[0:00] Hope. Hope. Hope. Do you have hope?
[0:14] Is your hope a living hope? Does it energize you? Does it animate you?
[0:24] Does it motivate you? Does the hope that you have help you overcome in times of difficulty and sorrow and discouragement?
[0:38] Is your hope a lie? Many today live in hopelessness. Our world is filled with people without hope.
[0:52] They've given up. They see no future. They see no meaning. They see no purpose. And so they seek other things to fill the void.
[1:03] They seek refuge in things. They look for a better life, hoping that will improve things.
[1:14] Some escape into a drink. They escape into a drug to numb and escape from the hopelessness.
[1:26] 1 Peter 3.15 says, Be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you.
[1:39] I have been fascinated with that verse for some time. It's interesting that he says, the hope that's in you. He doesn't say, be ready to give an answer for the faith that's in you.
[1:51] Or for the gospel that's in you. He says, be ready to give an answer for the hope. Hope. And isn't that interesting?
[2:02] Because I think that's what people need today. People need hope. They don't have hope. They don't have real hope. They don't have living hope.
[2:12] They have hopes. Yes. Hope for a better life. They hope for things to change. They hope for things to get somehow less discouraging.
[2:24] They hope they win the lottery. Because that will answer the question. But even research has shown even those who win the lottery, it doesn't answer their problem at all. So Christians are those who have hope.
[2:40] And not just hope, but Peter says it's a living hope. You've been born again to a living hope. A hope that's alive. A hope that's energized. A hope that motivates and moves within us.
[2:55] You ready to give an answer for the hope that's in you? Can you do that? Do you have that kind of hope that when others of the world ask you, could you explain what your hope is?
[3:10] What you're hoping in? In Mark 13, Jesus is preparing his disciples for what the future holds. But we come to today in verses 26 and 27, I think Jesus gives us two certain hopes.
[3:30] hopes that we can bank on hopes. That motivate us, that energize us, that assure us, that give us confidence.
[3:41] That we hang on to in the difficult times. Jesus has been making a series of predictions all the way from verse 2 of chapter 13.
[3:53] He began by talking about those stones, those great buildings of the temple. And he predicted that those stones would be taken apart one by one.
[4:06] That there would be no stone left upon another. And that was literally fulfilled 40 years later in 70 AD. The disciples then ask him, when will this happen?
[4:22] This is significant. We mentioned before that if the Jewish temple is destroyed, Judaism is empty. It's the center of their life.
[4:33] It's the center of their faith. It's how they worship. It's how they deal with their sin. It's how they organize their lives around the temple. And without a temple, what do they do?
[4:47] Now certainly, they still pray. They're praying. They can still read their Torah. But without a temple, most of the laws of the Old Testament, they can't even obey.
[4:58] They can't do sacrifices. They cannot come before God in the way they understand that. So the disciples ask, when is this going to happen?
[5:09] What will be the sign of that? That will change everything. And so Jesus begins to unfold things that will happen in the future. In verses 5 to 8, he says there are many things that are going to happen, but these will not be the real signs of the end.
[5:23] In fact, they're false signs. They're not the end. They're just the beginning. Earthquakes, famines, wars, rumors of wars. Those will just keep going on. But don't be frightened by those things.
[5:33] That's not the end. That's just the beginning. Birth pains. And then he says in verse 9, the disciples, you who share the gospel, will suffer for that gospel. But that gospel must go to the ends of the world, to all nations, before the end.
[5:49] And then he comes to verse 14, and he comes to the first significant now prediction after the destruction of the temple. He's been talking about general things that will happen. Now he talks about a specific.
[6:01] Verse 14, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, when you see that, get out of town. Because when you see that, you don't have much time.
[6:13] You must run and get away from Judea. And this is a prediction that Jesus made that there would be this abomination of desolation.
[6:25] And remember he says that little, let the reader understand. The reader who has read Daniel would understand that phrase, abomination of desolation. That always referred to a stoppage of the sacrifices and some defiling or destruction of the temple.
[6:43] So he says, when you see that, when you see the temple defiled, when you see the sacrifices stop, run. Run, because the end is near.
[6:56] And so we saw, we showed you from historical documents that in AD 67, three years before the temple was destroyed, the Jewish zealots themselves invaded the temple, took over the temple, and set up their own false high priests.
[7:17] And they brought criminals and murderers and they did murders within the temple. They abominated it. They made an abomination that would further bring later a desolation.
[7:30] Which three years later did. Jesus said also, verse 19, this same time, when you see that abomination, when you see that defilement of the temple, standing where he ought not to be, run.
[7:47] But then he says, in those same days there will be tribulation. There's going to be a period of time of tribulation that is unprecedented. He said that had never happened from creation until then.
[7:59] And wouldn't happen in the future. So in other words, this isn't the last final tribulation. It is a intense, unprecedented tribulation. But there would be future tribulation still to follow.
[8:13] Otherwise he would say this was it. So he talks about, also though it's a time of tribulation, the Lord delivers the elect. That because of his love for the elect, he cuts short those periods.
[8:26] Otherwise no one would have survived. He cuts it short for the sake of the elect. And then at the end of that, verse 21, he warns that these will not only be days of tribulation, but there will be days of danger for the believer because there will be false Christs and false Messiahs who will use miraculous signs in order to lead people astray.
[8:47] Their distinguishing mark is that they do signs and wonders. In order to lead the elect, the believer astray.
[8:59] See, because believers believe in miracles, right? Believers believe that God works. And so these guys are going to use miracles. Did you know that Satan can do miracles too?
[9:12] It's not just miracles are not the sign of confirmation that you're a true prophet. Jesus did signs and wonders. But so did false teacher.
[9:23] Moses did signs and wonders, but so did the magicians of Egypt, right? Satan can copy. Most of them, not all of them. Remember it got to some of the plagues and the magician says, oh, we can't do that one.
[9:37] That's the finger of God. That's beyond us. Out of our league. But they can do many. Satan can manipulate. And so he says, warning, warning.
[9:48] Don't believe those guys. Watch out for those guys. When you see somebody doing signs and wonders, have your antenna up. Okay? Don't just be naive and believe simply because they've done a miracle.
[10:01] Have your antenna up. And the way you distinguish is not whether they can do a miracle or not, but what are their words? What's their message? Is their message consistent with Christ?
[10:12] Or is their message, oh, Christ is here. Jesus says, don't believe that. Don't believe that. Okay? And then finally, we see in verse 24, there's a big major contrast.
[10:28] We've had the abomination of desolation that marks the time to flee. There's little time remaining. There's a time of tribulation. And there's a time to be on guard. But, verse 24, a contrast.
[10:40] In those days after that tribulation. So, in other words, during the same time frame. Not far in the future, but in that same time frame. The sun will be dark and the moon will not give us light.
[10:52] The stars will fall from heaven. We looked at that. We saw, first of all, that that is the language of the prophets. That Jesus is using language that echoes the prophetic language in Isaiah, in Ezekiel, in Joel.
[11:09] Those words are used in the Old Testament to signify the end of a nation. Those words are used in reference to Babylon. Your kingdom, your sky is falling.
[11:23] Your stars are falling to the ground. Your time is up. Your universe is over. He said it to Egypt. And he said it in Joel, talking about the future of Israel.
[11:35] Now, Jesus uses those same words to indicate that somebody's time is up. For somebody, their sun will turn dark.
[11:45] Their moon will not give its light. Their stars will fall from heaven. Who is that somebody? Israel. As we compare Revelation 12 with Genesis 37.
[11:59] Remember Joseph's dream? The sun and the moon and the 11 stars will bow down to Joseph. Who's the sun and the moon and the 11 stars? They're Joseph's daddy and mommy.
[12:10] Me, Jacob and Rebecca and the 11 brothers will bow down to him. Remember daddy said, you think we're bowing down to you? He knew what he meant. And then Revelation talks about a woman who is giving birth, who is clothed in the sun and the moon is under her feet and she has a crown of 12 stars on her head.
[12:33] 12. I wonder if that's significant. 12 stars, she's giving birth and the child that she gives birth to is caught up into heaven and is ruling. Do you wonder who that male child is?
[12:45] That's Christ. And so his mother, not just Mary, but Israel, represented by the 12 stars. So whose universe is falling in those days?
[13:00] And you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, the temple, where the zealots set up their false high priest. Time of tribulation.
[13:12] When you see that in those days after that period of tribulation, the stars will fall. In other words, Titus will come in with his 10th legion and will tear apart Jerusalem and the temple, will burn it all with fire, and then will follow orders to take every stone off of another so that it is completely leveled, fulfilling Jesus' prediction.
[13:40] So Jesus predicts the end of Israel's administration. What Jesus is saying in verse 24, when the stars fall from the sky, he's predicting the end of Israel as a nation and as an administrator of God's grace.
[14:03] Because after Christ raises from the dead, what happens? The physical temple no longer matters because God has brought a new temple in Jesus. The people of God are no longer one nation, but the people of God are now people from every nation in language and tongue.
[14:21] So God has created a new temple. He's created a new people. He's created new hope. And a new kingdom. Everything's new. Everything's new.
[14:34] So, we come to verse 26, and two certain things will happen as a result of the stars falling from the sky.
[14:46] Okay? Verse 24, he's just said, sun goes dark, moon doesn't give its light, the stars fall from heaven, the powers of the heavens are shaken, and then, verse 26, and then this will happen, verse 27, and then this will happen.
[15:06] Two immediate results or consequences to the fall of Israel's administration. When the temple is destroyed, two things will happen with certainty.
[15:20] Verse 26, the sun is coming. S-O-N. Sun is coming. And verse 27, and then the elect are gathered.
[15:34] Two certain things. And so, let's look at those two things. Those two outcomes of the temple being destroyed.
[15:44] Those two results. I want to also call them two great hopes. Two certain hopes that we have that encourage us.
[15:58] Two reasons for our hope. We have reason to hope because the sun comes and because the elect are gathered.
[16:11] Let's look at each of those. So, first of all, the sun comes. Verse 26, or as Jesus puts it, and then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
[16:26] There you go. What's that sound like? Sounds like the second coming, doesn't it? Sounds like that's the end of the world. That's natural to read it better.
[16:41] Sounds like that. But let's look a little more closely because I believe what it means is when the temple falls, Jesus comes in a way that others recognize, others see with recognition that Jesus is enthroned in heaven.
[17:01] He's not coming down. He's coming up to the Father. Let's look more closely. Let me show you that we can understand it that way.
[17:12] How is it so? That Jesus is recognized as enthroned in heaven. First of all, notice Jesus says, they will see. Well, we assume when we read the word see, visualize, we assume they're seeing a physical thing.
[17:30] They will see the sun. So in other words, like when Jesus, in Acts chapter 1, when Jesus ascended into heaven, remember, they're looking up and they see him ascending into clouds.
[17:41] And remember, the angel says to them, you know, what are you looking at? What are you doing? He'll come back in exactly the same way. So we're thinking, okay, we hear these words, we think, okay, that's where he's coming back then.
[17:53] The angel said he'd come back the same way. He would descend just as he ascended. Well, this word see in the Greek means more than simply to see physically.
[18:07] There are other words the Greek could use if it only meant that. This word is a significant word because it means to see with understanding, to see beyond the physical, to see with discernment.
[18:20] So in other words, it's been used several times in the book of Mark. In chapter 2, remember when the four guys let down their friend through the roof, remember? And Jesus heals the man.
[18:31] But first, Jesus forgives his sin, remember? And it stirs up, who has the authority to forgive sin? Remember how Mark described that event when it said that they're cutting through the roof, they're lowering the man on a pallet.
[18:47] and you remember what Mark said that Jesus saw? He saw their faith. He didn't just see a hole in the roof and a guy coming down.
[19:01] He said he saw their faith. It's this word. He saw, in other words, beyond the physical, he saw with understanding, these guys have faith in me.
[19:12] to such an extent that they'll cut somebody's roof up and lower, you know. Later, in Mark chapter 6, when, before he feeds the 5,000, it says that Jesus sees the multitude and then Mark says he saw them as sheep without a shepherd.
[19:36] So in other words, he didn't just visually see a whole bunch of people. what he saw when he saw those people were people like sheep that didn't have a shepherd. He sees beyond the physical.
[19:47] He's seeing with understanding. He's seeing with discernment. Again, in chapter 9 of Mark, the word is used again where Jesus says, some of you will see the kingdom coming in power before you die.
[20:04] And immediately after that, he takes three of his disciples, goes up on a mountain, and he's transfigured before them. And they see a cloud, and they hear a voice, and they're humbled, and Peter stops talking.
[20:16] Remember, that's significant. Shut up, Peter. Stop talking. Just listen. And that same word for see happens three times in that event.
[20:29] They see Jesus transfigured. They see a cloud where a voice comes out. and then after Elijah and Moses disappear, right, they see Jesus.
[20:43] Although, they don't just see Jesus, they see Jesus. See? This is what that word means. In other words, so these people who see the sun coming, they're seeing, in other words, not necessarily a visual, they're seeing with discernment.
[21:01] They're recognizing and understanding something about Jesus, about the son of man. So, who is this son of man coming in the clouds?
[21:12] They see the son of man coming in clouds. So, who's the son of man? Now, we know that. We've been seeing, Jesus has used this reference of himself all through the gospel.
[21:27] He doesn't call himself the son of God, he calls himself the son of man. And it's a way of hiding his identity, but at the same time, being accurate with his identity.
[21:40] Because the Old Testament, one place has the reference of the son of man who is identified as the Messiah. So, he's speaking of himself as the Messiah, but kind of hiding it, right?
[21:53] Because remember, he didn't want that out at first. He didn't want people would misunderstand, so he's hiding his identity sort of. Except to the people that wanted to know him, he would reveal himself, right?
[22:06] He hides himself from the crowds because they're after other things. So, coming in the cloud, who's the son of man? Jesus uses that reference in Mark chapter 2, verse 10, where he says, the son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth.
[22:25] That's right after the coming down out of the roof and the man that was, he first forgave their sins. Remember, Jesus says, to prove to you I have authority to forgive him, I will raise him up.
[22:37] And he said, so stand up, take your pallet and go home. The guy stood up, took his pallet and went home. Therefore, the son of man has authority. He used it in reference to his prediction of his death in the end of chapter 8 of Mark, where he said, the son of man is going to go to Jerusalem, he's going to be betrayed, he's going to be rejected by the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees, he's going to be killed, and on the third day he will rise again.
[23:07] So the son of man, that's his reference for himself. He uses it all over the place in Mark. I just wanted to give you a couple examples to show that he's talking about himself. The son of man will come.
[23:18] He's talking about himself. He will come on class. So how is he coming? What does Jesus say in this verse? Verse 26, and then they will see the son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
[23:33] Where does he come? Does it say? Where do we assume he's coming? To earth, right? We're assuming he's coming back.
[23:44] But it doesn't say that. It just says he's coming in clouds. Okay? So be careful that we don't read in.
[23:54] Let's let it speak. He's coming in clouds. Well, what's clouds? Well, clouds, if we've read the Old Testament, we read even in the New Testament, clouds often are a manifestation of God's presence.
[24:09] Remember during the Exodus, how did God appear to Israel? A pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud during the day.
[24:20] They followed a pillar of cloud. it was a manifestation of God moving, right? When they put the tabernacle up at the end of Exodus, God comes and fills that tabernacle with a cloud.
[24:37] The transfiguration where Jesus was transfigured before them, what appears? I already referred to it. A cloud appears, envelops them.
[24:48] out of the cloud, they hear a voice that says, this is my son. Peter, listen to him.
[25:00] Stop talking. It's God speaking in a cloud. So the cloud often represents the presence of God.
[25:13] So coming in clouds, in other words, coming as the presence of God. So then it says he comes with power and glory. Okay?
[25:26] Now certainly when Jesus returns to earth, he comes with power and glory, doesn't he? He descends. When he descends and comes to earth, when he returns, there will be no question about who he is.
[25:38] There will be no question about what time it is. When he returns, the game is over. Right? When he returns, people will either bow and worship him or they will try to hide under rocks and hope that they get crushed before they have to face him.
[25:57] That's the way Revelation describes the end. It won't be like when you see the abomination of desolation, you still have time to run. When Jesus returns, there's no time left.
[26:10] It's done. There's nowhere to run. Okay? So, so certainly he comes with power and glory then. But let me ask you the question.
[26:21] When did Jesus receive his power and glory? Does he not receive his power and glory until he comes back? When did he receive his power and glory? He did not have the power and glory on earth.
[26:36] He, by faith, did miracles, right? He exhibited power, yes, but did he rule a kingdom as he's on earth?
[26:48] Right? No. Did he have glory while he was on earth? Well, yes, depends on who's looking at him, right? But he came in a humble body, right? He humbled himself.
[26:59] When he was glorified was when he raised from the dead. Then he's coming in power and glory. That's when he received power and glory.
[27:10] power. In fact, Jesus said before he ascended at the end of Matthew, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
[27:21] In other words, everywhere. Therefore, go and make disciples. He already had all authority. Before he even ascended to heaven, he already had all authority in heaven and earth.
[27:36] So he's already received the power and glory. So this is talking about when he comes with it. Does he come with it? Well, we look at a couple of references in the book of Revelation, chapter 4 and chapter 5, where the angels are in heaven and they're worshiping God on the throne and the lamb that stands before the throne, the lamb who was crucified, the son of God.
[28:02] The angels are worshiping the father and the son and they are saying to the lamb belongs, power and glory and majesty and a whole list of stuff.
[28:16] I think we even sing that song. I know it to the throne. What's it called? Revelation. Yeah, the Revelation song. Anyway, to him be the, you know, right?
[28:28] So that's at the beginning of Revelation where it's just the scene in heaven. Nothing in the future has happened yet. That's just worship in heaven. He's there with the father and he's being worshiped as having power and glory.
[28:42] Let me show you a reference, another reference. Here Jesus says this reference of the son coming with power and glory in chapter 13. Flip over one chapter to Mark chapter, to Mark 14, verse 61, where Jesus is standing before the high priest and the Sanhedrin and his trial.
[29:04] remember they're questioning him. They've already beat him. They're questioning him and he's silent. Remember he's silent like a, like like a sheep before it's shears. He's silent. But then the high priest comes out of verse 61.
[29:17] It says, it talks about how Jesus remained silent, made no answer. Again, the high priest, this is a Mark 14, 61. Again, the high priest asked him, are you the Christ?
[29:29] The son of the blessed. Finally, Jesus speaks and Jesus said, I am. And you, high priest, will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming with what?
[29:50] The clouds of heaven. Almost the same words. Coming with clouds of heaven. Except that he adds another phrase, you will see him where?
[30:04] Seated at the right hand and coming. In other words, it's a way of Jesus saying, coming in the clouds is the same thing as sitting at the right hand.
[30:17] And you, high priest, will see that. Again, the same word, by the way. Not see physically, but see with understanding. You will come to understand. You reject me?
[30:30] You ask me if I'm the Christ? Okay, I am. And you will know who I am. Not just the Christ, but I'm sitting at the right hand of the Father.
[30:42] I'm coming in clouds. And your day's over. So these words, the Son of Man coming on clouds with power and glory, just as before, back in verse 14 when Jesus talked about the abomination of desolation, Jesus had borrowed those words, or those words were echoing from Daniel the prophet.
[31:10] Same thing again here. These words, Son of Man coming in clouds, echo once again from the prophet Daniel. These words were already written.
[31:23] This is where Jesus gets his title, Son of Man. Because Daniel 7 13 is the one that says, the Son of Man who is given a kingdom. Okay?
[31:34] So let's look back at that context. Daniel 7, beginning of verse 9. On your outline it's there. Just a little context before we get to those words.
[31:45] I want you to understand the scene that Daniel's describing. Daniel 7 verse 9, he says, I looked. So Daniel's seeing visions, right? He's seeing.
[31:56] He's being given a glimpse. I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. Now I wonder who the Ancient of Days is.
[32:08] Let's see how he's described. He took his seat, his clothing was white as snow, the hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne, okay, he's on a throne, was fiery flames.
[32:20] Its wheels were burning fire. A steam of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
[32:33] The court sat in judgment, and the books were open. Got any clue about who the Ancient of Days might be? God the Father. God the Eternal One.
[32:46] God who served and worshipped and sits on the throne. Now go down to verse 13. Same vision now. He says, Now I saw in the night visions, and behold, watch the words, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man.
[33:04] Coming, son of man coming with the clouds. with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came where? To the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion, or power, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people's nations and languages should serve him.
[33:29] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, or power, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. What's happening in this vision that Daniel has?
[33:42] What's happening? We have one like a son of man who comes which way? Not down. He's coming up to the Ancient of Days.
[33:55] And actually the Hebrew could be understood as not just to him, but up to him. But Hebrew is not as definitive as Greek, so we let that go.
[34:07] But he's coming not to earth, he's coming to the Ancient of Days. And what happens next? What does the Ancient of Days do when this one like a son of man comes to him?
[34:19] The Ancient of Days gives him dominion and glory and an eternal kingdom. This is a vision of the enthronement of Christ in heaven.
[34:37] Remember how the New Testament describes over and over again? How when Jesus ascends, he will then what? He will sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
[34:47] He will begin to rule as prophesied by David in Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord, what? Sit at my right hand until I put all your enemies under your feet.
[35:00] Jesus, as the Son of Man, comes to the Father. He ascends to the right hand.
[35:12] And how is it that we see that Jesus comes in the clouds? How is it that we see that Jesus is recognized as enthroned in heaven? How do we know that's already happened?
[35:27] Because what he described in verse 24, the stars falling from the sky, the end of Israel's administration in 70 AD when that happened, guess what you knew for sure?
[35:40] That proves Jesus is enthroned in heaven. That's what he's saying. When the stars fall from the sky for Israel, then you will see with understanding and recognition that the Son of Man is coming in the clouds, meaning he's sitting at the Father's right hand and beginning his rule.
[36:03] That's one thing you'll see. And the fact that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and he's ruling from heaven, this isn't the only place that talks about that. 1 Corinthians 15 talks about this, Hebrews talks about this, that Jesus is sitting right now presently at the right hand of the Father and he's ruling.
[36:22] Does that give you any hope? hope? In a world that's got a lot of hopelessness and a world that's got a lot of junk going on, in a world that's got a lot of horrible things going on, does that not give you hope?
[36:39] He is on his throne. He is one by one putting enemies under his feet. He's not in a hurry. We sometimes wish, could we pick it up a little bit?
[36:54] Right? Could we could, you know, there's a lot of injustice. Can we right a few more wrongs? He's right, in his time, he is righting the wrongs he desires to do in the time he wants to do. By the end, he will do it all.
[37:10] Why is he delaying? Because there's still more people to save. That's why. Because there's still people that aren't born yet, that he's still going to save.
[37:21] There's still people, out there that haven't heard the gospel, that he's still going to save. That's why he's still going. Until that number's up to the full, every name that's in the book is there, he's not coming.
[37:36] Until the gospel's preached all the way to the ends of the earth, he's not coming. Now, when is that done? Only he knows. Actually, Jesus says only the Father knows.
[37:48] Nobody else knows when that day is. So, we see that Jesus is ruling and recognized to be in heaven. Is that it?
[37:59] Isn't he coming again? Yes, he's coming again. But like I said, the next coming, there won't be any wonder if he's coming, right?
[38:12] He all will know. Every eye will see him. every knee will bow either out of joy or out of terror. But there's a second thing that happens.
[38:26] Not only is Jesus recognized as enthroned in heaven, but secondly, the elect are gathered. A second reason for our hope is that when the temple falls, God's chosen children are being gathered worldwide.
[38:42] verse 27. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, verse 27. And then he will send out the angels and he will gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
[39:01] So notice first of all who's sent. The angels are sent. Now has that happened yet? Has he sent the angels? I don't know who's seen an angel.
[39:12] lately? Now remember, you never know, right? Some of you have entertained angels, scripture says, without knowing it, right?
[39:22] They come, they manifest themselves as men, right? Although usually when they show up, the first thing they have to say is, don't be afraid, right?
[39:33] Because they're apparently very intimidating. So they usually have to say, don't be afraid. This is good news. So usually when this word in Greek, the word in Greek is angelos.
[39:48] We transliterate that into English as angel, angel. So when we read angels in our English, it's simply the transliteration of the Greek angel.
[40:02] Now what does angel mean? it means messenger. So you could read that Jesus says he will send his messenger.
[40:16] Now why isn't it translated that way? Because 98 times out of 100, when it says angel, it means heavenly angels.
[40:29] But there are a few instances where the word angel, refers to human messenger. At the very beginning of the gospel of Mark, in Mark chapter 1 verse 2, it says, I will send my messenger before the day of the Lord.
[40:48] He will cry out in the wilderness. Who is that messenger? Who was that angel? Who was the one that came before Jesus? John the Baptist.
[41:00] The angel, John the Baptist. Well, not an angel, he was a messenger. That's why it doesn't translate angel, but it translates messenger.
[41:11] There's a few other instances where we know for certain it's not heavenly angels, but simply human messengers. In Luke 7, Jesus talks about sending his disciples into Samaria to prepare the way, and actually says he sends his messengers.
[41:28] or if we read it literally, he sends his angels. Well, did he send his angels or his disciples? Well, in the context we can clearly tell, we're talking about sending his disciples as messengers.
[41:40] John the Baptist sent angels to Jesus, or messengers to Jesus, to ask him, remember, John is in prison, he's hearing about Jesus, he's wondering, are you really the real guy?
[41:51] I said you were the guy, are you the guy? Because you're not doing the things I thought you were going to do. Right? So he sends his angels, messengers, to Jesus to ask him, are you the guy? Because I'm over here in prison dying for you.
[42:05] Just want to know, did I make the right choice? Right? He doesn't say that, that's a little between the white lines. Yeah. So did he send angels? No, he sent his human message.
[42:17] So all I'm pointing out is that it's possible that what verse 27 is saying is that he's not necessarily sending angelic angels, but he may be sending human messengers.
[42:30] Okay? I'm not going to die for that. That's just a possibility. So he sends his angels. So what does he do next?
[42:42] He sends angels and then he gathers the elect. By the way, that's interesting. The impression when I read it was that he sends the angels and they gather the elect.
[42:54] But that's not what actually it says. He sends the angels and he gathers the elect. Obviously the implication is he's doing that through the angels some way.
[43:06] But it's actually he's the subject of the gathering. But again, let's ask a question. So he's gathering the elect. For what? What's he gathering them for?
[43:21] Now when we first read it, we kind of fill it in and we kind of assume, right? We read into it and say, oh, he's gathering them for the end. Right? Does it say that?
[43:33] It just says he gathers the elect. Doesn't say why. Why didn't he say why? Then we could not have to worry about what it means. He doesn't say. Okay.
[43:45] Alright, so what? Is he gathering them for judgment? Which is what most people assume he means.
[43:56] And that's certainly possible. Or is he gathering them initially for salvation? Are these not necessarily angels but human messengers going with the gospel message and starting to gather, right?
[44:11] Jew and Gentile. Possible. I like that. It's possible. just want you to understand the different we can understand this way.
[44:23] Remember Jesus said in John 10 he spoke about other sheep that he had other sheep who are not of this fold. In other words, Jewish. He had other sheep that must that he must bring to gather.
[44:36] John 11 he talks about how his children who are scattered everywhere he will gather them. So he uses that language about more of the salvation gathered.
[44:52] So it's possible that's what he's talking about here. He's not talking about the end time when he sends the angels out to gather and then there's judgment. It's possible that he's saying he's sending out messengers who will begin to gather those who are saved into the church.
[45:10] It's possible. Then he says the four winds. What's that mean? What are the four winds? Are those places we could go? Revelation talks about the four angels who hold back the four winds.
[45:25] That makes it even more intriguing. What's that? Are the four winds north, south, east, and west? Could be. I don't know what it means.
[45:37] But angels are somehow involved with four winds in Revelation. They seem to control a lot of weather and plagues and all that that goes on in Revelation. But from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven, I think is simply a fancy or prophetic way of saying from everywhere.
[45:57] They gather them from one end of earth to the other end. They gather them from everywhere. The elect are going to be gathered. They're all over the place. And they're going to be gathered together. It's a universal gathering.
[46:09] It's a worldwide gathering. It's gathering from everywhere. In Luke 13, Jesus said that the Jews, the sons quote unquote of the kingdom will reject Jesus, the sons of the kingdom being the Jews.
[46:23] And he says, when you reject me, guess what will happen? People from all over the place, from the north and the south and the east and the west are going to gather. They're going to come and sit at my table. You don't want to sit at my table, but there's lots of people that will.
[46:38] You Jews will forget it, but the Gentiles, these Coloradans over here will come, and these Greeks over here will come, and these Africans from over here will come, these Chinese from over here will come, and they'll all get a place.
[46:54] So he does talk about that kind of language. Is this the gathering Jesus is talking about? One other thing, let's compare some language.
[47:04] Jesus uses the words here in Mark 13 27, where he says, they send out angels and there's a gathering. We have those same words in Matthew 13.
[47:18] It's at the end of the parable of the weeds. Remember Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like weeds? It's like the farmer has planted all his grain, and then his enemy has come in and sown a bunch of tares, weeds, and so they grow up together.
[47:36] And he says, don't try to separate them, because if you try to separate them, they look a lot alike. If you try to separate them, you might accidentally pull up a good grain, right?
[47:48] So it's not your job to root out people. He says, I'll take care of that at the end. And he explains it this way. He says, just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age, the Son of Man will send his angels, there we go, and they will gather, same words, but what will they gather?
[48:12] They will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law breakers. They're not gathering the elect there, they're gathering sinners. So just different. Doesn't mean it's not referring the same thing, just different language.
[48:25] And they'll throw them in the fire and furnace, and in that place they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear. Again, Matthew 25, again, similar language.
[48:38] Jesus says, Matthew 25, 31, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, same language, coming in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne, before him will be gathered, who?
[48:54] all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. So, is Mark 13, 27, where he sends angels and they gather the elect, referring to the same thing as Matthew is referring to?
[49:13] Is he referring to the end? It's possible he could be referring to the same thing in a general way. Or it could be talking about two whole different gatherings. how do we understand the angels are gathering the elect?
[49:30] Is this the initial gathering for salvation? Or is this the gathering at the end? I believe, and I will not die for this. Okay, I'll give you my interpretation, but I'm not dying for it.
[49:42] Okay, I think it's just, it makes sense. The context favors a present gathering for salvation. Because notice that just three verses later, in verse 30, Jesus says, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
[50:03] In other words, all these things, the sun dark, the moon and the stars falling and the sun coming in the clouds and the angels gathering all take place within one generation, which is basically 40 years, years, which would be 70 AD.
[50:24] There's our time frame. Now, the word generation can be understood differently, we'll get to that later. But usually it means basically one generation of people, about 40 years.
[50:40] Context favors that this has already begun. again, symbolic language, we have to be careful with symbolic language. Okay.
[50:55] Doesn't matter whether you take these verses to mean the end of the world or that they've already happened. What do we know? What do we know? We know one, that when the temple fell, the two results were certain.
[51:15] The sun was already on his throne. Whether this is referring to that or not, we know that when the temple fell, and long before that, the sun was already sitting on his throne.
[51:27] He ascended and he sat down, and he's still there. Secondly, we know that after Jesus rose from the dead, and he ascended, what happened?
[51:38] The elect began to be gathered from all over the world. Remember the book of Acts talks about for seven chapters, how they all hung around in Jerusalem. And hanging around in Jerusalem made a problem for everybody, because then all these extra visitors are in town, and people weren't getting fed, and the church, you know, everybody wants to hang around the party, because it's good, so chapter 8, what does God do?
[52:03] Sends a persecution, kicks them out, get out there and spread the gospel, like I told you. Probably said it much nicer than that, although it was persecution. So what happened?
[52:16] The elect began to be gathered. Paul goes out, Stephen goes out, Philip goes out, the disciples go out, and they start preaching and the elect are being gathered. That did happen.
[52:29] is that what this verse refers to for certain? I don't know. I think so. I don't know for sure. And it doesn't really matter. I think the truth behind it is what matters.
[52:44] We know he's on his throne and we know the elect are being gathered and that gives each of us hope. That is hope we can answer for.
[52:54] hope. Somebody asks us, what's your thing? What are you about? I'm about Jesus. Why are you about Jesus?
[53:05] Why do you seem so hopeful? I can tell you why I'm hopeful. Jesus is sitting on his throne. And although the world's going bad, I know he's in control.
[53:17] and I know that he's saving people all over the world. I know he's bringing his sheep in. I have hope.
[53:27] I know that when I die, I'm going somewhere. I know that whatever I suffer in this world is worth it because it's not even comparable to what I get later. And by the way, some of that later stuff, I get a little bit taste of now and then.
[53:44] And that's really cool. Is it? Want to have a good day? You don't want to compare days. And I have bad days too.
[53:56] Thank you. And when I have a bad day, even the bad day still has some hope. It still has some hope. I can be super down and I can be super discouraged, but I'm not ultimately discouraged.
[54:13] I know my Savior lives. Jesus is reigning. He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of his father.
[54:24] And he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. And the very last enemy that he will put under his feet is death. As Christians, we have hope.
[54:37] We don't just have some grasping hope.! We have a living hope. A hope that energizes us, that gives us confidence, that is a ground and an anchor when we feel like we're floating out there.
[54:56] It's not like sinking sand. It's a rock. rock. Because my Savior isn't just some guy I hope was right. My Savior is a guy, not just a guy, he's a man who really did come.
[55:13] That's undeniable. Who really did live a righteous life, that's undeniable. Who really did raise from the dead, again, that's undeniable. And is now seated at the right hand.
[55:27] And he is coming back. He will make everything right. I even hope in that. Even though there's so many wrongs that go wrong and don't get made right today, he will make it right.
[55:41] He will make it right. I can trust that. We have a living hope. Our inheritance is imperishable, unfading, and will not fall away.
[55:55] It's protected in heaven, where God's power is guarding us by our faith for a salvation, ready to be revealed. Luke says it this way, describing the same events that Jesus is predicting.
[56:08] Luke writes it this way, when the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory, and then Luke records these words of Jesus.
[56:21] Now when these things begin to take place, what shall you do? Is this the end? you shall run and hide in fear. When these things begin to take place, you know what you do?
[56:33] Straighten up, raise your head. Why? Because your redemption is drawing near. In other words, when you see these things begin to take place, you have hope.
[56:45] You can straighten up, not bow down, you can straighten up, you can raise your head, he's coming. and it's coming, this decrepit dying body will be renewed.
[57:01] I'm really looking forward to that day more and more. I'm looking forward to a good shoulder and good feet and good joints and you guys could preach to me about that. I don't even compare to many of you knowing what the new body will be like.
[57:16] All right, Susan, you know much better than me. So let us rejoice. Let us be grateful. We have a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
[57:30] Let us rejoice. Father, thank you for your words. We thank you that these words that were stated and written so long ago still speak to us today.
[57:42] And they speak to us about your faithfulness. We speak to us about your truth. You as the Son of God, Jesus, you knew what was going to happen already. And you could tell us ahead of time.
[57:56] And now as those on the other side of history looking back we can see that your words were true. You predicted accurately. And so we know we can trust your word. And we know we can trust you.
[58:08] You truly are a spokesman of God. You're truly not just a messenger of God. You're actually the Son of God. And so we worship you and we thank you. Give us rejoicing hearts today and this week.
[58:22] May these thoughts, Lord, and others be filled in our hearts so that as we come to be grateful and give thanks together as families, Lord, we can truly have that spirit of gratefulness.
[58:35] We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.