(Part 2)
“You must be on your guard.
You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On
account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested
and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say
whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy
Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children
will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate
you because of me but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”-Mark
13:9-13
Jesus
never sugar coated the Christian life. His teaching from the Mount of Olives
confirms that Jesus foresaw that in addition to the deception that would come
upon the earth in the last days there would also be an increase in persecution
towards those who call themselves followers of Christ. Jesus warned that those
who followed him would fellowship in his sufferings and be hated by all men
because of him.
He
warned that as the persecution comes there will be a great falling away or
turning from the faith:
“Then you will be handed over to be
persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of
me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate
each other.”-Matthew 24:9-10.
Yet
through all the hatred, betrayal and persecution the gospel of Jesus Christ
will be preached to all nations. Persecution and the preaching of the gospel
will go hand in hand.
In
addition to the deception and persecution that will plague the earth will also
come a time of tribulation that will be unequaled to anything else in history:
“When you see ‘the abomination that causes
desolation’ standing where it does not belong- let the reader understand- then
let those who are Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his
house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field
go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant
women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter,
because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God
created the world, until now-and never be equaled again.”-Mark 13:14-19.
It
is during these days that the antichrist will arise and pollute all that is
holy. Persecution will break out against the people of God. It will be a
dreadful time to live upon the earth. Even the earth and heavens will be
shaken:
“But in those days, following that distress,
“’the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; that stars
will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”-Mark 13:24-25.
Because
of the severity of what is to come, Jesus instructed his disciples to be
careful and pray that they may escape it:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed
down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will
close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live
on the face of the whole earth. Be always on watch, and pray that you may be
able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand
before the Son of Man.”-Luke 21:34-36.
Deception,
persecution, and tribulation are coming and together they point to a specific
event: the second coming of Christ!
Pastor
Scott Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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