Shabbat Shalom everyone. Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark. This is where we study systematically one chapter at a time, one verse at a time. We have arrived to Mark, chapter 13. And this chapter in the Gospel of Mark directs us to the time which the Messiah predicted, which is called the Great Tribulation. or as in Hebrew, Tzaret Yaakov, Jacob's Trouble, of which we read in Jeremiah, chapter 30 and verse 7. I would like to read the first 23 verses of this chapter, very important chapter to read and understand, especially in light of the prophetic events that are going on in the world today. And so I am reading Mark, chapter 13 and verse 1.

And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples says unto him, Master, Rabbi, see what manner of stones and what building are here? And Yeshua answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat down. And as he sat down upon the Mount of Olives, Har Hazetim, over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Yeshua answering them began to say, Take heed, lest any man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, Messiah, and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled. For such things must need be, but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be earthquakes in diverse places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These are the beginning of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils. And in the synagogues ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

And the gospel must be first published among all nations. But when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak. Neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour that speak ye. For it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son. And children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, "Standing where it ought not, let him that readeth understand: Then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains; And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, Neither enter therein to take anything out of his house; But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. And pray ye that your flight be not in winter, for in those days shall be affliction, Such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time neither shall be.

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved. But for the elect's sake, whom he has chosen, he has shortened the days. And then if any man shall say to you, "Lo, here is the Messiah," Or, "Lo, he is there," believe him not. "For false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and shall show signs and wonders, To seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things." And I am stopping here in verse 23, Mark 13 verses 1 to 23. Very amazing chapter, which unless we read it alongside with Matthew chapter 24 and 25, And Luke chapter 21, we will really not get the complete picture that Yeshua, Jesus, our Lord and our Messiah, Wanted to convey to his Hebrew disciples some 2,000 years ago.

But we will look at that today in our ministry through the Gospel of Mark. And we will see, because Mark was presenting our Lord Yeshua the Messiah as the servant of the Lord. And here is the presentation of the Lord, looking forward to a future day, Ultimately to a time called the Great Tribulation, In which there will be terrible days here upon the face of this earth. And he is warning, he is giving a counsel to his disciples in view of this future event that is going to occur. Now, if we are going to understand the words of the Lord here in this passage, We must bear in mind a few things that I would like to emphasize just already in the beginning of this message.

The first thing that we want to bear in mind when we are speaking about this particular chapter, Mark chapter 13, That we have to understand the setting. The Messiah Yeshua was in the land of Israel 2,000 years ago. He hasn't died as yet. He hasn't fulfilled what you call redemption as yet. He knows it is coming, because in the following chapter 14, the plot to kill him, And eventually celebrating Pesach with the disciples, Going to the garden of Gatshmanim, that is the Gethsemane. There he will be captured. He will be brought to the high priest. He will be brought to Pilate. And eventually he will be crucified on a Roman cross.

Rejected and despised of men. But it didn't happen as yet. Therefore, he is kind of instructing his early disciples. Remember, they were Jewish disciples living in the land of Israel. Their mindset, their thoughts were Israel and the future restoration of the people of Israel. And therefore, when we study such a passage as the Gospel of Mark chapter 13, Bear in mind, we don't have New Testament writings whatsoever. We don't have any epistles, any letters that the Apostle Paul Shaul wrote. We don't have any. So the church was not born. The Holy Spirit of God hasn't come yet in Acts chapter 2. And therefore, you have to understand that the Messiah teaching his disciples in view of the promises of God to Israel from the Hebrew prophets.

You will notice, for example, that in this passage, in verse 14, he is making a reference to the prophet Daniel. Notice it says, when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet. Daniel Hanavi. He is referring these Hebrew believers, these Jewish believers to the Hebrew scripture. We can bring other passages such as Tzephaniah chapter 1, Jeremiah chapter 30, Isaiah chapter 26. Those passages speak of the tribulation, the trouble or tsarot, troublous time like I've never been before in the future day. So we have to bear this in mind that we have to connect with this passage, the Tanakh, that is the Hebrew prophetic word. Secondly, the second setting that we have to remember here is that because it is happening in Israel, in a sense, before the days of which we live in today, we have to realize that he was speaking specifically in connection with the Jewish people.

And I'm telling you, for example, verse 9. In verse 9, he said to them, he used the word "senagogues." Take heed to yourself, for they shall deliver you up to the council in the synagogue. In Hebrew, Beit Knesset or Batei Knesset is in connection with the experiences that the believers will go through in relationship to the people of Israel. Notice in verse 14, it's using the word, the book of Daniel. And notice in verse 14 at the end, he says, "Let them that be in Judea flee into the mountains." Well, he referred to events that will occur in relation to the people that will be in Yehuda, Judea, and he's telling them to flee into the mountains because he's speaking about events that will occur in the world in general, but in Israel in particular, in relation to the people of Israel.

Notice what he says in verse 18, for example. He says in verse 18, "Pray ye that your flight be not in winter." And if you will read Matthew 24, verse 20, the very same context, it says, "Pray that your flight will not be on a Shabbat day." Matthew chapter 24 and verse 20 in connection is the same subject. And to whom God has given the Shabbat day, God has given the Shabbat day as a sign of the covenant between Israel, the nation, and himself, Exodus chapter 31 specifically. We can go on, but I just wanted to emphasize this because the whole issue here or the whole subject here is in relationship to Old Testament instruction and prediction any relationship to the people of Israel and to the Jewish nation in specific Jewish believers of those days.

Thirdly, I would like to mention here that this passage does not have so much to do with any trouble that we all experience in our day-by-day life. Yeshua said in John 16, "In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We all experience tribulations in our life, family problems, individual problems, work problems, health issues and problems, conflict that we all experience in our life every day. But here in this context, he is leading into a period of time in history called the Great Tribulation, more known to be in the Old Testament as Tzarat Yaakov. Tzara means trouble. Yaakov has to do with Jacob, the people of Israel, found in Jeremiah 30 and verse 7.

He is speaking specifically that which will lead into a happening that will happen seven years in this earth that we just read about in Daniel chapter 9 in our reading of the scripture, especially verse 24 to verse 27. And the fourth thing that I would like to mention that it is very important, and this is by way of application. You know, sometimes we like to hear about prophecy. And we all are very interested, you know, who's going to come, how it's going to happen. And we like to hear about all these names that we find in the book of Revelation, and the horn, and the shofar, the sound of the trumpets, and all these things that we like to hear when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen, the dates, we like to put some dates into this, you know, the tribulation going to start on this day and that day.

And we never know the dates. We will never receive any dates from the Lord. But we do have to take a practical application. How does prophecy affect our lives? And you notice that the Lord gave here to these disciples, and you and I can learn from that. He used the expression "take heed". "Take heed", in Hebrew the word is "Hishamru", "Hishamru", more than one or two or three times here in this chapter. In verse 5, Jesus answered and began to say, "Take heed, lest any man deceive you". You notice that in verse 5 of our chapter. Look at verse 9. He said, "But take heed to yourself, for they shall deliver you up into councils", and so on.

He is warning the disciples. But if we are going to learn about prophetic word, we are to take heed to this counsel of the Lord. Look at verse 23 of our chapter. The last verse we read. "Take ye heed. Behold, I have foretold you all things." In other words, you beware. "Hishamru", be careful. Learn from this and apply this into your own personal life as we study that 13th chapter. That help us to see some of the events that will come in the future days. So today, I will just go over the first 23 verses and I would like to break it down for us. So we can try with the Lord's help to get some instruction here.

You notice the first four verses of Mark chapter 13. We have the disciples questioning Yeshua the Messiah. He is still in the temple in verse 1. We read that he went out of the temple. And one of his disciples says unto him, Rabbi, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here. Now you notice, he is leaving Beit HaMikdash. He is leaving the temple. This is Mount Moriah. And he is leaving the temple. And as he is going out, he is going down from Mount Moriah, down the slopes of Mount Moriah. He is climbing up to Mount of Olives, looking to see the Temple Mount.

And for Mount of Olives, he is overseeing the Temple Mount of Mount Moriah. And as we look at the temple there, one of the disciples said to him in verse 1, he says, Rabbi, I mean, look at the stones that are found on this temple. And by the way, Herod began to enlarge the second temple in Jerusalem at about 19 or 20 B.C. Apparently, the length of the time that the temple was finished, it took about 80 something years, 84 years. Apparently, the temple was finished to be built or enlarged at about 64 A.D. So here, from 19 B.C., Herod wanted to please the Jewish people, our own Jewish people.

And the little temple that was built by Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel, when they returned from Babel after 70 years, was a very small temple that they have built. It was nothing in comparison to the Salomonic Temple. So here come Herod, became a king. And Herod, he was an Edomite. And Herod now wanted to please our own Jewish people. And he built, or I should say he enlarged the second temple. Some call it the third temple, but it's really not the third temple. It is the second temple which was enlarged. And just look at the stones that Herod used. Apparently, Herod took about 10,000 people to build on the same Mount Moriah, to have a flat area all the way on the top.

He built four walls around the Mount Moriah. He filled it up with all kinds of sand and ground and stones and rock. And he caused a flat plateau at the top. And look at the humongous stones that he had used to build this structure. Later on, of course, on top of it, the buildings. So it was a fascinating building when Herod had built it. It had been said that it was one of the most beautiful building, temple. And it's all the buildings surrounding that that have ever been in the world in those days. And you notice that this person that is asking Yeshua to look, one of the disciples, he said to him, "Master, look what manner of stones." Now those stones that the temple was built, that Herod used, was huge stones.

Just about a month ago, when we were there in the temple area, the Temple Mount around Jerusalem, we went to the Rabbi's Tunnel, and we went all the way through the Western Wall. And it is fascinating, some of the sizes of the stones that were put together. Because it was the Temple Mount, and no regular Israeli could even enter this area, so he trained over a thousand Levites, Leviim, to be able to do this work. And they were used, because they could be the closest there, because no ordinary Israel could be in that temple, while the temple is still functioning. He had tremendously, look at the huge stones, and when you are standing there, and you're watching this, you are fascinated.

You say, "How is it possible to lift up such a stone, and to put them together in such a way, huge, large walls, long enough and wide enough, in order to be able to sustain a huge building upon that Mount Moriah?" You can see that Herodian style, always you have the edge around every stone. When you want to know that the stone is a Herodian stone, you can see the edge around. It's almost like a frame that they were chiseling, in order to give this Herod type of a stone, or look of a stone. So, they are leaving the city of Jerusalem, that is the Temple Mount, going down the slope, crossing the Kidron Valley, climbing up to Mount Harazatin, Mount of Olives, overlooking for Mount of Olives.

Here is the Kidron Valley below. On that side, you would have Mount Moriah. And then, they ask him the question, "Seeest thou what manner of stones, and what buildings are here?" Notice the word "buildings" is in plural, because Herod built around the Temple many, many, many buildings. There would be the Solomon's porch, and all these kind of things that existed there in that time. So, Yeshua now is responding, and he is giving such an amazing response. He said to them, notice that, verse 2 now, Yeshua's prophetic word concerning that building, or buildings that Herod had built. He says in verse 2, Yeshua answered and said unto him, "Seeest thou these great buildings?

There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Now, you look at this building, and these stones, and you make you wonder, how in a world it is possible, that not one stone remained upon another, that Yeshua had prophetically mentioned to his disciples, when he was on the Mount of Olives. Now, the only Gospel that predicts specifically, about the event that not one stone will be left upon another, is the Gospel of Luke. And I just want to read for you a few verses. In chapter 21, verse 20 to 24, the Lord speak, and Luke record this for us. Luke 21, verse 20, "When ye shall see Jerusalem come past with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountain, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter therein too. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that will the child, and to them that give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and rest upon these people. They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive unto all the nations." And listen to this, verse 24, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." And notice that Yeshua is predicting in Luke 21, verse 20 to 24, that there will be a time that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles.

And you remember in our Gospel of Mark, in chapter 13 and verse 2, he says, "See thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." So he was predicting, beloved brothers and sisters, that about 40 years later, when the Romans will come and will besiege the city of Jerusalem, after the revolt of the Jewish people at about 68 AD, the Jews revolted against the Romans, the Romans surrounded the city of Jerusalem, and then two years later, at 70 AD, the city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the temple was totally destroyed, and because the Romans wanted the gold that is covering many of the stones in this temple in Jerusalem, they took the stones apart in order that when the fire came and the gold melted, they wanted to take this gold for themselves.

Therefore, they kind of broke the stone, removed the stone, caused the stones to fall down, and therefore they were able to take the gold that was hiding in the cracks of the walls. And the fulfillment of this prophecy, mentioned in Mark 13:2, was fulfilled in 70 AD. Now again, to remind you now, that the disciples are here at about 30 AD, or 30-31 AD, the Messiah hasn't died as yet, and he's telling them of something that will happen some 40 years later. But beloved brothers and sisters, in his teaching here, in that which is called the Olivet Discourse, Yeshua predicts things that will happen not only in 70 AD, but he goes beyond this age, to the time of the tribulation, that there will be seven years of Jacob's trouble, which the nation of Israel and the whole world will experience a terrible time such as never have been before.

So the disciples, of course, wanted to know when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen. So you notice now in the next verses, Mark 13:3-4, Yeshua sat on Mount of Olives, and his disciples came and questioned him. And so we read in verses 3-4, And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, over against the Temple, again, as we saw it in the picture, Mount of Olives facing Mount Moriah. Between them, you have the valley, the Kidron Valley. You can very clearly see from Har HaZetim, you can just imagine Yeshua sitting on this mountain, looking over the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah, and instructing his disciples as they are sitting together, and he helped them to get some information about future events.

Now remember, brothers and sisters, the disciples followed him. But the spiritual leaders of Israel did not accept him. So they were concerned, "Well, look, they didn't accept you as the Mashiach, the leaders of Israel, and what's going to happen?" And Yeshua said, "Okay, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. There will be not one stone left upon another in this beautiful building that Heron had built." So, now the disciples wanted to know, it says here in verse 3, Peter came, and James came, and John came, and Andrew came, those four disciples, and they asked him privately, they said in verse 4, "Tell us, when shall these things be?" Secondly, "What shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" They said, "Wait a minute, you mean that all this magnificent temple will be destroyed and not one stone will be left upon another?

How is it going to be? How is it going to happen? Look at the huge stones that Heron had put one on top of the other. It is not possible for it to be destroyed." And so Yeshua is telling them, "It will be destroyed." So they said, "Well, Lord, when those things shall be?" And what shall be the sign, notice the word sign, ot in Hebrew, what shall be the ot, the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" They wanted to know. By the way, if you will read Matthew chapter 24 and verse 3, they really ask him three questions rather than two that I mentioned here in Mark 13 verse 4.

In Matthew 24 and verse 3, it is said like this, and I'm going to read this to you. "They said to him on the mount, the disciples came to him saying, tell us, when shall these things be? What shall be the sign of your coming?" And then they added another question. "And what shall be the sign of the end of the age?" In actuality, they asked him three questions. "When these things are going to be?" "What shall be the sign of your return, your coming?" "And what shall be the sign of the end of the age?" They wanted to know. The leaders did not accept him. He was just now leaving the temple.

This will be the last time that he will come in before he's going to die, before he's going to become the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of this world. And they wanted to know the information about the things that are going to happen. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, from the next portion of this scripture, first of all, verses 5, 6, and 7, Yeshua, first of all, pointing to the ongoing events that will occur in this world during his absence. In other words, what he's saying, "Listen, disciples, there will be certain things that will happen in the world. It is not yet the end of the age, but I want you to understand that always throughout any period of time in human history, from the time that I'm living until the second coming of the Messiah, there will always be ongoing events that will occur even during my absence." What will happen?

Notice what he said to them in verses 5, 6, and 7. Yeshua answering unto them began to say, "Take heed." "Hishamru" in Hebrew. He said, "Lest any man shall deceive you, for many shall come in my name saying, I am the Mashiach, the Christos, the Messiah, and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye no trouble, for such things must need be," but then he added, "But the end shall not come as yet." In other words, what he's really saying, "Disciples, Talmidim, I want you to know that there will be, and I want you to take heed, that many will come in my name from this time on who will claim to be the Mashiach, the Messiah." In other words, he's saying, "False Messiahs shall arise." We know in Jewish history that false Messiah have risen.

We even know in the world, in a professing Christian world, that many false Messiahs have risen up. "Oh, I am the Mashiach, I am the Messiah, I am the one who is going to save this world." And he says, "Take heed, those things will happen." "False Messiah will arise." And then he said, "When you will hear of wars, and rumors of wars." These are more local wars. Constant conflict between this country and that country, and so on. "When you will hear of local wars, be no trouble, for the things must happen or must be, but the end shall not be yet." In other words, what he's telling those early Hebrew disciples, imagine, he was soon to go.

He already told them that he's going to die, and he will be buried, and he will rise again. They are going to, you might say, lose him out of their immediate presence soon. So they are concerned. They wanted to know when things will come about, and especially when you tell us that the temple will be destroyed, not one stone will remain upon another. And then that's why they asked him, "What shall be when these things shall be fulfilled? What will be the sign of the end of the age? And when are you going to come?" And so he said to him, "Wait a minute. Before the end even going to begin, the end of the age." And he's speaking about now, he's taking them, you might say, to the tribulation period.

But until that time, there will always be those who will claim to be the Mashiach. They will rise every generation. A new person comes, claims to be the Messiah. There are always conflicts, wars and rumors of wars that are going on. He says, "But don't be troubled. This is really not even the end. The end has not yet come," he said to them in verses 5, 6, and 7. But then, beloved brothers and sisters, he continued. And in verse 8, Yeshua points to the sign, the sign of the end of the age. And he noticed what he tells them in verse 8. Look at the specific sign that deals with the end of the age.

You can see that things are shaping into a period of time where the Messiah will come again and this troublous time will occur. Notice verse 8. "For nation shall rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in diverse places, there shall be famines and troubles." And then he noticed he said in verse 8 at the end, "But these are the beginning of sorrows." In other words, beloved brothers and sisters, he's using an expression here that he didn't use in verse 7. In verse 7, he used the expression, "You will hear of wars, and you will hear of rumors of wars." That has to do more with local conflicts that will exist between even one nation among each other and a local area.

But here in verse 8, he goes beyond it. And he's speaking more specific about events that will occur that will be more, you might say, worldwide condition rather than a local area. "Nation shall rise up against nation. Kingdom shall rise up against kingdom. There shall be earthquakes, diverse places, there shall be famines, and there will be trouble all over." Now, I love to hear the news about the situation that's going on in the land of Israel. It is important for me as an Israeli that wants to see what's happening in the land of Israel. But as I'm listening to Israeli news, I also find out that I'm listening to much of the worldwide news that's existing today.

You might listen to that as well. And I don't have to tell you that one of the effects that we see existing just in the last while since the First World War the Second World War, that things are shaping in such a way that things that happen in the world such as earthquakes, such as famines, such as tsunamis, such as all the things that are going on in the world and we can just wash it in that screen and we can see what's going on in another place somewhere far away in this world, how many thousands of people died. In another place where thousands of people died, like the tsunamis that happened a few years ago that you remember 250,000 people died.

Earthquakes that happened around the nations of the world. You can hear an earthquake here and an earthquake there. And when you think about the nation rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms, we may apply, I'm not saying that this is it, but we may apply it to the World War I and World War II that occurred that the whole world had experienced not local war anymore, but a worldwide conflict that existed. Think about the six million of our own Jewish people who died during the Holocaust. Things are happening that it might really give us, you might say, a sign that the beginning, you might say, of the end of the age is approaching.

Not there yet, but it is approaching towards us. And you and I hear many times by Bible teachers and preachers, we're living in less days. Jesus, the Messiah, is coming soon. We hear it all the time in the last 40-something years that I'm a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah. Always I'm hearing the next thing in the program of God is the Lord is coming for His own to take them to glory. And so we really can see that verse 8 is more specific. The First World War was in 1914 to 1918. The Second World War which was continued 1939 to 1945. And out of this, 1948, the United Nations have acknowledged that Israel is a state.

1948, May 14, they declared, Israel declared a state. Amazing when you think, which resulted, after the First and Second World War brought about this situation, that the Jewish people, our own nation, came back to the land. For 2,000 years, beloved brothers and sisters, there was no Jewish state. Our own Jewish people were scattered all over the nations of the world. And in 1948, after years earlier, Jews began to desire to go back to the land. In the late 1800s, my grandfather immigrated from Yemen through Egypt to the city of Jerusalem. My father was born in 1922. My mother and so on came and all, and then I was born. My brothers, my sisters, the family.

And all of a sudden, we find ourselves having our own country called Israel. But where it was for 2,000 years. You know the Tikva, the hope, the national anthem. Kol Od Balevav. The heart of the Jew longed for 2,000 years to have a state, to have a nation. But they couldn't. Because the Jewish people were scattered. In other words, what the Lord is leading here, again, to remind you, we are speaking about 2,000 years ago, at about 30 AD, Yeshua predicting the fact that no one stone will remain upon another, that the city of Jerusalem and the temple will be completely destroyed, into 70 AD, when the Roman general Titus came and destroyed the city and the temple.

But he's going beyond to speak about the future day of the tribulation. What Yaakov mentioned in Daniel chapter 9. And so, in verse 8, Yeshua points to the sign of the end of the age. And you notice that, beloved brothers and sisters, he doesn't say that this will be the end of the age, but this is the sign of the beginning of sorrows, that will lead into the birth of the new messianic kingdom that will come in the future. And you notice that he says in verse 8, these are the beginning of sorrows. And why does he use this? He uses this as an expression, the beginning of birth pain.

Those of us that have children could very well see our own wives when they were just ready to deliver and how the birth pain that they have experienced before finally our little boy or our little girl was born. And that's why he used this expression, these are the beginning of the birth pain. These are the beginning of the birth pain of the trouble in this world that will ultimately lead of the birth of a future messianic glorious kingdom, a new age that will begin at the second coming of the Messiah, at the end of the tribulation period. So now, as he mentioned that about events that are going to happen all these days, and specifically it's going to happen in their early lifetimes and so on, and later on in the future day.

Now in verses 9 to 13, Yeshua is informing the disciples of that which will they experience personally in their life. will undergo some difficult times even in their days. You see, again, to remind you that after Yeshua left, and he was taken to heaven, those early disciples were left there. the Spirit of God came, formed the body of Mashiach, and those disciples began to preach the message of the Gospel. And so in verses 9 to verse 13, Yeshua informed the disciples of that which they personally will undergo in their days. And so we read, and I'll read those verses. He says in verse 9, "Take heed," notice again using the word "take heed." "Take heed to yourself, for they shall deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogue ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

And the Gospel must first be published among the nation, but when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour that speaks. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit." Verse 12, "Now the brother shall betray a brother to death, and the father the son, and the children shall rise up against their parents, and ye shall cause them to be put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." Verses 9 to verse 13a, he is telling them of things that will happen even in their own time when there will be a persecution of the early Hebrew believers in the land of Israel in the city of Jerusalem.

Turn with me to Acts chapter 8 for a moment, please. Acts chapter 8. To remind you that already after the Holy Spirit of God came and formed and united the believers into one body, then they began to preach the message of the Gospel, locally first of all, then in Judea, Samaria, and then it was spread, but before it had gone even beyond the borders of Israel, we read in Acts chapter 8 and verse 1. Look what we read. And Shaul, this is Paul, Saul, Shaul, he was consenting unto his death. This is Stephen, a Jewish believer who was stoned by the council. And at that time there was great persecution against the church that was in Jerusalem.

It's not the church. It's the assembly, the believers. It's not the buildings. It is the Jewish believers in this locality or the local, the city of Jerusalem. There was a great persecution at that time against the early believers. If you just turn a little bit further to Acts chapter 11, go a little bit further, Acts chapter 11, and there verse 19, in verse 19 he said, "And they which were scattered upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenis and Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only." See, those early disciples who were Jewish believers, they were persecuted. And this is exactly what Yeshua is telling them here in Mark 13 and verse 9.

He's saying to them, "Take heed to yourself, for they shall deliver you up unto councils." And in the Senagogues, he's speaking obviously to early Jewish believers who went to the Senagogues, the followers of the Messiah, and they persecuted them. "Ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for testimony against them." They went beyond, but they have experienced this locally first. And he continued and he said, "They will be scattered preaching the gospel." He's read this in Acts chapter 11 and verse 19. And here he's mentioning, "The gospel must be first published among all nations." These early believers who have been with the Messiah and others that became part of the church that was born in the city of Jerusalem, they have experienced persecution and then they were scattered eventually, Acts chapter 11, and they preached the gospel beyond the borders of Israel.

It says here in verse 10, "The gospel must be first published in all nations." Verse 11, "They shall lead you and deliver you up, and take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate, because the Spirit of God will enable you to preach the message of the gospel." He continued, "And he said to them in verse 12, "Brother betray a brother to death, father the son, children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them even to be put to death, but ye shall be hated, not as beloved brothers and sisters of all men for my name's sake." You know, we sometimes say, "In Yeshua's name." And you know very well how easy it is when one of us and any believer mentioned the name of Yeshua.

Sometimes I'm fascinated because the name of Yeshua is such a beautiful name, Jehovah the Savior. But it's linked with his person. He came from heaven. He gave his life for mankind and because a person identified with him, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, you would see what the world thinks about that. "Ye shall be hated," "not as verse 13a, for my name's sake." You see, that is sometimes when you wonder, when you are misunderstood and rejected by people around us because they know that you are a believer, a Christian or Mashiach follower, Messiah follower. They reject you because you believe in Christ. You believe in the Mashiach.

You believe in Yeshua, the Messiah. And the Bible says, "There is none other name given among men whereby ye must be saved." In the name of Yeshua. We can't preach any other gospel because all other grounds are sinking sand. It's only through the person of Yeshua, the Messiah, that one can be saved. I am the way, the truth, and the life. The gospel of John chapter 14, Yeshua said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father but by me." You can't be saved any other way. And when we preach His name and His person, as it says in verse 13a, "You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." And so you can just imagine, beloved brothers and sisters, Yeshua is telling the disciples of things that they will experience personally even before the end of the age will come.

They will experience this in their time while the Messiah is still absent. And so this is up to verse 13. But now, beloved brothers and sisters, He is shifting and He is moving from the events with the time that was immediately followed after His taking back, taking to heaven and continue on even up to our time today which is still part, you might say, of the days that are still not speaking about the tribulation period because the tribulation period is going to come yet later on once the church age had been concluded and the beginning of the tribulation period will start. And now from verse 13b, he continues on to verse 23 to speak about the tribulation period.

Now there is something here that I want to mention that is very important. You notice that I didn't read verse 13b. I stop at verse 13a and not verse 13b because verse 13b sometimes confuses people because he says there, but he that shall endure unto the end shall be saved. Now many times you hear individuals that say, wow, listen, if you are not going to endure, you are not going to be saved. As if our salvation depended upon our endurance. But you know we find in the word of God that we can only be saved after we endured. That's the difference between the work system and the grace of God provided.

everyone that ever was saved in Hebrew, he was only saved on the basis of faith in God's word. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Our salvation does not depend upon works or our endurance because we are not always enduring. We can only endure so much. Then he continued and he says, he that endureth unto the end shall be saved. Paul said in Ephesians 2, by grace are ye saved through faith and it is a gift of God is not of works let any man should boast. Our salvation or anyone's salvation in any age never depended upon endurance and performance.

It's always dependent upon faith in God's word on a basis of the sacrifice that cover the sin of the individual. In past history when Israel our people had to go to the temple and offer sacrifice they believe that God have instructed them to offer the sacrifice to shed its blood and the blood was atoning making kapara atonement for the soul covering the sins of this individual temporarily. But when Yeshua died he didn't only made atonement or kaver or kipel but he removed sins before God. In other words the believer sins have been washed away by the blood of the lamb. And therefore one is saved because of his faith in Yeshua the Messiah and not because of his endurance or works anything that he does not by works of righteousness that we have done he had saved us.

But according to his mercy Paul said this to Titus. So the text here in verse 13b really belong to the next part that deal with the tribulation. You notice it says in verse 13b it says but he and verse 14 starts with but when verse 13b belong to verse 14 on to verse 23 which deals with the tribulation period which is seven years long that will happen after we will be taken out of here and the signing of the covenant between Israel and the counterfeit Messiah will be signed according to Daniel 9 verses 24 to verse 27. And so now he's speaking about the tribulation period known as Jacob's trouble speaking about this specific event that will occur seven years long no more according to the prophet Daniel.

And so notice that in these verses verse 13b really belong to this chapter and verse 14a notice that he's now saying but when ye shall see and here Yeshua is taking the disciples all the way to the tribulation period. Now I was studying this passage it's very interesting he's saying when ye shall see it sounds like that those disciples will be there. but those disciples died. We are already about 2,000 years since the Messiah said these words. So the ye here as I mentioned earlier the context must be understood he kind of lift the situation up and he bring them over this age and bringing us to the tribulation period he began to deal directly with the people of Israel once again.

and that's why you have to understand that when the Old Testament Hebrew prophets were prophesying they saw two mountains the first coming of the Messiah the second coming of the Messiah. They look at it you could say sideways they didn't know what happened in between the first coming and the second coming of the Messiah. the Messiah they only saw the first coming of the Messiah to suffer the second coming of the Messiah to reign. The first coming of the Messiah Israel rejected Yeshua the second coming of the Messiah Israel will accept Yeshua and will be restored into a relationship with God as it was in previous days.

in previous days. And so now he's bringing them you might say he's lifting the disciples and bring them over if it's going to happen soon over 2,000 years and he's putting them there in the tribulation period. Of course it will not be them but it will be their Jewish brethren of the future day Jewish believers in the time of the tribulation. because God has already said to the people of Israel that there will be a time that he does call it according to Jeremiah I'm just going to have to read this verse Jeremiah chapter 30 and there he says in verse 7 for the day he says Alas the day is great so that none is like it.

It is even the time of Jacob's trouble Israel's trouble but he shall be saved out of the trouble. Jeremiah chapter 30 in verse 7 and so beloved brothers and sisters it's like he's lifting those disciples and he's bringing them into the tribulation period at the end of this age in which you and I live in today. and he directly speaking about these disciples and these Jewish people or tribulation saints of those days the experiences that they will go through during the time of Jacob's trouble. And so let me just go through it so we won't delay too much. notice verses 14b to verse 18 he is leading them already to the middle of the tribulation.

The tribulation already is like as if it is begun. It is seven years and all of a sudden he is telling them in verse 14 when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not let him that readeth understand again and let them that be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him that is on a housetop do not come down to his house neither enter the wind to take anything out of his house and let him that is in the field not return back again for to take up his garment but woe unto them that with a child and to them that give suck in those days and pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

In other words beloved brothers and sisters he bringing them into the tribulation period and he put them right now in the middle of the tribulation. When ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet this is Daniel chapter 9 and verse 27 Do you know what's going to happen beloved brothers and sisters? After the heavenly company will be taken out of here and this is my understanding of scripture the Lord will resume his direct dealing with his earthly people namely the people of Israel and in those days he will begin you might say his direct dealing by allowing a counterfeit Messiah to promise the people of Israel that he going to rebuild the temple for them and will reestablish the sacrificial system.

Somebody just sent me today a picture and a slide about a man in Israel that is saying you know we are waiting for the Mashiach to come we have to build our temple we have to have our sacrifices continue on but this man this Messiah that is going to come is not Yeshua it is not Jesus it is another person who will come and it is amazing when you think not Yeshua but another man and that is the counterfeit Mashiach the false Messiah that the many in Israel will sign a covenant with him for seven years he will promise Israel listen I am going to bless you I am going to give you so much

you are going to have sacrifices you can continue on everything like you have done before and the Jewish people we want the temple we want sacrifices to be offered we want the blood to be shed as in the days of old but after he is going to make a covenant with them in the middle of the tribulation he will break this covenant after three and a half years and then you know what he is going to do beloved brothers and sisters he will claim to be God situating himself in the temple asking the Jewish people and the whole world in those days to worship him as God that is not coincidence because we just in

our previous weeks celebrated Chanukah and we saw what Antiochus Epiphanes wanted that the Jewish people will worship him but in the future day the true counterfeit Messiah the true false Messiah or the real false Messiah will come and he will claim ask the Jewish people to worship him and it is called the abomination of desolation he will defile the temple a man claiming to be God asking the Jewish people to worship him and he will stand notice it says in verse 14 where it ought not let him that readers understand let them that be in Judea flee into the mountain in other words the sign that that middle of the tribulation began again and that

the antichrist is there is when that thing will happen if you read the book of Daniel it says here those spoken by Daniel the prophet Daniel already predicted this that it will happen and immediately you notice verses 14b 15 16 17 and 18 he is directly speaking about the people of Israel because he said let them be which are in Judea not in Toronto he is speaking about the future day day that be in Judea in verse 18 pray that your flight be not in winter and Matthew add pray that your flight will not be on a Shabbat day why because in Shabbat you don't have cars you don't have any light you don't light

fire the Shabbat is a day that Israel kept from generation to generation there is no even traveling any certain distance on a Shabbat day for the people of Israel so that will be the events that can happen in verses 14b to 18 and let me quickly in verses 19 to 23 here is the last half of the tribulation from the middle verses 14b to 18 to the last half of the tribulation the last three and a half years here what we read in verse 19 for in those days shall be affliction such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time neither shall be for except the Lord had

shortened those days no flesh should be saved but for the elect's sake whom he had chosen he has shortened the days and then if any man shall say unto you lo here is the Messiah or lo he is there do not believe him for false Messiah will arise false prophet will arise and shall show signs and wonders to seduce if it were possible even the elect the elect but take ye heed behold I have told you all things and now he led them to the second half of the tribulation where there will be a lot of tribulation a lot of trouble as it says in verse 19 affliction the word is really tribulation such as

was never ever happened since the beginning of the creation brothers and sisters he is instructing his disciples and you and I can learn from that how events are going to happen such as terrible events of the tribulation period predicted by the Hebrew prophets and the Messiah himself brought it before the disciples to help them see what will happen in the future day telling them take heed I am telling you these things it will surely come to pass you yourself get ready for this and by application to you and I today you and I also need to realize this troubled time will come and we as believers thank God from what we understand from scripture the

heavenly the church the ecclesia will be taken out of here before the tribulation period will occur as we read in chapter 3 of the book of Revelation in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and other passages and the tribulation is specifically called for the unbelieving world for Israel future restoration and we are going to read more about it Lord willing in the remaining chapter in our neck ministry meeting when a Messiah will come eventually and Israel will recognize him as their Messiah as their Lord and their Savior may the Lord just help us to grasp a little bit some of these things there are many things that I could not mention in such a short time but

may the Lord help us to understand his word can we say amen today