the third thing that is very clear in the passage is that the manner in which our Lord speaks of these two events establishes both a fixed order for the events, but an indefinite time frame with respect to those events. There is a fixed order. We find such language as is given in verse 7. There shall be wars, rumors of wars, but the end is not yet.

11:05 These events will precede the end. There is a fixed order. We have a similar emphasis, verse 24, but in those days after. That tribulation the sun shall be darkened.

11:23 Certain things will occur, and only after they have occurred will other things come to pass. So there is indeed a fixed order within the prophetic time frame of this passage, but as surely as there is a fixed order, there is an indefinite time frame. Our Lord says, Learn from the fig tree her parable. When her branches become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

11:59 When you see these things come to pass, you know that he is nigh at the doors. He says that certain events would happen within that generation, but he does not give a fixed day or hour for those events. And then with reference to, His own return in power and glory, he says in verse 32, But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the sun. And if the incarnate sun with his human mind, which was always receptive, and knew what it knew as it acquired knowledge, as all human minds do, or received knowledge by revelation from the Father, if the sun in his human mind was ignorant of the day and the hour of his return, it is nothing short of blasphemy for mere preachers to think they can fit the prophetic puzzle together in such a way as to set times and dates for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now with those three things that are very clear in the passage, I would like you to read the passage constituting our overview of the Olivet Discourse.

The Inter-Advent Period: Warnings, Prophecies, and Encouragements

13:24 We return now to the first paragraph in that discourse, verses 5 through 13. And it seems to me and to most expositors that these verses have a peculiar reference to the events preceding and clustering around the destruction of Jerusalem. However, it seems equally clear to me and to most expositors that these events describe conditions and give exhortations that are applicable to something that goes even beyond the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and that in fact our Lord is describing conditions that will prevail. There is a certain distinction between the two advents, that is, between His first coming in humiliation to die and to rise from the dead, and His second coming in power and in great glory.

14:35 That period is often termed the inter-advent period. And I am personally convinced, in terms of my present understanding, that this section does indeed address itself to those concerns which ought to fill the minds and hearts of the people of God between the two advents. That is, between our Lord's first coming and His subsequent ascension into heaven, and His second coming when He shall come in like manner as He went into heaven. And I am inclined to that interpretation because we find in verse 7 that our Lord uses these words, but the end is not yet. He is referring to things that not only have application to the coming destruction of Jerusalem, but things that look forward to the end. In the parallel passage, in Matthew 24 and verse 14, within this very first section of the Olivet Discourse, our Lord uses

15:52 this language which likewise points beyond the destruction of Jerusalem. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations, and then shall the end come. So as we examine the passage this morning, we shall do so under this title, Warnings, Prophecies, and Encouragements for the People of God Living Between the First and the Second Advent. Warnings, Prophecies, and Encouragements for the People of God Living Between the First and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And whether you know it or not, that's you. Because you and I are living between the two comings, and therefore in this passage we shall find for our edification warnings, prophecies, and encouragements as we live in this period of redemptive history. And we shall use as our organizing principle the three major implements.

Warning Against False Religious Leaders and Teachers

17:12 And we shall use as our organizing principle the three major implements. And we shall use as our organizing principle the three major implements. You will notice in verse five, take heed that no man lead you astray. Verse seven, be not troubled.

17:29 Verse nine, take heed to yourselves. And so we consider first of all the warning in conjunction with false religious leaders. and teachers. The warning in conjunction with false religious leaders and teachers, and notice the transition in the text. The question is asked by Peter, James, John, and Andrew in verse 4, tell us, when shall these things be? What shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say unto them, take heed that no man lead you astray. Many shall come in my name, saying, I am he, and shall lead many astray. In answer to their question, what shall be the sign of thy coming, or the sign

18:35 when all these things shall be fulfilled, Jesus answered, there is, don't be deceived by false signs. He responds with this warning in conjunction with false religious leaders and teachers. Notice the essence of the warning in verse 5. Take heed that no man lead you astray. Be to it that no one deceive you or lead you astray. Indicating that the mark of all false Christs and all false religious teachers is their determination to draw men off from adherence to the true Christ and his ways. Jesus uses the word, lead you astray. Astray from what? Astray from the way of attachment.

19:41 To the one and only true Messiah. Lead you astray from attachment to the one and only narrow way which leads unto life, one which few find. Now that's the essence of his warning. Take heed. See to it. Be constantly on the lookout that no one lead you astray.

20:11 Now, not only notice the essence of the warning, but secondly, the necessity for this warning in verse 6. Many shall come in my name, saying, I am, or I am he, and shall lead many astray. The necessity for this warning, our Lord rests upon two predictions. Number one, many will come claiming.

20:42 Either to be Christ himself or claiming to be sent by Christ himself. The words, many shall come in or upon my name, saying, I am, could mean there will be those who actually claim to be the Messiah or claim to be his properly commissioned emissary. And our Lord says that subsequent to his first advent, many will take advantage of the fact that the true Messiah has come and revealed himself, and they will now come in his name. In the light of the revelation he has made of himself, the coming of Jesus will precipitate the proliferation of false messiahs. That's our Lord's first prediction, which necessitates the warning, and the second is tragic. Notice, not only will many come saying, I am he, but they shall

22:01 lead many astray. Many false Christs will have many duped followers. That's the tragedy of this warning of our Lord. Our Lord saw with accurate prophetic insight, the horrible gullibility of men in things pertaining to religion. Man's capacity for gullibility in things religious, seems almost infinite. Claims that would cause people to be looked upon and labeled as fools by partners and the church would hassle them to the fullest extent of theiroveganci. Walls of the church don't have as fools and lunatics in worldly matters, elevate them to prophets and prophetesses and great religious leaders in things spiritual and in things religious. And so our Lord gives the warning, then he articulates the necessity of the warning by the two-fold prediction that many will come claiming to be Christ himself, and many will

23:17 heed their claims and be led astray. Look at the amplification of this in verse 21 of the same chapter, speaking more exclusively with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. He says, And then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Lo, there, believe it not, for, there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, that they may, here we are again, lead astray, if possible, the elect. In other words, their influence will be so persuasive and so pervasive. That one would think even the elect of God are going to be drawn aside by the magnetism of their religious influence and by their miraculous powers.

24:25 Now let me say by way of application, according to our Lord, the more the facts of his own coming and identity are known and proclaimed, the more we'll pretend that we are not. And then, in the light of this fact, do you see why we must take seriously the warning of our Lord? Look, he said, be constantly watchful. Take heed that no man lead you astray, for many will appear with false claims to messianic identity. Entity or commission, and many will follow them. You and I must be passionately concerned to know the truth of Scripture concerning the true identity of God's only Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. We must be especially well grounded in the truth regarding the identity of his person as the God-man.

25:43 We must be well grounded in the truth regarding his unique validation as God's only Messiah and the only Savior of sinners. To state it differently, if you do not have a passionate concern for doctrinally intelligent faith in Christ, you're a sinner to be led astray.

26:11 That's why Jesus said, take heed. Beyond your guard, that no one lead you astray, many will come making the effort to do it, and many will follow them, and they will be successful in their horrible mission of deceit. So there is the warning in conjunction with false religious leaders and teachers, and they will be present not only prior to the deceit. They will be present in the destruction of Jerusalem, but throughout the entire inter-advent period, they will come with greater or lesser concentration in the history of the church and in the unfolding of human history. But you and I must be constantly on our guard, Christians in every generation constantly on their guard. For our Lord says that, This deception will mark the inter-advent period. Now then, notice secondly, the encouragement our Lord gives in conjunction with major disrupted events in the world.

Encouragement Amidst Major Disruptive World Events

27:33 He not only gives a warning in conjunction with false religious leaders, but he gives an encouragement in conjunction with major disruptive events in the world. Now note first of all the essence of the encouragement. We find in verse 7 these words, When you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. There is the essence of the encouragement.

28:05 It is a command not to be troubled. And this word troubled found only here and in the parallel passage in Matthew 24 and in Thessalonians 2 and verse 2 means to be inwardly disturbed or frightened. And as I sat at my desk trying to think of an illustration, because there are no other biblical illustrations, and even in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures called the Septuagint, there were no clear illustrations, my mind immediately went back to what I used to feel in a thunderstorm as a little boy. And even until the Lord saved me, I had a deep fear of the dark, which didn't leave even after the Lord saved me, but I also had a great fear of thunderstorms. And before I was saved, my fear was that lightning might strike me and kill me and I'd go to hell. That was the basis of the fear. But then when the Lord saved me, that fear was wonderfully removed in that I knew that my God controlled the movements of the clouds and the thunderstorms.

29:18 Thunder was all but the declaration of His mighty power, and I could stand in my window in a thunderstorm and admire the power of God. But I can remember that tremendous inward disruption when I would be wakened in the middle of the night with a sharp clap of thunder that would almost shake me out of my bed. And inwardly, I would tremble, not outwardly, but inwardly, full of fears and apprehension. Now that's something of the flavor of the world.

29:48 When our Lord says to His disciples, do not be troubled. Do not be inwardly disturbed or frightened like a little insecure boy in the midst of a rumbling thunderstorm. And all of my mother's words that God was just moving His furniture didn't quiet my spirit, because I knew God could move it a lot more efficiently and silently if that's all He were doing. Well, the essence of our Lord's word is that we should not be troubled.

30:18 Our Lord's encouragement to His own is, don't be inwardly disturbed or frightened. And what is the necessity for that encouragement? Well, there's a threefold necessity. Look at it.

30:31 Number one, there will be wars and rumors of more wars throughout the whole inter-advent period. When you shall hear of wars, news will reach you that a war has broken out in one place. In one place of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, you will then get rumors that wars are about to break out in another place.

30:58 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. This is why they needed this encouragement. There is something terribly disruptive and frightening about war. The whole disruption of society, the wanton bloodshed, the brutality, and all of that destruction that comes in the wake of warfare, and our Lord saying that wars and rumors of war will mark the period from the point at which He speaks on to the destruction of Jerusalem and throughout the entire inter-advent period, He says, I would encourage you, do not be inwardly disturbed or frightened, even though there will be wars and rumors of more wars. Secondly, there will be international tensions and conflicts. Verse 8, for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. It's a frightening thing when nations begin to pit themselves against one another, and the international climate is one that crackles with tension.

32:19 And we think that we are going to have a war. And we feel so helpless when we realize that in the secret chambers of the great ones of the earth, decisions are being made that can affect millions for good or for ill. And we feel so helpless. No wonder Jesus said, do not be inwardly disturbed or frightened.

32:40 There will be wars and rumors of more wars. Secondly, international tensions and conflicts. Then thirdly, there will be natural disasters. There shall be natural disasters and calamities.

32:52 Verse 8b, there shall be earthquakes in diverse places. There shall be famines. There shall be earthquakes. There shall be famines.

33:10 Natural disasters over which we have no power, it's one thing, to be inwardly frightened and fearful. When we think of men with devious desires. Desires and personal ambitions meeting in their secret chambers, plotting how one nation shall take advantage of another. But who can control an earthquake?

33:32 Who can control the motion of the jet stream that carries the clouds and the amount of rainfall that will come or be withheld, leaving lush crops or leaving parched, cracked earth and the famines that follow? And our Lord said that these things will mark the entire inter-advent period. Wars and rumors of more wars, international tensions and conflicts, natural disasters and calamities. And on that basis, he says, do not be inwardly disturbed or frightened. And what lies at the heart of the earth? What lies at the heart of the earth? What lies at the heart of the earth?

34:21 What lies at the heart of the earth? What lies at the heart of the earth? What lies at the heart of the earth? Knowledge of the earth?

34:22 What lies at the heart of the earth? What lies at the heart of the earth? The earth? Is it part of his encouragement?

34:24 Are we to be stoic about all of these things? Are we to be stoic about all of these things? On what basis can he say, do not be inwardly frightened? Do not be inwardly frightened?

34:31 Notice the two things that he says. First of all, 7, verse 7B. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled. These things must needs come to pass, but the end is not yet.

34:51 it must be. In other words, in the plan and purpose of God, there is a fixed purpose. And that fixed purpose is that no one will ever mistake this age for the age to come. No one will ever think that the dawn of the great transformation of the returning Lord has come as long as this present age exists.

35:24 There will be these conditions that would naturally cause us to be inwardly disturbed and frightened like the little boy in the midst of the thunderstorm. But our Lord says, behind it there is a divine must be. These things must needs come to pass, but the end, the end is not yet. The period between the two comings of our Lord will be more or less marked by wars, international tensions, and natural calamities.

36:03 In the language of Romans 8, 22-25, the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And this present world order will continue, to be in a state of travail, awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the second thing our Lord says about these things so that we can be encouraged and not be troubled is, they do not signify the end. Rather, they are but the beginning of travail.

36:47 Look at verse 8. Nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. These things are the beginning of travail. These things do not signify the end.

37:02 They are but the beginning of travail, and they will continue until the end and our Lord returns. Now then, what are we to learn from this by way of application? Well, we are to learn that the Christian is not to have his blood pressure increase and his heart in his throat at every new rumbling of an outbreak of war. He is not to be nervous and lose sleep when he hears of international tensions, when he hears of actual war breaking forth and rumors of more wars to break forth, and when he hears that there is a spate of earthquakes in one place and another and famine in this place or another. He is not to be disturbed. Why? To be so is to be disobedient to his Lord.

38:00 The encouragement is in the form of an imperative. To put it bluntly, it's a sin to be filled with inward agitation and fear simply because wars and rumors of wars are present, because there are international tensions, and because there are natural calamities. Our Lord tells us that the Christian, knowing that there is a divine, must be behind all of this. He does not meet these things with stoic indifference.

38:36 He is not heartless in the face of famine. He is not one who does not grieve at the horrible tragedies that war brings and the broken hearts and the torn up families, and the overthrow of the accumulated efforts of building cultures and communities. No, we do not look upon these things with indifference. When Jesus with prophetic vision saw the destruction of Jerusalem, He wept.

39:07 He said, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I would have gathered you, but you would not. Your house is left desolate. And with His prophetic eyes He saw the ascending of the smoke, and the throwing down of centuries of the culture and the life of Jerusalem. His heart was grieved and broken, yes.

39:31 But our Lord's word is, be not troubled. Do not be inwardly unstrung. Do not be as one who's lost his bearing. Furthermore, this passage should be a preventive to us as God's people ever to pursue the truth.

39:51 It's a dream of a utopia ushered in by the combined action of world governments. I'm amazed at how naive people are. Because the present head of the USSR has gone to an excellent school for personal impression and for diplomacy. People are actually thinking, if we sit and talk long enough, the Russian bear, will turn into a sweet little cooing dove.

40:26 And they really believe that. And so there's all this talk about glasnost and INF and all the rest. Dear people, I hope you're not caught up in that nonsense.

40:38 There shall be and rumors of wars. Nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And no amount of scientific investigation will be able to prove that. scientific investigation and prognostication with reference to when earthquakes may come and where they may come.

41:00 None of those things will stop them from coming. There shall be earthquakes in diverse places and there shall be famines. So that as the people of God, we are not vulnerable to every cause that comes down the pike claiming our time and our money and our interest and getting up the whole world. We are not vulnerable to the hopes of poor naive people who think it is within their own power to control their own destiny.

41:32 No, our Lord has encouraged us in conjunction with the major disruptive events in the world, but embedded in that very encouragement is the certainty of their presence. But then we come in the third place to what to me is the heart of the entire nation. Our passage. And it is the warning and the encouragement in conjunction with the progress of the gospel.

Warning and Encouragement in Conjunction with the Gospel's Progress

42:04 The warning and the encouragement in conjunction with the progress of the gospel. I have had occasion again and again to say in expounding the gospel of Mark that Mark 1-1 must never be far from our minds in our study of this gospel. The beginning, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And here we have Mark concentrating upon this theme of the gospel.

42:37 The good news of God's saving work in Jesus Christ. The good news that in Christ there is a Savior perfectly suited to all sinners and freely offered to every individual sinner. And it is in this gospel passage that our Lord gives both warning and encouragement in conjunction with the gospel. Notice the essence of the warning in verse 9.

43:08 But take heed to yourselves. The structure is both intensive and forceful in the original. And it says, if we were to give a more free translation, but do you on your part look to yourselves. You see in verse 5 he said, be continually on the lookout that no man lead you astray.

43:42 Be on the lookout for false Christs who would lead you astray. Now he says, but do you on your part look to yourselves. The form of the verb points to continuous concentrated personal watchfulness. That's the essence of the warning.

44:07 Now what's the occasion of the warning?

44:10 Follow on in verse 9.

44:13 For they shall deliver you up to councils and in synagogues shall you be beaten. And before governors and kings you shall stand for my sake for a testimony unto them. And the Gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. What's the occasion of the warning?

44:38 Well in short, it is the predicted opposition that the preachers of the Gospel and the lovers of the Gospel will receive in the inter advent period. They will receive first of all unjust and abusive treatment if that's what it is. the hands of the religious as well as the civil authorities, verse 8. The religious authorities, I'm sorry, verse 9, they shall deliver you up to councils and in synagogues you shall be beaten. That has reference to the Jewish council and the synagogues, of course, were their places of what we would say worship, where they gathered for the reading and exposition of the scripture and it is there where heretics would be flogged by the religious authorities. Then our Lord says there will not only be unjust and abusive treatment at the hands of the religious authorities, but notice, and before governors and kings shall you stand for my sake. And that refers to the Roman authorities. Even as Jesus said, the priest and the scribes would deliver him over to the Gentiles, so as with the master

46:06 or as with the master, so with his disciples. Then our Lord focuses in verse 12 upon the unnatural hatred and betrayal by family members. Brother shall deliver up brother to death. Think of it. You children sitting here this morning, there are times when you hate your brother and sister enough or you get mad. You hate your brother and sister enough or you get mad. You hate your brother and sister enough or you get mad. You hate your brother and mad enough you could kick them in the shins, pull some of their hair out, rub their nose in the snow bank, but I doubt you've ever wanted to kill them. But here people will not only desire to do it, they will, in a calculated act of betrayal, brother shall deliver up brother to death. And the father, his child, and children shall rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. The occasion of this warning that we on our part are to look to ourselves is this prediction of not only unjust and abusive treatment at the hands of religious and civic authorities, but the unnatural hatred and betrayal by family

47:21 members. And then thirdly, Jesus predicts universal hatred from the world, verse 13. You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. Now that's not a very pretty picture, is it? That's not a very attractive picture. Our Lord tells his own that in the period leading up to the end, his people will be the brunt of this kind of opposition. Now notice the encouragement that he gives in the face of those realities. The warning, the occasion of the warning, but now the encouragement given in the face of these realities. The first one is this. He says such treatment will become an occasion

Encouragements for Gospel Proclaimers Amidst Opposition

48:13 for a testimony for the sake of Christ. Verse 9b. You shall be delivered up before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony unto them.

48:31 Verse 9b. You shall be delivered up before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony for my sake. Notice how important that got to the question which the testii of the gospel had to bring error into the world. Notice. Falbourg has the faith versus theDB you're watching, but you also have an gabbed deed which lends itself away so that there is no adagio for the reason that you will follow. The heavenly Lord also says.. You get up, lift your brows. If you witness too many visions and all kinds of ingenious invidiousncement, the divinity will definitely give you theetr., the man for whom the God standing before Herod, standing before the very center of the Roman government at Rome, making his defense on more than one occasion when all the great ones from the earth gathered at Rome. And in a sense, he preached the gospel to the whole world in microcosm. And our Lord encourages them as he predicts this unjust and abusive treatment and this unnatural hatred, even universal hatred.

49:35 Such treatment will be an occasion for a testimony for the sake of Jesus. Verse 10, such treatment will not stop the spread of the gospel, and the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. In the language of the Lord, the parallel passage in Matthew 24 and verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations. Oh, I trust you said something of the unshakable certainty of the word of Jesus.

50:17 Remember later on in this Olivet Discourse, he says, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not, shall not pass away, and this is one of them, that shall not pass away, that this gospel must be preached. It must be preached. Why?

50:39 Because Almighty God has from eternity set his love upon a vast multitude whom no man can number, out of every kindred, tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. And he will call them by that gospel. And though God...

50:56 God will order events so that in the very motion of the nations there is war, and there is rumor of more war, nation rising against nation, natural calamities on every hand, hatred and opposition to the gospel, false Christ and false claimants to be prophets, deceiving the multitudes. In the midst of all of that, our Lord encourages his people by saying, And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. And then he encourages them by promising special help to be given by the Holy Spirit in the midst of special opposition. Verse 11, And when they lead you to judgment and to deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you shall speak, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour that speak, for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now this text obviously has been abused by people who say preachers need not study. They need not labor over the original languages and labor over syntax and grammar and structure.

52:15 They need not labor over homiletics and how to lay out the truth clearly and simply and logically and orderly. Just stand up and the Holy Spirit will fill your mouth. Well, they're empty mouthings. They're a clear indication that the Holy Ghost isn't fulfilling his promise.

52:32 Their unedifying bletherings, as our Scottish friends would call it, is a constant witness to the misapplication. No, this is a peculiar promise given to a peculiar situation when hatred against the servants of Christ is so intense that they are seized upon and they are to be brought before the great ones of the earth. They are to be led to judgment and delivered up. Our Lord says don't anxiously sit in your cell wondering how shall I lay out my defense when you don't even know what questions they are going to ask?

53:08 How shall I give a clear testimony when you don't even know how much opportunity you'll be given? Rather, as you sit in your cell awaiting to be drawn, remember the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. I am here in virtue of my attachment to my blessed Savior. And if he in his will has allowed his enemies to bring me to this cell and shortly there will be the trump of the soldier's feet upon the stone corridors leading to my cell when I'm brought before men to speak, it is mine to trust that it should be given me in that hour what to speak by the present powerful enablement of the Holy Spirit.

53:51 Oh, do you see the encouragements our Lord gives in the face of the reality, of the hatred that will be let loose against the gospel and in particular against those who preach the gospel and openly declare their allegiance to the gospel? Jesus encourages them by saying such treatment will be an occasion for a testimony. Such treatment will not stop the spread of the gospel. Special help will be given by the Holy Spirit in the face of special times of need.

Demands on Disciples: Trust and Tenacious Attachment

54:26 What then is demanded of the disciples in the face of these encouragements? Two things. Calm, resolute trust in the faithfulness of God. Verse 11.

54:41 When they lead you to judgment and deliver you up, do not be anxious. Do not be anxious. Do not be anxious. Don't be a nervous Nelly. Don't be biting your nails down to the quick. Don't be pacing the floor. There is to be calm, resolute trust in the faithfulness of God. But then secondly, there is to be a tenacious, unflinching attachment to Christ, and to the gospel.

55:18 Verse 13, you should be hated of all men for My name's sake, but he that endureth to the end the same shall be saved. Verse 11. And hear the word. The end does not mean the end, but also for his Bacon. Verse 12. You, The word the end does not mean the end of time. He that endures to the end of his trial, the trial that has come in conjunction with confessing the gospel, for some the end would be the head dropping into the basket when the guillotine fell. For some the end would be tied up upon stakes, doused with pitch and set on fire to light Roman roads. The end for some would be dying of starvation in a vermin-infested pit.

56:06 But our Lord says what is required in the face of these warnings and encouragements is tenacious, unflinching attachment to Christ and to the gospel. Remember what he said in chapter 8, in the same vein. Chapter 8 of Mark's gospel, verse 34. 5. Whosoever would save his life shall lose it.

56:34 Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, notice, and the gospel's, the same shall save it. When a man embraces Christ, he embraces the gospel in which Christ comes. Christ comes to us couched in the message of the gospel. And the only way we embrace Christ is to embrace the gospel.

56:57 And embracing Christ and the gospel, not to Christ and to the gospel, we lose our life. And if that means under the crunch of opposition, pressure that would even bring us to death. Notice verses 37 and 8. What should a man give in exchange for his life?

57:20 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the face of the gospel. In the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. Dear people, this is sobering. In the light of this warning, in the light of this encouragement, what is demanded, calm, resolute trust in the faithfulness of God, tenacious, unflinching attachment to Christ and to the gospel, even unto the end.

Application: The Gospel Will Be Hated

57:57 For in that is our salvation. Now, by way of final application, what do we say in the light of this third area addressed by our Lord? Well, I want to say three things briefly, but vital things. Number one, the true biblical gospel will always be hated by the masses of humanity, both religious and non-religious.

58:24 The true biblical gospel will always be hated by the masses of humanity, both religious and non-religious.

58:35 Jesus said it will be in the synagogues that you will be beaten.

58:41 The synagogues, the places where the scrolls of the Old Testament Scripture were guarded as a sacred deposit,

58:51 where throughout the week and every Sabbath those scrolls were opened and read and expounded in the synagogues. Because when Christ came into his own synagogue at Nazareth and said, what you've read is fulfilled and I am here.

59:13 Then he began to speak of God's sovereign mercy displayed in the salvation to Naaman and to the Gentile widow. And when he cut across the pride of the religious crowd that met there at the synagogue in Nazareth, what did they attempt to do? In Luke chapter 4 it says, they attempted to take our Lord and cast him headlong, down a hill.

59:42 And our Lord slipped away from them, for his time had not yet come.

59:48 The true biblical gospel will always be hated by the masses of humanity, both religious and non-religious. In the synagogues you will be hated. Jesus said you will be hated by all men. So settle it in your heart.

60:04 Jesus said, woe unto you when all men speak well of you, for so spake they of the false prophets that were before you, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. When Paul came into a town and there he saw both Jews and Greek, he knew that in the hearts of both of them there was a deep-seated antipathy to his gospel and he never wasted one millisecond trying to make the gospel attractive to unregenerate men.

60:40 He tried to defuse he tried to defuse any unnecessary offensiveness in his appearance, in his diet, in his linguistic forms. Around the Hebrews he spoke as a Hebrew. He ate kosher food. But those were all adjustments of externals.

60:57 The message he did not alter.

61:03 It was a divine deposit.

61:06 And that message of the gospel in every single age until the consummation will always be hated by the masses of humanity, both religious and non-religious. Why? Because it exposes sin. And the scripture says this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

61:29 That's why some of you this morning hate the gospel. Because it exposes your sin. It tells you you've got a heart that is a veritable cesspool of uncleanness and pride and envy and selfishness and indifference to Almighty God. It tells you that what you are is a stench in the nostrils of God and you deserve to be cast into hell.

61:55 And that's offensive to your pride. That's why you don't like the gospel. You don't like it because it humbles you. It says you are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing to commend yourself to God.

62:08 You have to throw yourself on the doing and the dying of another so that if you ever get saved, God will get all the glory and there won't be one gram left for you. And you don't like that. You ought to at least have a little wiggle of your pinky to contribute to your salvation. And that's why the gospel will always be hated by the masses of humanity, both religious and non-religious.

62:35 And so you and I must find comfort if we find the sword of cleavage coming in religious as well as in non-religious circles. Our Lord, our Lord has said that's the way it'll be until the end. If you've got any silly notion that a day is coming when the gospel, the biblical gospel, will be loved by the great masses of humanity and there'll only be some little minority off in the corner sputtering and fuming because they're the minority who hates it, get rid of such silly notions. They are not founded upon a proper understanding of the word of God.

Application: The Gospel Shall Triumph

63:15 Second thing, we need to know and this should encourage us, the true biblical gospel shall triumph in the purposes of God. Though the true biblical gospel will always be hated by the masses, the true biblical gospel shall triumph in the purposes of God. Second Corinthians 2.14, Paul said, thanks be to God who always leads us to triumph in Christ.

63:45 Triumph in Christ? Paul, Paul is in prison, Paul is chained, Paul is beaten, Paul is whipped, Paul is silenced. In all of this, God was in triumph. God was in triumph.

64:02 Look at those epistles that came out of those prisons. Where would the church be without them? The triumphs of the gospel. You see, the motif of the cross is the way of triumph.

64:14 The point of apparent greatest weakness is the manifestation of God's greatness. The greatest strength.

64:23 What could appear more like defeat than when it says, our Lord cried with a loud voice, Tetelestai, it is finished. And he yielded up his spirit, bowed his head in death. There he is,

64:41 his lifeless form hanging on an instrument of Roman execution, caked with his own blood and with the foul spittle of his enemies. And that was the moment of God's great triumph. And that's always the way of God. And the true biblical gospel shall triumph in the purposes of God.

65:03 We read it in Acts 8, 4, when the enemies oppose the gospel, the people of God are scattered and the gospel makes new conquests. That vision of Revelation 7, 9 must be fulfilled. A great multitude out of every kindred, every tribe and tongue and nation. So, dear people, in spite of all the things that we've seen, in spite of all the things that we've seen, in spite of all the things that we've seen, in spite of opposition, international tensions, natural disasters, get it settled in your mind.

65:32 I'm committed to living the gospel, to speaking the gospel, to pouring the energy of my prayers and my gifts and my endeavors to see the gospel preached. Why? It shall triumph!

Application: Fidelity to Christ is of Eternal Consequence

65:48 And finally, fidelity to Christ and His gospel in the face of opposition, suffering and death is a matter of eternal consequence. Fidelity to Christ and His gospel in the face of opposition, suffering and death is a matter of eternal consequence. Verse 13, He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. Don't bleed those words of their obvious meaning.

66:17 All of the promises of Revelation 2 and 3 made to the seven churches are made to the overcomers. And those are not promises of extra rewards. They're promises of salvation. He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

66:34 That is, he shall not perish in hell.

66:38 But thank God, as surely as the scripture says, he that endures to the end shall be saved. It also teaches he that is truly saved shall endure to the end. Because we have a great high priest who is securing our perseverance. He ever lives to make intercession for us.

66:55 And what is the fruit of his intercession? He is able to save to the uttermost, to the consummation, them that come unto God by him. So, child of God, don't sit there and say, oh, but pastor, I can't even at times bow my head and pray at the lunch table, at the shop. What would I do if I had to give my life for Christ and the gospel?

67:20 I know I'd deny him. No, no, my friend, look. When that needed grace, when the situation for needed grace comes upon you, the needed grace will be there. He has promised it and his promise cannot fail.

Concluding Exhortation and Prayer

67:38 But may God help us to be rid of all silly notions that somehow it's going to get a little better until the Lord returns.

67:51 I close with the words of one man who captured some of these thoughts. Dangers of every shape and name attend the followers of the Lamb who leave the world's deceitful shores and leave it to return no more. Oh, Lord, the pilot's part perform and guide and guard me through the storm. Defend me from each threatening ill.

68:17 Control the waves. Say, peace, be still. Amidst the roaring of the sea, my soul still hangs her hopes on thee. Thy constant love, thy faithful care is all that's left.

68:34 Saves me from despair.

68:38 Dear people, don't let the Olivet Discourse become an occasion of eschatological debate. Lay to heart its warnings. Lay to heart its encouragements. Throw yourself into that which is certain of its conquest, even the purposes of God through the gospel of his dear Son.

69:04 Let us pray.

69:11 Oh, our Father, we thank you for the words of our Lord Jesus. We thank you for this Olivet Discourse. We thank you that it has been given to us, not that we may have pre-written history, but that we, as your people, may be prepared to stand in the midst of this waiting time before our Lord returns in power and glory. And we thank you for your faithfulness to uphold us and uphold your suffering church throughout all the centuries of its existence upon the earth.

69:49 We thank you. You will continue to be faithful to every promise made to your people. We pray for those who sit among us who hate the gospel because they love their sins. Lord, open their eyes to see that they are their own worst enemies.

70:05 Bring them broken and believing to the foot of the cross, there to embrace the Savior and all of the grace so freely extended to us in him. Seal your word to our hearts, we pray, and may the grace of your presence and of your blessing rest upon us. We plead through Christ our Lord. Amen.