The sermon, based on Mark 13, discusses the prophetic language used by Jesus to describe the judgment coming upon Jerusalem, referencing Old Testament prophecies about Babylon, Edom, and Egypt. The speaker explains how Jesus' use of cataclysmic imagery, like the sun and moon darkening and stars falling, aligns with the language of Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Ezekiel. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is seen as a fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy, serving as a sign of His reign and ascension into heaven as described in Daniel 7. The sermon emphasizes that this historical fulfillment assures believers of Jesus' promises and sovereignty, urging them to remain alert and faithful, engaging in the Great Commission with confidence that their labor is not in vain. The sermon also highlights Jesus’ dual nature as both divine and human, capable of bearing the world’s sins and standing as the perfect Savior.

Beginning in verse 24 of Mark 13, we will have part 4 of the three part sermon of Mark 13. If you'll now stand, Ask the congregation now to stand as we hear from God. We are hearing from His perfect and sufficient Word. It's amazing that we have Bibles in front of us this morning. Amazing grace.

Beginning in verse 24 of Mark 13, but in those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. And the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Now learn the parable from the fig tree.

When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, But my words will not pass away But of that day or hour no one knows not even the angels in heaven nor the Sun, but the Father alone Take heed Keep on the alert For you do not know when the appointed time will come It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, beyond the alert, For you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

In case you should come suddenly and find you asleep, what I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert. May God bless the reading of His Word. Amen. You may be seated. For three Lord's days now, we've looked at this longest section of Jesus' teaching in Mark's Gospel and the longest prophetic passage in all of Jesus' ministry, the Olivet Discourse.

And we've seen the setting. We've seen how in chapters 11 and 12 and in verses 1 through 4 of chapter 13 and verse 30 of chapter 13 this generation we've seen how these things have been talking about the promised judgment upon Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple we've seen sign Many of the signs starting in verse 5, we've seen false Christs, false prophets, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines, persecution and apostasy. The gospel preached to all the nations throughout the Roman Empire. And then last Lord's Day, we saw the sign that the judgment was imminent upon Jerusalem. We talk through the abomination of desolation.

And the Gospel writer Luke told us that this abomination was most likely the Roman army surrounding Jerusalem in AD 70. And Mark and the other Gospel writers say, regardless, if that's the exact abomination of desolation or not, I think it is, regardless though, the reader would understand what the abomination was the abomination of desolation was bad and there was not going to be any confusion for those who saw it When you see it, you'll know it. Get out. Go to the mountains. Flee to Judea.

And what happened? Well, for those who did flee, they were saved. But to those who remained, a great tribulation overtook them. Before the Romans even entered, we talked about how great this tribulation was. And even those who were not Christians like Josephus and the pagan Roman Emperor Titus.

They each bore witness to the evils that took place within the walls of Jerusalem as Jews slaughtered themselves. And when the Romans entered the slaughter was in fact complete and the temple was torn down stone by stone. A great tribulation. And so this morning, we come now to the fourth and final part of our passage as Jesus finishes his prophecy of the coming judgment on the temple. And we begin with the lights going out.

The lights go out. Sun, moon, and stars in verses 24 and 25. Look there in verse 24. But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, Jesus said, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. If you have a New American Standard in front of you, what do you see in that section?

Go ahead and say it. Capitals. Just like last Lord's Day, you see a whole lot of capital letters. And that means That you need to find out what Old Testament passage this New Testament passage is quoting And you need to understand the passages in light of each other. It's how we study the Bible scripture interpreting scripture We got to do that.

So let's do that together. Do you know what Jesus is quoting in Mark 13 verses 24 and 25? Well, it's the prophet Isaiah. Let's go to the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 13. Isaiah chapter 13, beginning in verse 1.

There's going to be a lot of Bible turning this morning, so just Get your thumbs ready. Get your fingers stretched. If you have a pew Bible, you can find our passage, Isaiah 13. You can find that on page 696. 696 in the pew Bible.

Here's what Jesus is quoting from this passage in Isaiah 13 and a few others. Isaiah 13 beginning in verse 1. I want you to really pay attention. Don't get bogged down by any crazy details. Just make the main things the main things.

Here we go. The oracle, verse one, the oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos saw. Lift up a standard on the bare hill. Raise your voice to them. Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.

I have commanded my consecrated ones. I have even called my mighty warriors, my proudly exalting ones, to execute my anger. A sound of tumult on the mountains like that of many people a Sound of the uproar of kingdoms of nations gathered together The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle. They are coming from a far country from the farthest horizons the Lord and his instruments of indignation to destroy the whole land We haven't got to the quotation yet, but I got to read the whole thing Question number one. What is this prophecy concern?

Verse one look again. What is this prophecy concern? Who does this prophecy concern? Babylon. That's verse 1.

The same Babylon that invaded and captured Judah and Jerusalem. What verse 1 says? The oracle concerning Babylon. Next question. What does this prophecy from Isaiah say will happen to Babylon?

Look at verse 5, God will destroy the whole land. Look at verse 4, the Lord of Hosts is mustering the army for battle. God is going to destroy Babylon by raising up other nations against it. God is going to destroy Babylon. That's verses one through five.

You got that? Okay, it's easy to see. Verse six. Whale, for the day of the Lord is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt. They will be terrified. Pains and anguish will take hold of them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame.

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation, and He will exterminate its sinners from it." I'm going to pause there. What is the day that's coming? Verse 9, the day of the Lord is coming. What's going to happen on that day? A desolation.

On who? Verse 8, they will be terrified. Pains and anguish will take hold of them. Who is the them? All the way back up in verse 1.

Babylonians. The day of the Lord is going to come upon the Babylonians. You see what Isaiah is prophesying about? It might not be making sense. Why am I making a big deal about this?

It will. Hang in there. It's the next verses. The day of the Lord's coming. Judgment and destruction from God is coming upon the Babylonians.

That's what's called the day of the Lord in Isaiah 13. Day of judgment, a day of desolation. Now I want you to notice how this prophesied day of judgment upon Babylon is described. Here we go, verse 10. Notice the language that Isaiah uses.

For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Does that sound familiar to you? It should. It's the exact same language in verse 10 that's used in Mark 13, verses 24 and 25 by Jesus.

Again, I want to ask the question, what is Isaiah referring to? Isaiah 13, Verse 1, Babylon. And what has God promised to Babylon? Destruction, judgment, desolation. This is judgment language we're using.

He describes that judgment in verse 10. Let's keep going. Verse 11, I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir.

Verse 13, listen to the language. Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them. They will each turn to his own people, and each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, and anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

Their little ones will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be plundered, and their wives ravished. Behold, I am going to stir up the meads against them, who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold, and their bows will mow down the young men. They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, nor will their eye pity children. And Babylon, Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. That's a pretty heavy section of verses that I just read.

What is that entire chapter, if you keep reading you'll see it's all the same. What is that entire chapter about? Judgment. Judgment upon a particular nation called Babylon. I want you to look again at verse 17 of Isaiah 13.

Look at verse 17 there. Who was God going to stir up against Babylon? What was the prophecy? The Medes. The Medes.

And what happened? Babylon exactly as Isaiah said, it's almost like Isaiah was indwelt. It was like Isaiah was prophesying through the Holy Spirit. Because it happened exactly like Isaiah said it would You can read about it in the book of Daniel Babylon exactly like Isaiah said fell to the Medes and the Persians Babylon fell to the Medes just like the judgment foretold. But before it fell, what was the kingdom of Babylon like?

What was it like? Look at verse 19. Babylon, The beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride. It'll be overthrown just like Sodom and Gomorrah. You read in that language?

Its glory, its light was to be snuffed out, darkened. And how does God describe the glory of a great nation like Babylon being snuffed out? When you go back to verse 10, for the stars of heaven, their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. God promised judgment upon Babylon through the prophet Isaiah.

He, God, would snuff out Babylon's glory. And in verse 10, we have language of glory being snuffed out. This is judgment language. When Babylon was destroyed, did the world end? If it did, I'm confused.

Babylon ended in utter destruction. Isaiah is using heavenly, cataclysmic language to talk about not the destruction of the entire world, but the snuffing out of the most glorious kingdom on the world potentially at that point. Babylon. As J. Marcellus Kik says, if the Holy Spirit Speaking through the prophet Isaiah uses such figurative language to describe the downfall of a heathen nation like Babylon whose glory shone like the stars on earth.

How much more would not such a language fit the downfall of the chosen nation of Israel. This is the same language that Jesus used in Mark 13 that the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ Inspired Isaiah to use and Isaiah 13 the language of lights going out Sun moon and stars And it was not about the end of the world But about what? It was about Babylon and its coming destruction. I'm going to ask a question. Why would we expect Jesus Christ to use this same language differently?

His spirit inspired Isaiah 13, but not just Isaiah 13. Turn with me to the right to Isaiah 34. Go to Isaiah 34 verse 4. Isaiah 34 verse 4. Isaiah 34 verse 4.

And all the hosts of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree, for my sword is satiated in heaven. Behold, it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction." What language do you see there in verse 4? The host of heaven will wear away. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll.

What is that depicted? Well you have to read the next verse. Look at verse 5. Judgment upon Edom. Judgment upon a particular nation.

A different nation than Babylon now. Isaiah's moved on from Babylon. Now the Edomites. Later to be known as Edumea. This is judgment language in Isaiah 34.

Solar system collapsing language that is used to describe what event. Not the end of the world. No, the judgment of a nation by God. And what happened by, and by the way, what happened to Edom? What happened to Edom?

Edom was judged. Edom as promised was conquered by invading nations and eventually the people, this people, faded from history. And when that happened, when the promised judgment of Edom occurred, was the solar system literally gone? Was it rolled up? Did it collapse?

Was the sky literally, it wasn't? Were the hosts of heavens, were the stars literally falling like leaves from the vine as this text says? No, no, no, no. Verse 5, did a literal sword, did a literal sword fall down and descend upon Edom? Brothers and sisters, you know, no, this is figurative language that is consistently used in the Old Testament to describe God's certain and powerful judgment.

Babylon was destroyed. Eden was judged and conquered. And God used his same language of the sun and the moon going out and the stars falling from the sky to convey that the glory of a nation is going to be snuffed out. That's how he's using this language. Because God had brought judgment upon a particular nation.

That's how Isaiah uses this imagery. You can see it for yourself? I hope you can. Isaiah uses this imagery like this to talk about particular nations, and Jesus uses the same language in Mark 13 to talk about the judgment upon a particular nation. But it's not just the prophet Isaiah.

You might say, well, maybe it's just Isaiah. What about the other prophets, pastor? I'm glad you asked that question. So let's go to the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 32.

Ezekiel chapter 32. You can find that on page 859 in the pew Bible. 859 Ezekiel 32. Look at verse 1. Look at verse 1.

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, you compared yourself to a young lion of the nations, Yet you are like the monster in the seas and you burst forth in your rivers and muddied the waters with your feet and Fowled their rivers Who is Ezekiel talking about verse 2 Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt He's talking about Egypt And what is Ezekiel prophesying about Egypt? Lamentation it says. Lamentation, judgment, judgment upon the nation of Egypt. Look in verse 3. Thus says the Lord God, now I will spread my net over you with the company of many peoples, and they shall lift you up in my net.

I will leave you on the land, I will cast you on the open field, and I will cause all the birds of the heavens to dwell on you. I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with you I will lay your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your refuse yikes I Will also make the land to drink the discharge of your blood As far as the mountains and the ravines will be full of you. And when I extinguish you, when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens, I will darken over you, and will set darkness on your land, declares the Lord God.

Do you see what I'm seeing, Maybe? Do you see that the language that Ezekiel uses towards Egypt in verses 7 and 8? Beloved, again, if the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophet Ezekiel uses such figurative language to describe the downfall, not of the entire world, but of a particular heathen nation, Egypt. How much more would not such language be rightly used to describe the downfall of the nation of Israel? Are you seeing the way that the prophets inspired by the Spirit of Christ talk just like the Christ in Mark 13.

But this is not just Isaiah and Ezekiel. I want you to go home today and look at a few other prophets. Look at the prophet Joel. Don't go there now. Look at the prophet Joel, Joel chapter 2.

And then compare it to Acts chapter 2. That would be a great exercise when Peter quotes that same prophecy in Joel 2 and says that the prophecy of Joel 2 has been fulfilled at Pentecost and at the end of Judaism. So seriously, go home and study Joel chapter 2 where Joel says, the sun and the moon grow dark stars lose their brightness, A language of judgment upon a nation that has given itself over to evil. Go to Joel 2. Tonight look up the prophet Amos and see the symbolic language that he uses to describe judgment upon a particular nation.

God turning out the lights on a nation that once shown brightly in its glory will now be in judgment and will now be in the dark. I hope you're seeing it. I hope you're seeing the way that the prophets, inspired by the Spirit of Christ, talk just like the Christ in Mark 13. It's the same God who wrote all these books, beloved. Isaiah prophesying of the lights going out on the glory of Babylon.

Isaiah again prophesying of the lights going out on the glory of Edom. Ezekiel prophesying of the lights going out on the nation of Egypt. Joel, Amos, the same. These are great prophets prophesying of the judgment of God upon particular nations. And you just saw it yourself.

God promising judgment upon particular nations. And how does God Himself talk about it? He talks about His judgment with cataclysmic sun, moon, stars, falling language. This is the way that the great prophets consistently prophesied judgment. So why then are we finding it so difficult for the greatest prophet, Jesus the Christ, To use the exact same language To refer to the nation of Israel in the temple And God's judgment upon it When we come to Mark 13 verses 24 and 25, you can go back there.

When we come to our passage in verses 24 and 25, admittedly, where do most of our minds go when we read that? Our minds go to the end of the world. This must be the end of the world language and beloved I get that and if that's you I'm not upset with you, but I just want to encourage us We must take our cues from the Bible And how does the Bible tell us we are to understand language like this? I just went to the Old Testament to the place that he was quoting. I went to other places for you.

This language used in Mark 13 by Jesus the Christ the great prophet. This language is meant to be understood in the same way the lesser prophets language was to be understood. Same spirit, the spirit of Christ was in them. This is cataclysmic judgment from God upon a nation. And beloved if you disagree with me at least you can know your pastor has labored to say he is going all the way to Ezekiel.

When is the last time we were in Ezekiel? We're laboring to interpret scripture with scripture and even if we come to a different conclusion you cannot look and say well that's just silly. It's not silly. Trying to be consistent. That's all I'm trying to do.

Not trying to attack anybody, not trying to get anybody to say, oh man, he's mad at me. That is not true. But I do think this language is talking about God being mad at people. That's the lights going out. Okay?

Glad that's out. Verses 26 and 27. We see the next son. The son of man and his angels. You see the son of man coming in power and glory, and his angels gathering in the elect from the four winds.

That's what you see, right? The Son of man coming, power and glory, his angels gathering the elect. And again, each of us want to lead to conclusions, and I understand, we want to lead to conclusions, but you just have that difficult all caps thing. What does it tell you? You got to go to the Old Testament.

You got to see what Jesus is quoting. So what do you think we're going to do? We're going to do it. Let's do it. Son of man coming in the clouds, that comes from the Old Testament.

Before you import meaning into the words of Jesus, you have to let the Bible export meaning into the words of Jesus. You got that? Man, if there's anything I say today, I think that's really important. Before you import meaning into the words of Jesus from up here. You gotta let the Bible export meaning for you.

Otherwise you go wonky. So we're gonna go to where we can get that meaning. Daniel chapter 7, son of man coming in the clouds. Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. If you have a pure Bible, that's 891, page 891.

I remember growing up and hearing my pastor say how much he loved the sound of turning the Bibles. Boy, amen, what he said. This is wonderful sound. Sound. Daniel chapter 7 beginning in verse 13.

Okay. Daniel prophesied in chapter 7 verse 13, I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming, there it is, son of man with clouds, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, And to him was given dominion, glory, and kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." Now beloved, what did that passage just say? The Son of Man coming on the clouds in which direction? Look at verse 13.

Which direction is Jesus going? Two letters. Up. He's going up. He's not going down.

The prophecy is up. What's going to happen in the second coming? In the second coming, Jesus is going to return from heaven down to earth. Jesus is coming down in the second coming. Is that what you see in Daniel 7 verse 13?

No, no, you don't. Daniel 7, beloved, is not about the second coming. Jesus is going up. The Son of man, Jesus, is going up to the ancient of days, God the Father. The Son ascending to the Father.

Which means, What's Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 all about? It's about the ascension. About the ascension of Jesus Christ. Jesus triumphs over sin and the grave and His death and resurrection. And then Jesus ascends.

And what does Ephesians chapter 1 tell us? What does Ephesians chapter 1 tell us? What does Ephesians chapter 1 tell us? Ephesians 1, Paul says, Jesus went up to the Father, up to the Father and sat down at the right hand of the Father. That's the Ancient of Days.

And the Father gave him dominion and power and authority over all things. That's Ephesians 1, right? Ephesians 1 tells you that the prophecy of Daniel 7 is completely fulfilled. Prophecy fulfilled when Jesus ascended into heaven. That's what Jesus is referring to in Mark 13, verses 26 and 27.

That's the exact prophecy that Jesus is pointing to, And it's been fulfilled in Christ's ascension. Now remember what this passage is supposed to mean to you, beloved. If you kind of zoned out, come on back with me. I've had several people that keep asking me, and I love that they're asking me, you can always ask me this, about any passage, but they've been asking me, if Mark 13 isn't about the second coming, then what on earth does this passage have to do with me? If this is all about stuff that's already happened, what does it have to do with me?

And here's the answer. It has everything to do with you. I know that's not super helpful, but I'll explain. The meaning and application of this passage in Mark 13 for these disciples back then, the original audience, is pretty much the same meaning and application for you right now. The promises of Christ are all true.

He has completely fulfilled His promises. You need to imagine the comfort that this would have given the apostles to see that all that Christ had promised came to pass. He made these promises. He ascended. And then they face incredible persecution, incredible distress, incredible hardship, facing death.

I know what he said, but how do I know it's true? In 80, 70, everything he said came to pass. Imagine the comfort that would have brought to those disciples of saying all of the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. You can die well with that. You can labor hard with that kind of truth in your veins.

Do you think, do you not think that these prophecies, these promises that were kept by Christ would have influenced their ministries as a result. They pressed on in glad obedience when they saw that these were fulfilled, these prophecies fulfilled gave the disciples great confidence. Beloved, that is supposed to be the same for you. This passage, if it doesn't bring you assurance and confidence and hope and peace, but fear and foreboding, you got the application wrong. You should not come to this passage like the Olivet Discourse and be wondering, should I have children?

I got friends that have come to this passage and they say I don't know if my wife not having children because you know it says woe to those who are pregnant. It has implications. I want you to think that. Children are a blessing from the Lord. This passage is supposed to get the disciples are going to hear this and then 40 years later that's going to happen they're going to say the promises are true and there's promises for my children and my children's children it's exact opposite of approaching this passage and saying I just come up come away with it with just fear and foreboding.

It's just not the application. This passage in its fulfillment holds out to you, blessed assurance. It holds out to you, blessed comfort. Take heart, have peace, find assurance in all that Christ your Savior says. That is the application.

This is supposed to be a blessed assurance church. You can go and you can fight and you can proclaim gospel victory, you can do hard things, and you can know, you can absolutely know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Why? Because Jesus reigns. Everything you promised, He delivered.

You know what I call that? Reigning. He's faithful in all that He says. That's what we just sang, the second song this morning that we sang, Great is Thy Faithfulness. That's intentional.

That's what you're supposed to realize in Mark 13. And that's the application of this passage, and I'm going to tie it back in now to Daniel 7. I know I went off for a moment. That's the application of this passage. And so Jesus says, you'll see my ascension, promised in Daniel chapter 7, and you'll wonder, disciples, and you'll wonder, saints of Crossroad, Is Jesus really reigning?

One of our pastors has cancer. A family in our congregation has a family member that just attempted suicide. That's hard stuff. Is Jesus really reigning? The disciples would have asked that question as they endured terrible hardship.

Is the last thing that Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Is that really true, Jesus? All of it? When things get really dark, you're going to wonder. When things get really hard and dark, you're going to wonder, is Jesus really reigning?

When you face death, when you face persecution, is Jesus really reigning? You think that's just for the disciples? Who's it for? You for you How do you know church that Jesus really is in sovereign, total control with all power and dominion over all things? How do you know that his gospel, his kingdom, is everlasting and will never be destroyed?

How do you know that his gospel, his kingdom is everlasting and will never be destroyed? How do you know that his ascension really was Daniel 7, 13-14? Because you read those verses right? He ascends and he gets all authority. He is in total sovereignty, reigning.

How do you know? You can know all those things because judgment came upon Jerusalem. The judgment of Jerusalem was the sign of the fact that the Son of Man was indeed reigning in heaven. That's what verse 26 of Mark 13 is all about. You can know that Jesus Christ reigns in all power and all sovereignty today, just like Daniel prophesied, because the sign of his reign was to be the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

If Jesus was reigning in heaven, like Daniel said, with all authority over the earth, then He would in fact send the judgment exactly like he promised. You agree with me? You should. And that's exactly what Jesus did. Let me say that again.

If Jesus was reigning in heaven with all authority and power and dominion, then he would send what he promised to send. And that's exactly what he did. When you read the Son of Man coming on the clouds, you'll see the sign of the Son of Man. You're supposed to remember Daniel 7 and go, how do I know He's really ascended and reigned? How do I know it's true?

It's because everything He just promised has come to pass. You can know without a doubt, Daniel chapter 7 has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus. That right now Jesus, the Son of Man, is seated at the right hand of the Ancient of Days. And truly all authority in heaven and on earth has, past tense, been given to him. He reigns.

And so because Jesus reigns yesterday, today, and all the days to come, and until Christ returns, we as a church, we must do verse 27 of Mark 13. We are his messengers. That's the word there for angels in verse 27. That word there is messengers. It's the same Greek word used for John the Baptist in Mark chapter 1, messenger.

Mark chapter 1 verse 2, John the Baptist the messenger, same Greek word. Because the Son of Man ascended and the promised judgment came upon Jerusalem, you can know that Jesus Christ is reigning over every second of history and over every single blade of grass throughout history. That's reigning. And so you and I as a body of Christ, we are to be about the task of verse 27. Look there in verse 27.

We're Christ's messengers that are to gather together His elect from the four winds, from each direction, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Does that sound like anything to you? Sounds like the Great Commission. We go and proclaim the power of God and the gospel to the nations because who do the nations belong to? They belong to Jesus Christ.

He purchased them with His blood. That's why you can say with the psalmist, kiss the son, nations will perish. We go to the nations because they belong to Jesus and this Christ in his great commission said to go and get the nations and so we do. We do verse 27. And the reason we do them, I'm going to keep saying, is because he reigns.

He reigns. We do it because his kingdom is forever like Daniel 7 tells us it is. That's why you go and disciple the nations. That's why you go and disciple your neighborhood. That's why you go to your neighbor, you plead with them, repent and believe the gospel, because Jesus reigns.

He is, He says that we should. Well, that's why you labor. I just want to keep saying this. That's why you labor and your labor is not in vain. Because he reigns.

You labor and your labor is not in vain here on earth because the gates of hell cannot stand against the gospel of the son of man's conquering kingdom. The gates of hell can't prevail against it. We're gaining ground. The gates of hell are falling back. That's scripture.

You labor and you know your labor is not wasted in Jesus. So I hope after saying that, that you won't think that Mark 13 has nothing to do with you if you take my approach. Don't say Mark 13 has nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with you. Okay we're going to move now to the end, I'm going to go a lot quicker, don't worry, it's not a three hour sermon, just two. Okay, we're moving now to the end, we'll go quickly.

Jesus says that these prophecies that he's making will come to fulfillment within that generation of disciples and apostles, and so Jesus gives the parable of the fig tree, verses 28 through 31. Now I'm not sure, but perhaps, perhaps when Jesus starts talking about fig trees, perhaps you and I are to think about the previous fig tree. When was the last time you saw a fig tree in Mark's Gospel? You remember? That was Mark chapter 11.

We saw a fig tree at the beginning of all of this judgment stuff. Way back in chapter 11 we saw that, a fig tree. When Jesus cleanses the temple, he condemns the temple for its hypocrisy. He does the same thing to the fig tree who is a hypocrite of a fig tree. It's a hypocrite fig tree and now since then from chapter 11 and chapter 12 through chapter 13, Jesus has fleshed out that judgment upon Jerusalem and her temple for being hypocrites.

And now here at the end of all the promised judgment, what do you have? Like a book end. Like a sandwich. You have a fig tree. I think it's pre-intentional.

What does Jesus say? Well, you see a fig tree. So remember the last one. That judgment's coming. You see a fig tree start to put forth some leaves.

You see the signs that the fig tree's sprouting. You know summer is near is what Jesus says. In the same way, when you see these signs that I've been telling you, when you see these prophecies start to be fulfilled, you know that judgment is coming. So be alert. Be on the alert.

Why? Because my words are true. It's easier for heaven and earth to pass away and fade to nothing than for my promises, Jesus says, not to ring true. That's how certain this Christ's word is. So what he says is true.

This promised judgment is coming. So be on the alert. Be on the alert. That's in verses 32 through 37. Four times, four times Jesus uses the word alert as an emphasis.

Keep on the alert. Stay on the alert. Be on the alert. What's the idea there? It's not difficult.

Don't fall asleep. Don't lose focus. Don't forget the promises. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Keep watch.

Stay on the alert. There's battle to do. There's battle to do in 2025 too. There's promises to believe. There's gospel to preach.

There's dominion to take, like we talked about in Sunday School. This whole section of verses from 32 to the end are the exact same for the disciples as they really are for you beloved God has God told them what was to come and it came about just as he said and they were to remain faithful and watchful abounding in the work of the Lord. And beloved, God has told you what is to come. God has given you promises about His coming again elsewhere in scripture. So don't fall asleep.

Don't lay down on the job. Don't get lazy. Do you know what comes upon the lazy man? Destruction Beyond the alert We're given examples of a man here away on a journey who gives his slaves responsibility while he's gone. These disciples, they were to be faithful in the meantime before the judgment came upon Jerusalem.

Beloved, it's the same for you once more. You are called to the same. The Son of Man will indeed come back in the way that He ascended. So let us not let Him find us asleep at the helm when he returns. Let us not let him find us in unbelief, having our swords, our Bibles rusted in their sheaths for lack of use.

Not a good way to be found. I read about it in Narnia once. Didn't go well. Let our shovels not be shiny for failure to dig and build and labor for our families for the sake of the kingdom. Get some dirty shovels today, tomorrow.

Instead, let us go out of here with joy. Let us be led forth with peace. For the mountains and the hills break forth before our God Mountains in the hills break forth before him our God in his gospel Labor beloved with that truth so much in your hearts and minds and it comes out of your fingertips when you live life. Labor with these truths that God, Christ reigns. And it will come out of your fingertips and it will come out in the way you sleep and you rest and you wake up in the morning with zeal.

And you do that until He returns or He calls you home. The disciples were to be faithful, to labor diligently before the promised judgment upon Jerusalem came, and all the more afterwards. And we, beloved, we live in that afterwards. Awaiting a different coming. Awaiting the second coming.

Again, promised elsewhere in scripture, we are to labor in faith just the same as the disciples. And I won't stop my exposition without of course addressing perhaps the Difficulty of verse 32 some people have thought that there's some difficulty in verse 32 the difficulty of Jesus Not knowing the day or the hour of the promised judgment He knew the generation, but he knew he didn't know the specifics right you see that there in verse 32 Friends what are we shown in verse 32, and we're almost done. What are we shown? We're shown the humanity of Christ. As Jesus says, but of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven or the Son, but the Father alone.

He didn't know the exact day or hour of his promised judgment upon Jerusalem. He didn't know, the text says. And isn't it marvelous? I mean, isn't it marvelous that the way that the Bible makes you stay on both of your feet? When we just talked about Jesus being the Son of Man who is divine, he's the fulfillment of Daniel's heaven.

That's the Son of Man. It's him. It's Jesus. And immediately, right, this One who reigns supreme and pre-Emino over all things, and the Bible reminds us that the One who was truly God, Jesus, was also truly man. Which is really good news if you didn't know.

It's really good news because as God, Jesus was able to pay for the sins of the whole world, even yours. And yet as man, also this Jesus can take your place as your Savior on the cross. There's a judgment that you deserve. He can bear it in your place. That's amazing.

As a man. So what a Savior we have here at the end of this passage. It's good news that your Savior is truly God who could bear the wrath of God for the sins of the world, for all of your sins, and then impute to you His righteousness, for there's none good but God alone. Impute to you His righteousness, and that He can also, though, take your place as a man. Oh, this is good.

And So I want to end this morning with one final brief consideration. The setting, the signs, one more S word, the Savior. I want you to see the Savior. I want you to see him so clearly this morning more than anything else. I want you to see the Savior What have we been seeing I'm gonna try to wrap it all up for you here at the end What have we seen and mark chapter 13 whether you agree with me or not you all we all can say it's the J word judgment judgment we've seen the signs of the coming judgment judgments coming what were the signs that the judgment was coming you remember let's just go through really quick the disciples They would be delivered over to courts, flogged in the synagogues, stand before governors, give testimony.

They would be arrested, handed over. They would be betrayed by a brother to brother. They would be hated. We see that in verses 9 through 13 of Mark 13. The signs of the judgment.

We see earthquakes, we see judgment language, we see the judgment language of the prophets, of the heavens giving way, the sun losing its light, darkness covering the land. And in all of that, do you see Christ? Do you see Christ? Was all of this in Mark 13 not exactly what Jesus Himself endured? Taking the judgment upon Himself in the place of evildoers?

Jesus delivered over to the council of the synagogue. Jesus betrayed by one who was a brother in his new family, betrayed by a brother named Judas. Jesus arrested and handed over to the Romans. Jesus asked to give testimony. Jesus flogged and beaten.

These were the signs of judgment foretold in Mark 13, and these were all borne by the Christ, the Son of God. And this Jesus went to a hill named Golgotha. And as he hung there on a cross in the place of sinners, he bore the judgment of God. He satisfied the wrath of God for those who would repent and believe upon Him. And in that moment, When the wrath of God that was due to the elect sin was propitiated, when it was satisfied, in that moment when Jesus Christ bore the judgment of God in his body, in that moment what happened?

The prophetic language of verses 24 and 25 will literally happen. Darkness over the land, the sun not giving its light, the earth shaken. And the God man gives up his last breath. It is finished. And the Son of Man in that moment wins the world to himself.

Redemption accomplished. Forever. The judgment of God was metered out upon the Son for all who belong to the Son by faith. The new and true temple, Jesus, was subjected to the judgments just as the old temple was subjected to judgment in Mark 13. You see that?

And yet this new temple, the true temple, Three days later, this new and true temple not built by hands was raised up, never to be destroyed. That son of man arose, triumphant. Sin, Satan, condemnation, defeated. And then days later, that Son of Man ascended on the clouds, empowered and all authority and all dominion. Beloved, that's why you don't grow weary.

This is why you must not lose heart in this day. This is why you must stay alert, church, for the Savior, your Savior, has bore your judgment. And This Savior rose up for your justification and your Savior ascended that You would be more than a conqueror in him So fear not the terror that comes at night, Nor the flaming arrows by morning light. His truth is always your sword and shield, Against his powers all foes must yield. In Christ, refuge and fortress for all who trust, No safer pasture for men of dust.

Neath wings and feathers of holy Lord, No greater comfort can he afford. Church, be on the alert. Press on. Labor with joy. Labor with gladness.

Labor and hope. Why? So that the chiefs would win? Who cares about that? Jesus reigns!

That's why you labor in vain. That's why you labor not in vain. Because Jesus reigns. And this is His world. So start living like it.

Let's pray. Well Lord, what comfort this text should give us, what comfort this text should bring us, far more than anything else, no sports team, no game, no meal, besides this meal, this meal that we're about to celebrate, and it's Your Word, can bring us comfort. The promises that You make are certain. So Father, Make it so in my people's heart, make it so in your people's heart that they live in life, this is your world, this is our Father's world. Let us rest in the thought, oh Lord.

Please make it so for Jesus' sake. Amen. Okay.