The Great Tribulation Escape (Mark 13:14-23)

If you had to escape a fire, what would you go back to save? In 1666, tens of thousands of people had to make the decision during the Great Fire of London. Today happens to be the anniversary of the fire’s start. It raged from September 2nd till the 5th.^[1] It started in the King’s baker’s shop. Some bits of bacon near his oven ignited. By the middle of the night, the whole house was full of smoke and the fire started to spread building by building, then block by block.^[2]

Before it was over, more than 13,000 homes were destroyed.^[3] A man named Samuel Pepys lived through the disaster and kept a diary of what he experienced. He said, during the fire, the streets were full of “people and horses and carts laden with goods, ready to run over one another.”

When Samuel decided what he was going to save from the coming flames, he made an interesting choice. He sent his money and silver by cart to another house. Then he dug a pit in his garden into which he put his (apparently) beloved wheel of parmesan cheese. He wrote a letter to his father to tell him how close the fire was to their home, but found the post house had already burned.”^[4]

We are in the middle of what is known as the Olivet Discourse. It’s an extended teaching Jesus gave just days before His crucifixion which focuses on the end of the end times – specifically what is called the Great Tribulation followed by the second coming of Christ.

In our text, Jesus warns of a fiery wrath that will leave no time for parmesan cheese or photo albums. It is a crisis so great that if God did not cut the days short, no one would survive. It is a sobering text, but hopefully also an instructive one as we consider not only the coming judgment, but God’s persistent mercy.

Mark 13:14 – ¹⁴ “When you see the abomination of desolation, standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

As I pointed out when we started this chapter, depending on your eschatology – meaning your perspective on the Bible’s prophecy of things to come – a Christian may have a very different interpretation of the Olivet Discourse.

Here at Calvary we are futurists, meaning we believe Bible prophecy is going to be literally fulfilled. We are Premillennial, Pre-Tribulational, and Dispensational. Those are not-so-common terms which simply mean we believe Jesus is going to rule over a literal, thousand year Kingdom from a throne in Jerusalem. That before He arrives to rule and reign there will be a 7 year period of wrath and trouble on the earth. And that before that, the Church will be removed from earth in an event called the Rapture. We believe that the Great Tribulation is predominantly a time focused on Israel, the ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because God has a unique work for that nation.

Those beliefs are very important to us, but eschatology is not an essential doctrine. Meaning if you have a friend who thinks the rapture is after the Great Tribulation, or if they think we’re in the Kingdom now, they can still be Christians.

But here’s one important aspect of Bible prophecy: It can and often does have both a partial fulfillment and a final fulfillment. Isaiah’s virgin birth prophecy, Samuel’s prophecy about David’s enduring house, Joel’s prophecy about the Holy Spirit falling upon God’s people – these and others have both a partial fulfillment and yet a fuller fulfillment that has not happened yet.

In this verse, Jesus says something called the “abomination of desolation” is a pivotal moment in the prophetic timeline. The abomination of desolation is a term that Daniel used multiple times in his book. It refers to a person or an object that is placed in the Jewish temple that defiles it.

Those who read the Bible without a futurist perspective will typically say that the abomination of desolation was fulfilled by a guy named Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, or they will say Jesus was simply foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Roman legions.

The reason why some people pick Antiochus Epiphanes is because when he conquered Jerusalem he defiled the temple by setting up an altar to Zeus in it and sacrificed swine flesh on the altar.^[5] The Maccabees said, “Hey, that’s the abomination of desolation.”

The reason why we don’t think these verses are just talking about 167 BC is because Jesus is in 30 AD and clearly sees this as yet future. Even Daniel, when prophesying about the abomination of desolation, then says that he’s referring to the time of the end, that it must happen after the Christ died, and that those events are followed by the resurrection of the dead.^[6]

Now we usually think of the abomination of desolation as a thing – an idolatrous image of the beast. That’s part of it. But the grammar here and the prophecy of 2 Thessalonians 2 indicate that the Antichrist himself is the abomination.^[7]

This individual is going to kick off the Great Tribulation by signing a seven year peace treaty with the nation of Israel. He guarantees them safety and lets them worship in a rebuilt temple. Three and half years into that treaty, he goes into the temple, proclaims himself to be god, sets up an idolatrous image to himself, and starts to kill any Christian or Jew he can find. Jesus gives a very practical warning to anyone living in that time: When you see that moment, run.

Mark 13:15-18 – ¹⁵ A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house, ¹⁶ and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. ¹⁷ Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ¹⁸ “Pray it won’t happen in winter.

As the London fire raged, one witness said people congregated watching, “looking aimlessly at the destruction, till the advancing flames drove them away.”^[8]

If a person is living in Jerusalem during the Great Tribulation, there is no time for aimless staring. Jesus has sounded as loud an alarm as He can.

Eusebius records that in the lead up to the Roman invasion of 70 AD, the Christians in Jerusalem received an oracle from God warning them and they removed themselves around 66 AD.^[9]

This is one reason why we don’t see 70 AD as the fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse. Not only do the descriptions not line up, but there were, apparently, no believers left in the city to flee.

Jesus uses that familiar Old Testament term that gets used so often when describing judgments: Woe.^[10] The Great Tribulation is not about climate change or nuclear war. This is a work of God. It is a time of divine judgment on the earth. The Day of the Lord.

And yet we see the heart of God, even as He pours out His wrath. He wants to save lives. He wanted to save the Christians from 70 AD. He wants to save people during the Great Tribulation. He wants to save lives and souls today. Remember, in wrath God remembers mercy.^[11] He must judge sin, and He’s going to on a global scale. But day by day, step by step, He is so desiring and determined to rescue anyone who will surrender to Him and be saved.

Mark 13:19-20 – ¹⁹ For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of creation, which God created, until now and never will be again.²⁰ If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect, whom he chose.

We believe in reading the Bible plainly. This verse, on its own, cancels out Antiochus Epiphanes or 70 AD as being the fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse. Those were times of terrible suffering. But in no way do they fit this description.

Over a three day period, Antiochus Epiphanes killed 40,000 Jews and sold 40,000 more into slavery. A terrible tragedy. But history has served up much worse many times over.

The Great Tribulation is detailed in Revelation 6 through 19. We don’t have a context for the level of trouble depicted on those pages. I mean, consider what Jesus is saying here: From the beginning of creation. That means the global flood is included in the comparison! And again, the reason we read the Bible through a literal lens is this: If Jesus is speaking figuratively or hyperbolically, which some scholars say He is, where in this sentence does the allegory start and end?

One scholars says, “If we allow for hyperbole,” this could just mean what happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD.^[12] Another says, “It’s hard to know whether [these] references are figurative or literal.”^[13]

Is it figurative that God created the universe? Well, no, that’s literal. So, what reason has Jesus given us to think He’s being figurative about the Great Tribulation? It is the final culmination of man’s rebellion and God’s judgment.

Mark 13:21-22 – ²¹ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah! See, there!’ do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

The Antichrist and his false prophet will be able to perform great signs and wonders. And there have been many throughout history, from Jannes and Jambres in Egypt and others to the present, who have been able to do remarkable things, generate great followings, and seem to have power.

But the demonstration of power is not what we use to decide whether a person should be followed. The size of a ministry or the amount of influence are not what we look to to verify authority. Instead, 1 John tells us not to believe every spirit, but to test every spirit to see if they are from God because many false prophets have gone out in the world. The false prophet and the Antichrist will dominate the Great Tribulation, but there are false prophets today.

We need to watch out because some of them are very effective. So, how do we keep ourselves from being led astray?

Mark 13:23 – ²³ And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

History records that the Lord Mayor of London had been warned about the potential of what fire could do to the city. Particularly because they experienced smaller fires.Yet he and the other leads had taken no effective steps to defend against the possibility.^[14]

Jesus gives us the antidote to false prophecy, false teaching, and spiritual deceptions. “Watch. I have told you everything in advance.”

So here’s what this means: When a fellow like Joseph Smith comes along and says, “I’m a prophet. I have the real truth from heaven that you haven’t heard before. The Bible has been corrupted and now this is how you should live to be right with God,” we can absolutely, categorically reject him. Because Jesus has promised to deliver us His Word. The Scriptures are reliable. They are true. By God’s power we are provided all we need for life and Godliness through the knowledge of Him.^[15]

Remember what Paul said: If anyone gives you another Gospel – whether it’s someone who can work a sign or an apostle or an angel from heaven – let that person be accursed.^[16]

And so, when a person comes claiming to have new truth or spiritual power or spiritual direction for your life, the most important question is: Does their teaching align underneath the authority of the Bible? We’re to know what Jesus has said so that we’re not misled. It is our responsibility.

In Old London, do you know where the equipment to fight fires was kept? Buckets, ladders, axes, and strong iron fire hooks were kept in each city church. Throughout the 16th and early 17th centuries, churchwardens stayed on top of their use and upkeep.^[17] But by 1666 the tools necessary to stop a fire came to be neglected. The river Thames was high, so people became careless.

We are not going to be part of the Great Tribulation. But that doesn’t mean we don’t face troubles of our own. That doesn’t mean there are false prophets and false teachings out there today. There are. Who has been commissioned to be the firefighters? We have. You and I.

And once again Jesus gives the command to watch. Yes, the ultimate fulfillment of these things is at the end, but as we talked about last time, we’re in the “end times” now. The end times began when Jesus arrived. They certainly were in swing when the Church was born on Pentecost. We are commanded to pay attention. To be ready to rescue. Ready to put out fires.

Robert Utley writes, “Naive Christians, gullible Christians, baby Christians are all too common.”^[18] We want to be readers who understand. Believers who are not tripped up by clever deceptions. We are called to be strong in the Lord. Mature and maturing. Because when we bear fruit, lives are saved. And our God is a saving God, Who sends us out to be part of the mission.

The first Sunday after London burned, the homeless citizens encamped on the city’s edge crowded into the churches that remained. 87 had burned.^[19] Our eyewitness Samuel described that services as “mighty full.”^[20]

When tribulation comes, people seek the truth. We’re the ones who have it. A truth that saves. A truth that rescues and restores lives.

Samuel Pepys wrote that he watched the fire of London rage in every direction for over an hour and in that time there was nobody “endeavoring to quench it, but [only] to remove their goods and leave all to the fire.”^[21]

Knowing Bible prophecy not only helps us understand more about God, but it also helps keep us aligned with what is truly important. It helps keep us from becoming people who are most concerned with our wheel of parmesan cheese, rather than our neighbors.