Flee to the Mountains

Introduction to Mark 13 and the Two Great Events

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 29, 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.

0:44 Remember, our Lord has made his exit from the temple in companionship with his disciples. He sits on the Mount of Olives facing the temple, and as the temple is bathed in the setting sun, having spoken some frightening words about the destruction of that temple, he is asked by Peter, Andrew, John, and James, verse 4, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished? And then in verses 5 to 13, our Lord describes some general characteristics of the inter-advental period, the period between his first and second coming, and now I pick up the reading in verse 14 this morning. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, let him that reads understand. Then, let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains, and let him that is on the housetop not go down nor enter in to take anything out of his house, and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

2:09 But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days, and pray that it be not in the winter. For those days shall be tribulation, such as there has not been the light from the beginning, of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be. And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved. But for the elect's sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

2:45 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 lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed. Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

3:17 And now, if you will, please turn to the 21st chapter of Luke, as I read several verses from the parallel account in Luke, which are vital to a proper understanding, of the passage that we will attempt to expound this morning. Luke 21, verses 20 to 24. But when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of her depart out.

3:55 And let not them that are in the country, and let not them that are in the country, and let not them that are in the country, enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath upon this people.

4:19 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down, down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

4:37 Now coming back to Mark chapter 13.

4:41 In our study of the word of God this morning, we come to our fourth consideration of this 13th chapter of the gospel of Mark. In this chapter, which comprises the longest recorded discourse of our Lord in all of Mark's gospel, in this chapter, which is admittedly the most difficult portion in all of Mark's gospel to interpret with certainty and with dogmatism, but in this chapter, which is evidently intensely practical and pastoral in its dominant emphases, we have noted that three things are abundantly clear. Number one, that two great events form the focus of our Lord, the Lord's words in answer to the question, when shall the temple be destroyed and the attendant circumstances that will result in that destruction? When will this event occur? And what will be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age? Our Lord focuses upon two great events, the destruction of Jerusalem, which was culminated in 70 AD, and then his own second, second, second advent in glory and power at the end of the age.

6:07 The second thing that is abundantly clear in the chapter is that there is one central concern, which dominates all of our Lord's words. And that concern is the preservation, the stability, the usefulness of his people in the midst of these two great events, which face them. And then the third thing that is abundant, abundantly clear, is that the manner in which our Lord answers their questions establishes a fixed order in these two events, but an indefinite time period. Certain things will come to pass first.

6:49 Certain things are called the beginning of travail. Certain things will occur, but the end is not yet. So there is a clear sequence, a sequence of events, but there is no precise timing of the events. Even with respect to the destruction of Jerusalem, there could be a proximate estimation from circumstances.

7:20 When you see these things, he says, come to pass, know that it is nigh even at the doors. Verse 28, but with reference to that second and great event, even the Son in his human mind did not know the day nor the hour of his own manifestation. Now having focused upon those three things that are abundantly clear in the chapter, last week we examined verses 5 to 13 in greater detail. And we did so assuming that these verses describe the major climate in which the people of Israel were living.

The Primary Reference to Jerusalem's Destruction

8:02 The people of God will live out their life and carry on their witness between the first and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this morning we concentrate on verses 14 through 23, a section which clearly has as its primary, if not its exclusive reference, the destruction of Jerusalem and the dismantling, dismantling of the temple. I say the primary reference is to that set of circumstances because our Lord speaks specifically of such things as people in Judea fleeing unto the mountains. He speaks of a season of unprecedented pressure and affliction. And from the words that are used, from the comparison of the parallel passages, from the subsequent history of God's dealings with the nation of Israel in Providence, it is safe to say that this passage has as its primary, if not its exclusive reference, the destruction of Jerusalem.

9:23 But here I must be tentative and not dogmatic because I am aware that in the parallel passage, in Matthew 24 and verse 29, Matthew says immediately after these days and then describes the second coming. And he describes it as an event that will come immediately after the events described in this paragraph. And so, as I indicated in the initial exposition, I cannot be dogmatic where the text will not allow me to be dogmatic. I cannot be dogmatic where the text will not allow me to be dogmatic.

9:58 I cannot be dogmatic where the text will not allow me to be dogmatic. I cannot be dogmatic where the text will not allow me to be dogmatic. I cannot be dogmatic where the text will not allow me to be dogmatic. But I believe it is safe in company with the overwhelming weight of responsible evangelical comments upon this passage to say that its primary reference is to Jerusalem and its destruction and to the people of God and their action in the face of the impending doom that is pronounced upon Jerusalem that is pronounced upon Jerusalem and upon the children of Israel.

10:29 temple. Now, in taking up the section, I can do no better by way of completing my introduction than to quote a commentator who, on the front end of his verse-by-verse exposition, stated these things. Verses 14 to 23 form a single unit of thought which is controlled by the command to flee when an act of sacrilege so appalling that it can only invite unparalleled tribulation is recognized. This extended warning is tied to verse 4 by the reference to all things in verse 23 and furnishes the most direct answer to the question of the disciples concerning when they could expect the destruction of the temple. The entire section is to be intended. Interpreted in the light of the events which occurred in the turbulent and chaotic period between 66 and 70 A.D.

The Occasion for Flight: The Abomination of Desolation

11:35 Now, with that introduction behind us, and taking a clue from one of the statements of that particular author, that the entire passage is controlled by the command to flee unto the mountains, we shall stand. Study the passage under that heading. Jesus' command to his disciples to flee to the mountains. See how that command dominates in the passage. Verse 14. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, let him that reads understand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains. And everything that follows is to flee unto the mountains. This command of Jesus enforces that command and exhortation to flee to the mountains. And this command of our Lord contains five units of thought, and it is around those five units that our exposition is structured this morning.

12:43 First of all, we have the occasion for the flight to the mountains. The occasion for the flight to the mountains. Notice the precise language of verse 14. But when, an adverb of time, but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, then let them that are in Judea flee. And here our Lord brings into sharp focus the occasion for the flight to the mountains.

13:24 Now, grandly. the language of verse 14 is cryptic or ambiguous, and it is difficult. However, this much seems to be clear. Our Lord says to his disciples in answer to their question, when shall these things be?

13:44 When can we expect that not one stone shall be left upon another in the massive imposing structure of the temple there in Jerusalem? Our Lord says you can expect this to come to pass when you observe a certain phenomenon, and it is described as the abomination of desolation. Now, the word abomination refers to something that is detestable to God. It could be called an appalling sacrilege.

14:22 And it is so appalling and such an abomination that it will bring in its wake an act of divine judgment that will leave everything in its path utterly desolate. Therefore, it is called the abomination of desolation. And this language, according to the parallel passage in Matthew, is taken from the prophet Daniel. For Matthew tells, in Matthew 24, that when our Lord spoke these words in the expanded version, we have in verse 15, when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand, then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains. So the occasion for this flight to the mountains is the appearance in the life history of some of these disciples of what is called the abomination of desolation, a consummate act of sacrilege which will precipitate the desolating wrath and judgment of God.

15:47 And it is a phrase that is taken from Daniel the prophet. And there are probably three references to which this passage is tied in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9.

16:07 And lest you grow weary, remember, either our Lord or Mark by inspiration said, let him that reads understands. So you're under obligation to track down and seek to understand. Daniel 9 and verse 27. In the context.

16:24 In the context of the prophecy of the 70 weeks, the time period within which God will accomplish great and cataclysmic events in conjunction with the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. We read in verse 27 of Daniel 9, and he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And upon the wing of abominations shall come one that makes desolate.

17:04 And so the words abomination and desolation are brought together in this passage in Daniel. And then in chapter 11 of Daniel's prophecy, Daniel chapter 11 and verse 31. And forces shall. Stand on his part and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering.

17:35 And they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate. So here is a prophecy of an event that will happen in history future to Daniel's existence in which there will be set up an abomination. A. A horrible sacrilege that will result in desolation.

18:03 And then in chapter 12 in verse 11, we have the third reference. And from the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. And here again. The phrase is very clear.

18:30 As it has appeared previously in Daniel, there is this prophecy of an abomination that makes desolate and that abomination will be, according to this text, set up. Now, most evangelical commentators agree that the prophecy in Daniel had its fulfillment in the attack upon Jerusalem. In 168 B.C., under the leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who desecrated the temple by doing a horribly abominable act directly over the altar for burnt offering in the temple, he erected an altar to Zeus, the pagan god. And upon that altar, he offered up a swastika.

19:28 In 169 B.C., under the leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who desecrated the temple by doing a horribly abominable act directly over the altar for burnt offering in the temple, he erected an altar to Zeus, the pagan god. An unclean animal according to Jewish and divinely regulated sacrificial ritual.

19:38 It is also said that he then declared that the practice of Judaism would be the occasion of capital punishment. And I say most evangelical commentators who are familiar with the text of Daniel, who understand something of the history of what transgressed. Subsequent to Daniel's period and the return of the people of God to their own land agree that that particular activity under Antiochus Epiphanes fits the description of the abomination of desolation in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. However, the fact that our Lord uses these words coupled with the unusual grammar. The mathematical construction of Mark 13.14 seems to point very clearly from the standpoint of our Lord's sitting on the side of the Mount of Olives with his disciples, that there would be a future detestable sacrilege which would precipitate the desolating judgment of God upon Jerusalem, including its temple. And you say, Pastor, what do you mean by unusual grammatical construction?

21:03 Well, the 1901, as it so often does, properly renders the original in verse 14. Notice, when you see the abomination of desolation not standing where it ought not, neuter, but standing where he, masculine, ought not. Indicating that this horrible sacrilege which will bring desolation in its wake is to be found in connection with a person or perhaps a group of persons, and it is when they see the abomination of desolation embodied in some figure or figures, let him who reads understand, then, let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains.

22:05 Now, add to this the parallel insights of Luke chapter 21, and perhaps we can at least say with some degree of certainty what this occasion for the flight unto the mountains would be. Verse 20. But when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then, know that her desolation is at hand. The desolation will not only be found in conjunction with an abomination, but obviously in conjunction with armies surrounding Jerusalem.

22:45 Then, let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains. Let them that are in the midst of her depart out. Let not them that are in the country enter therein, for these are days of vengeance. Now, when we bring these together, what can we say with some degree of certainty?

23:07 Well, I believe we can say this. While there is much in the word of God that is ambiguous, and while there is more from any kind of reliable secular history that is uncertain and ambiguous, this seems to be clear. That when our Lord said to the disciples, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, an event which will in some way be connected with Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, at that time know that you are to flee unto the mountains. For the time of the visitation of God's wrath upon the city of Jerusalem, including the total destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple, it is so near at hand that when you see these things, flee unto the mountains. And from what we learn from several sources, both what we would call believing Christian historians, and a few hints from secular historians, there is every reason to believe that the vast majority, if not all the believers, did indeed understand the prophecy of our Lord, did flee to the mountains,

24:33 and before the horrible siege of Jerusalem that resulted in this terrible devastation and tribulation and anguish which destroyed at least a million Jews, that believers were safe in the mountains because they had heeded the word of their Lord. Now what this precise abomination that would result in desolation was, here the commentators differ. Men like Lenski give a plausible explanation, a man like Hendrickson gives another plausible explanation, but obviously it is not necessary for us to know with certainty what they knew with certainty. All we need to do is to approach the passage with a measure of humility and caution and see what Scripture allows us to extract, from what God has revealed with certainty. And this much is clear, that our Lord assumed that by using the terminology, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, and included in that words about the armies surrounding Jerusalem, that that would be a sufficient revelation for them to know the time has come to flee, to flee unto the mountains.

26:01 So the occasion then of the flight to the mountains was to be the appearance of that horrible sacrilege that would be the harbinger, the forerunner of the desolation to come, and at that point they were to flee unto the mountains. You say, Pastor, aren't you going to tell us what the possibilities may have been? My answer is no, because that's all I would be doing, was filling your time, and you can read the commentators at your leisure, and I'm only going to say this much, because as we'll see in our application, this much is sufficient for our edification. Now we must hasten, and we'll move very quickly now through the other four heads of this paragraph. Having looked at the occasion of the flight to the mountains, notice then in the second place the urgency enjoined in conjunction with this flight to the mountains, verses 15 and 16. Let him that is on the housetop not go down nor enter in to take anything out of his house. Let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

The Urgency Enjoined in the Flight

27:15 What is our Lord doing? Well, as He so often does, He does not press urgency in the abstract, but He gives very concrete and drastic examples of the urgency with which they must flee to the mountains when they see or when they hear of the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not. First of all, there is the flight from one's housetop, verse 15. Let him that is on the housetop not go down nor enter in to take anything out of his house.

27:53 And you say, what in the world is a man doing, perched on his roof? When the abomination of desolation appears, is he up there looking to see it? No. Don't impose the pitched roof of the average New Jersey, Cape Cod, or split level upon the passage.

28:09 There in Palestine, you had the flat-roofed house, which often had a ladder or stairs going directly from the outside up to the roof, and the roof would be used as a place for meditation or prayer. You remember in Acts chapter 10, it says, that Peter was on the rooftop praying at midday, and he fell into a trance. So our Lord pictures the Palestinian man who is on his rooftop, a believing man. He may be there meditating.

28:41 He may be there resting in the cool of the day. And word comes from some messenger that comes into the part of Jerusalem in which he lives, saying, the armies are set. That horrible abomination which will precipitate desolation has come upon us. Jesus said there is such urgency that the man should scramble down his outside staircase and take no time to enter the house, pack his suitcases, gather his family together, try to pack up some of his goods and put them on the back of a mule or a camel.

29:15 He said no. When you see, when news reaches you that the abomination that makes desolate is standing where it ought not, or as Matthew says, in the holy place, there is an urgency. Let the man on the rooftop not go down into his house. Let him not enter it or take time to collect any of his goods.

29:36 Let him make a straight line to the mountains. Then the urgency is underscored concretely not only in terms of the flight from one's housetop, but notice, there is the situation with regard to one's outer cloak and one's undergarments. Verse 16. Let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

30:02 The average Palestinian would have a heavy cloak that would be, perhaps the best way to describe it, is like a blanket with a hole cut out where your head could go through and a couple of slits where your arms would go through. And this is what he would use as his outer garment. He would use it as a blanket for warmth and protection. A shepherd would, sleeping out under the open sky, his eyes.

30:25 And here is the picture of a man who is out laboring in his field. And on his way, he either dropped his coat off at a convenient place, hung it perhaps on a tree, or he may have left it there in his own home as he went out to his field outside of the village. And our Lord says there is to be such urgency that the man that is working in his field and he perceives that the prophecy is fulfilled, he sees some events which indicate the abomination that makes desolate has come. Or someone passes by and says to him, Brother, brother, you know how we have been praying and discussing the words of our Lord.

31:06 I believe the time has come upon us. A horrible sacrilege has been committed. The Roman armies are compassing Jerusalem. They are committing such and such foul deeds.

31:17 Or the zealots have slain thousands in the temple and they are taking upon themselves the office of a priest. They are bringing horrible, abominable practices into the very holy place. Surely this must be that which our Lord spoke of. He says to such a man, Don't say to your brother, Well, listen, I'll be right with you.

31:37 I've got to go back in the village and get my coat. He said, No. Your life is worth more than a thousand cloaks. Let not him that is in the field go back to get his coat.

31:48 So our Lord is underscoring the urgency of this flight to the mountains. Then thirdly, notice the peculiar circumstances which will make the flight difficult. The occasion for the flight to the mountains when you see the abomination of desolation. The urgency.

Peculiar Difficulties of the Flight

32:10 Two concrete examples. Now thirdly, the peculiar circumstances which will make the flight difficult. Verses 17 and 18. Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days and pray that it be not in the winter.

32:30 There is first of all the burden of pregnancy and lactation. This is not a woe of judgment as we find in Matthew 23. Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites. Woe, woe.

32:47 This is the woe of pity. The woe of tenderness. And our Lord says, woe unto those women that are big with child in these days. And woe unto those that must sustain the life of a child at their breasts.

33:07 He says that the burden of pregnancy and lactation will be a peculiarly difficult circumstance in conjunction with this flight unto the mountains. Can you picture a woman eight months with child trying to run? We have a standing joke around here in the kind of open-faced and I believe wholesome intimacy that we have in speaking of childbirth and little ones. And many of you mothers know that when you've got into your eighth month, I've jokingly said, well, you've reached the waddling stage.

33:46 When a woman big with child almost leans back a bit to counterbalance her weight and she doesn't have her normal gait, she has that peculiar pregnant waddle. And we say it affectionately, not in a demeaning way. Well, our Lord had seen many a pregnant woman waddle. And when he said, knowing that there would be pregnant Christian women, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, flee to the mountains.

34:14 And there's urgency. Time is short. He says, woe to the poor women who are at the waddling stage, great with child. His heart is moved with pity as his prophetic eye sees them under the pressure to leave quickly.

34:30 And those that have the burden of carrying a nursing child. Oh, the tenderness of our Lord as he speaks here of the peculiar circumstance that will make the flight difficult, the burden of pregnancy and lactation. But then he says secondly, the liabilities of the physical elements, verse 18, pray that it be not in winter. And the Greek word translated winter is translated elsewhere in the Gospels for storm or stormy weather.

35:02 In this case, the rivers would be swollen. And most commentators agree that the mountains to which they were to flee because Jerusalem was nestled amidst mountains was not that mountainous region, but the mountainous region near Pella, which would be east of the Jordan River, which would mean they'd have to cross the river and at wintertime in stormy periods, its banks would be swollen and their path would be difficult. And so our Lord says, though destruction is decreed, there is to be a defensive retreat. But even in commanding that defensive retreat, the heart of our Lord is moved with tenderness, particularly with the hardships of motherhood and with the liabilities that might come from the physical elements. Now notice in the fourth place the basic reason for this command to flee to the mountains. Surely our Lord must have had a tremendous burden upon His spirit to command that even pregnant and nursing mothers not be exempted from this urgent flight to the mountains. And what was the basic reason for the flight to the mountains?

The Basic Reason for the Command: Unprecedented Tribulation and Potential Annihilation

36:18 Well, that's answered in verses 19 and 20. And there are two parts to the answer. Notice, begins with 4, 19. For those days shall be tribulation, such as there hath not been the light from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be.

36:42 And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved. But for the elect's sake whom He chose, He shortened the days. What is the rationale for this urgent command to flee to the mountains? Two parts to the answer.

37:01 It will be a season of unprecedented tribulation and secondly, a season of potential annihilation. Look at it. A season of unprecedented tribulation. Verse 19.

37:16 Those days, the days connected with the abomination of desolation and the flight that He enjoins upon His people, those days shall be tribulation, such as there has not been the light from the beginning of the creation which God created until now. Our Lord says, go back to the original creative act of God and every season of preciousness, of pleasure and tribulation, of affliction that has come upon mankind until now from creation till that point in history. He covers everything. And then He says, notice, covering the future, and never shall be. This will be a period of unprecedented tribulation. And that word, flipsis, is pressure, difficulty, affliction. It suggests that our Lord is using what would be called legitimate excessive hyperbole.

38:25 That is, He's stating that these will be difficult days, but He's doing it in absolute terms. And we do find examples of that in Scripture. But I find myself disinclined to accept that interpretation. There seems to be a precision about our Lord's words that allow for nothing other than an acceptance of them at face value.

38:50 Our Lord says this command is urgent. And though I already feel the peculiar burden of pregnant and lactating mothers and the possible burden of the elements standing in your way if you make your flight in winter or in stormy season, nonetheless, flee to the mountains you must. Why? Because there in Jerusalem, in conjunction with the dismantling of the temple, in conjunction with the fulfillment of all the pronouncement of wrath upon apostate Israel, there shall be tribulation the likes of which there never has been until now, nor shall ever be repeated again. A season of unprecedented tribulation. And then notice He says it will be a season of potential annihilation. Verse 20.

39:46 And except the Lord had shortened the days, and that word shortened is the word that's used to describe what someone did if they cut off a man's hand. You amputate it. You shorten his arm. Except the days should be amputated, except they should be radically shortened by the intervention of God, no flesh would have been saved.

40:11 That is, no flesh in the environs of Jerusalem would have been saved. But for the elect's sake, whom He chose, that is, the remnant, according to the election of grace, that was not yet saved, were still part of blind ethnic Israel, but were to be saved after the gospel would come to them and God's time to draw them would come into their own individual life history. But for their sakes, He says, those days shall be shortened. That's the reason why He says you must flee to the mountains and you must flee with urgency and you must flee in spite of the difficulties because it will be a season of unprecedented tribulation and a season of potential annihilation. And then our Lord focuses in the fifth place upon what I have called the final hindrance to their flight to the mountains. What would be the final hindrance to keep them from fleeing to the mountains at the appropriate time, fleeing with the appropriate urgency, fleeing willing to overcome the difficulties that He predicts? The final hindrance would come, according to our Lord, in the form of false Christs and false prophets

The Final Hindrance: False Christs and False Prophets

41:40 who would try to persuade them that the answer lay with them back in Jerusalem. And then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here things look bad. The armies are compassing Jerusalem. Yes, an abomination has been committed in the temple or in the areas of the Holy Land which will surely bring the desolating judgment of God.

42:07 But alas, He has appeared. He is over here. Let's go to Him and pin our hopes upon Him. Jesus said, No, I have told you when the abomination of desolation appears, flee.

42:21 And the last and great hindrance you will face will be the hindrance in the midst of agitation and fright of false saviors and pseudo-Messiahs and deceptive false prophets who will say that they have the answer to the dilemma. You don't need to flee to the mountains. Messiah has come to deliver us. So He warns them, If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or lo, there, do not believe it.

42:55 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show signs and wonders. People say, You mean false prophets and false Christs can actually be given the power by God to do real signs and real wonders? Well, I see no reason to see that the text is saying anything other than that. And we could demonstrate from other passages where it says that God will give power unto the beast to perform miracles.

43:28 And I do not hold a doctrine that's becoming increasingly popular in so-called reformed circles that only God can perform true miracles. My Bible teaches that God can give that power to others who are seeking to undermine His very kingdom by those miracles. And so don't be impressed with miracles that appear to be even real miracles, for they shall show, it doesn't say false signs and false wonders, but signs and wonders that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect. And so our Lord then focuses upon the final hindrance to the flight to the mountains, and that will be the appealing alternative to stay on in Jerusalem and be delivered by self-proclaimed messiahs and self-proclaimed prophets. And then our Lord summarizes in verse 23 the exact words with which He began this whole section, verse 5. Take heed that no man lead you astray. Now He says, but take ye heed.

44:40 Behold, I have told you all things beforehand. You've asked me, when shall these things be? I've told you all that you need to know. And now that I've told you, take heed to what I've said.

44:56 Don't let your mind and heart relinquish it. Don't allow any other voice to dissuade you of these things. I've told you, cling to My word in faith and in obedience. Well, with my present light and understanding, that's the teaching of the passage.

Application 1: The Salvation of God's Elect as the Focus of Prophecy

45:14 It all focuses upon the command to flee to the mountains. The occasion of that command. The urgency of that command. The difficulties found in conjunction with that command.

45:28 The reason for the command. And the final hindrance to obedience to the command. Now what in the world does all of that say to us? We are not living at that period in redemptive history.

45:41 We are not dwellers in Jerusalem. We are not believers who need to be looking for the abomination of desolation. What does all of this say to us? Well, in the time that remains, let me focus upon three very simple but vital lines of application.

45:58 First of all, this passage contains a fundamental principle of Biblical interpretation. Dear people, one of our burdens as your elders in preaching to you is not only to open up specific passages, but to arm you as God's people with the principles of sound Biblical interpretation, so that you may, in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit, take your own Bibles and understand them, and not come up with weird doctrines and far-out perspectives. Well, here in this passage, there is a beautiful illustration of a fundamental principle of Biblical interpretation. What is it?

46:37 It is this. The salvation of God's elect is the primary focus of prophecy and the regulating key to history. The salvation of God's elect is the primary focus of prophecy and the regulating key to history. You say, where do you see that in there?

47:02 Well, look at the passage. Our Lord is telling them, in that context, all that they need to know in order to do what? In order to stay in the way of faith and holiness and obedience, that they might remain persevering believers in Himself. He tells them as much as they need to know in order to be preserved in the way of holiness and in the way of usefulness according to His own sovereign purpose.

47:41 And that illustrates, you see, that prophecy has as its fundamental focus the salvation of God's elect. You notice when he speaks of this tribulation, why does God shorten the days? He says, For the elect's sake whom He chose He shortened the days. And why are not these false Christs able to deceive the elect?

48:10 Because God is committed to their preservation in the way of truth and of righteousness. And so this passage, I say, beautifully illustrates that the salvation of God's elect is the primary focus of prophecy and it is the regulating key to history. When the godless historian would interpret why it was that the back of what could have been an utterly crushing military blow was broken suddenly and the days of conquest cut short, you see, they would find the answer. In some human factor.

48:51 But Jesus said, For the sake of God's elect whom He has chosen the days were short. Almighty God is there in the tents of the military generals with their maps and with their logistical charts and they scheme and they plan. But the Lord of the universe looks down and says, I have X number of my elect in Jerusalem. You could bring up and bombs and you won't kill them before I draw them to myself because I've loved them from eternity.

49:25 I'll preserve them until the salvation that I'm accomplishing in my Son is applied to them with power and all of history bends to God's sovereign will in the salvation of His elect. That's what Peter teaches in 2 Peter 3. People are all upset. Why hasn't the Lord returned?

49:46 His promise seems to be wearing thin. He says, account that the long suffering of our God is salvation. People ask me, why hasn't the Lord returned? I said, I know.

49:57 You do? They say, yep. Well, when is He going to return? I know.

50:01 You do? Tell me. The answers are very simple. Why hasn't the Lord returned?

50:05 Because He hasn't called out all His elect yet. When will He return? When He's called out the last one. As the seeds for which God will call out His elect.

50:22 And when the role of His elect is complete and the heavens will part and the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God and He shall come. Oh, that we get hold of that principle, dear people, when we do. Then we're immunized from all of this foolishness that goes on in the name of exalted, insightful Bible study with charts and graphs and analyze that comes out of Israel and out of Russia and all the rest get turned aside for that nonsense. Let your heart be taken up with the great prophetic sweep that points to the fact that the Lord Jesus has a people whom He must save. That the Father has given Him a people whom He must bring to Himself and He will bring them through the instrumentality of the proclamation of the Word and the ministry of the church living out its birthright in the power of the Spirit and let us in all of our concern with prophecy never forget that the salvation of God's elect is the primary focus of prophecy and the regulating key to history. But then, secondly, by way of application there is not only a fundamental principle

Application 2: The Lawfulness of Defensive Retreat

51:48 of biblical interpretation in the passage, there is a fundamental illustration of a biblical duty in the passage. The whole passage is a mandate for defensive, self-preserving, retreat under certain circumstances in the life history of God's people. The whole passage is a mandate for self-defense and defensive retreat. And in his typical practical way Bishop Ryle did not fail to catch this.

52:20 In fact, his first comment on this passage, Mark 13, 14 to 23, is this, We are taught in these verses the lawfulness of using means to provide for our own personal safety. The language of our Lord and the subject is clear and unmistakable. Let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains. Not a word is said to make us suppose that flight from danger in certain circumstances is unworthy of a Christian.

52:52 As to the time prophesied of in the passage before us, men may differ widely, and they do, but as to the lawfulness of taking measures to avoid personal peril, the teaching of the passage is plain. The lesson is one of wide application and much usefulness. A Christian is not to neglect the use of means because he is a Christian in the things of this life any more than in the things of the life to come. A believer is not to suppose God will take care of him and provide for his wants if he does not make use of the means and common sense which God has given him as well as other people.

53:28 Beyond doubt we may expect the special help of our Father in heaven in every time of need, but we must expect it in the diligent use of lawful means. To profess to trust God while we idly sit by and do nothing is nothing better than wild enthusiasm and fanaticism, and it brings religion into contempt. Then he goes on to give illustrations. Paul is let down over the wall in a basket, and we find illustrations in the history of the kings where self-preservation in terms of defensive retreat is mandated by God.

54:05 Now the application is wide. It starts in our own personal lives. We must not stick our head in the sand with regard to those elements of our sedentary form of life in late 20th century America that leaves people vulnerable to premature heart attacks, to hardening of the arteries and all of these other things that cut people's lives short. For us to stick our head in the sand and pump down as much animal fat as we like, take no exercise, care nothing for the well-being of these bodies that are God's temples, it is out of the...

54:44 to obedience to the sixth commandment. We are not to be body worshipers, but neither are we to demean our well-being. The Lord Jesus did not say, when you see the abomination of desolation, fast and pray. He said, flee!

55:05 There are difficulties. My wife is eight and a half months pregnant. He said, I know, but flee. But Lord, my wife is nursing.

55:14 He said, I know, but flee. But Lord, the rivers are swollen. I know, but flee, but flee. Overcome the difficulties.

55:24 Face the difficulties. Realize I am sensitive to the difficulties, but flee. And there may come a time if God unlooses what is in men's hearts, when as God's people we may have to reflect upon this in a very literal sense. There may come a time when it will not be the part of wisdom to meet as we meet this morning.

55:47 It may be the part of wisdom in keeping with the spirit of this passage to meet in secret, to meet in smaller enclaves at appointed places known only to the people of God. Is there something wrong with that? Shouldn't we all march down Main Street and say, I am a Christian? No.

56:06 There is no indication that God calls us to a brazen volunteering of ourselves for martyrdom. If push comes to shove and it's either deny Christ or be a martyr, then we say, Lord, give me grace to seal my confession with blood. But up to that point, there is no mandate in Scripture to invite martyrdom, either by eating too much or by tempting hostile authorities to find you and to shoot you. Then the third and final application, and I bless God, it's so plain in the passage, and I hope the Lord will encourage us as we look at it together.

Application 3: The Privilege of Being a Follower of Christ

56:47 This passage contains a fundamental reminder of the great privilege of being a follower of Christ. For these disciples, what was their privilege being Christ followers? Was it that they would be exempt from opposition and persecution? No.

57:05 He had told them from verses 5 through 13 that in the inter-advental period there would be wars and rumors of wars, there would be natural disasters, there would be opposition to the gospel and to everyone identified with it, and some of them would even live to see the destruction of their beloved temple, the utter razing of their city, the murdering of thousands of relatives and loved ones and fellow Jews. But he said in the midst of this, know that I am the Lord, who can anticipate the waddling pregnant nursing mother. I can anticipate the swollen rivers. I am not insensitive to all of the trials that come upon you in the path of adherence to me. I am not insensitive to all of the liabilities you face in the course of obedience. My heart is towards you, and greater yet, my power surrounds you. None of my elect will be deceived.

58:11 And if I must even alter the course of human history, amputate the days that would seem inevitably to have accompanied a certain military conquest, I will order the thoughts and decisions of generals and captains and the great ones of the earth, because my heart is committed to the preservation and the salvation of my elect. What a privilege to be a Christian in a world that until the Lord comes is going to be full of wars and rumors of wars. It will be full of false religious claims to Messiahship. It will be full of turmoil and opposition, and we shall be hated.

58:54 But, oh, what a privilege to know that we have a Lord committed to keep us, a Lord committed to succor us, a Lord who feels the peculiar burdens of a pregnant and a nursing mother and the peculiar difficulties of a swollen stream. What a wonderful thing to know when wrath was being poured out upon that city, that the Lord Jesus did what was necessary to take his own out and to preserve them for the accomplishment of his purposes. I say it's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. What a privilege to be a Christian.

59:33 And I say to my unconverted friend, listen to me, there is something that I want to tell you. There is a time coming when the wrath that fell upon the city of Jerusalem will seem to be child's play. For the Scripture says an hour is coming when men shall cry to rocks and mountains to fall upon them and to hide them from the face of him that sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Look at the contrast.

60:07 Here is the Lord Jesus gathered with his little band of disciples. When shall these frightening events come to pass? Events which in their mind were so cataclysmic they could only mean the ushering in of the end. And so they lump it all together.

60:22 What shall be the sign that these things shall come to pass and the end of the age in thy coming? And the Lord says in essence, whatever faces men as the just retribution for their sins, know this, my people, that you are the apple of my eye. You are under my care and my Father's care and you will be preserved and protected and cared for. And if I allow you to have your life snuffed out as a witness in true Biblical martyrdom in the language that I'll never forget seeing etched on a tombstone there in Scotland at the graveside of one of the Covenanters.

61:02 It had this little phrase concerning the military powers that persecuted the Christians and slew them by the hundreds. And it says, and they chased them up to heaven. I've never forgotten it. That's all a person can do who would take my life as a believer is chase me up to heaven.

61:21 That's all. That's all. Whereas Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God ready to receive him. So he'll stand to receive his humblest saint who in faithfulness to the end seals his witness with his own blood.

61:39 Amen. But my sinner friend, what do you have? What do you have? You're going to live in a world full of turmoil.

61:47 In a sense, we in the United States and in your generation, you've lived in a fool's paradise. Some of us lived through the Second World War. And though we never saw the carnage with our eyes, personally, we saw it in our newspaper day after day. We knew what it was like to have to go with little black stamps to get a pound of sugar.

62:08 We knew what it was to see no meat day after day. We understood a little bit of what it was to be at war. Some of you have never known that. It's been so easy and comfortable, but my friend, how easy and comfortable will it be when the Lord Jesus comes not as your savior but as your judge?

62:28 Pray, God, what do I see and hear the end of things created? The Son of Mankind will appear on clouds of glory seated. What are you going to do then, my unconverted friend? How are you going to con your way out from under his frown?

62:47 How are you going to touch the reality of judgment and hell? Jesus said to Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, I would, but you would not. Behold, your house is left. When the Roman armies came, no amount of parading their privileged status could exempt them from the wrath of God mediated through the oncoming Roman armies.

63:15 And when the Lord Jesus comes forth in power at his second coming, there is nothing, there is nothing that can immunize you and protect you from his wrath. O my unconverted friend, may God help you to learn from this passage that you have no consolation out of Christ, you have no comfort, you have no certain resting place, and with all of life's uncertainty, if there were no other reason for being a Christian than the knowledge that as one of his elect, the whole triune Godhead is committed to preserve me and bring me safely to his everlasting kingdom, that were reason enough to be a Christian, wade through a thousand rivers, brook any kind of danger, to know that at last we shall be at home with him. Let us pray. Our Lord Jesus Christ, we do worship you. And we confess our love to you.

64:28 Thank you for your tender, sensitive heart to your people. We thank you for the privilege of being yours, having you as our great high priest, as our heavenly shepherd. We thank you for all the prospects that are ours as the people of God. We thank you for this passage, which though it has been the occasion of so much debate and often profitless discussion, has ministered to our hearts.

65:02 We thank you, Father, that the door of mercy is still open, and that you call us today not to flee to the mountains, but to flee to yourself. And we pray that men and women and boys and girls in this place who do not know your forgiving mercy, who do not know your quickening life and power, oh Lord Jesus, constrain them to seek refuge in yourself. May the great and final day reveal that we did not plead with them in vain, but that you were pleased to incline their hearts to come and to find refuge in yourself. Hear our cry.

65:43 Receive our thanks for your word. Preserve us from the errors that abound in a time of crisis. And our Father, fill that same spirit all around us with men rising up claiming to have prophetic utterances about the future, claiming to have unique gifts to heal and to validate the gospel with signs and wonders. Oh God, preserve us from all of the errors and keep us to your everlasting kingdom.

66:14 Hear our cry and answer us, we plead, for your dear name's sake. Amen.