Mark 13:14-23 | “The Coming of the Antichrist”

A Longing for the End of the World

One of the strangest paradoxes in our culture is that, though none of us want to die, we seem to have a longing for the end of the world.  This shows up in the movies that we watch and love.  Over the past thirty years or so, there’ve been hundreds of apocalyptic movies made, movies that envision a dystopian future or the end of the world. 

Who can forget Mel Gibson in Mad Max, Kurt Russel in Escape from New York, Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, Bruce Willis in Armageddon, Will Smith in Independence Day and I Am Legend and The Book of Eli, Kirk Cameron and Nicholas Cage in Left Behind, Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, Brad Pitt in World War Z, Sandra Bullock in Bird Box, John Krasinski in A Quiet Place, and of course my son Gideon’s favorite movie right now Wall-e.

What explains our draw toward apocalyptic films?  Why do they seem to resonate with us so much?  My best guess is because we all know that the world is not getting better, but only getting worse.  We intuitively know that something is fundamentally and irreparably wrong with the world.  We sense a brokenness and evil in the world that we can’t overcome.  We therefore long for a new and better kind of world.  We long for a new heavens and a new earth.

Overview of the Olivet Discourse

Jesus had a lot to say about the end of the world, but his focus may not be what you expect.  Jesus was more concerned with how we live in the present than with giving us a timeline of how the world will end.  He wanted his followers to focus on being faithful to him, not on speculating about the end of the world.

In Mark 13, often called the Olivet Discourse, Jesus gives his disciples his longest sermon on the end times.  The chapter can be divided into two sections.  Verses 1-23 describe things that must happen before Jesus returns.  Verses 24-37 describe Jesus’ return. 

Jesus Predicts the Arrival of the Antichrist

In verses 1-13, Jesus spoke in generalities about things that must happen before his return.  Starting in verse 14, he gets really specific.  He uses some cryptic language that is confusing to us, but would’ve been understood by his disciples to describe a major event that must take place before he returns and the end of the world.  The specific event Jesus predicts in verses 14-23 is the arrival of the Antichrist. 

I want to outline our text using three questions.  First, what should we do when the Antichrist arrives (vv. 14-18)?  Second, what will happen when the Antichrist arrives (vv. 19-22)?  And third, what are we supposed to do while we wait for his arrival (v. 23)?

The “Abomination of Desolation”

First, what should we do when the Antichrist arrives (vv. 14-18)?  In verse 14, Jesus mentions a specific event that will signal the end, “When you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be.”  What is the “abomination of desolation” (NIV, “abomination that causes desolation”)?

The word “abomination” describes something that’s repulsive to God.  It’s like when you see an Eagles fan at a Dallas Cowboys game, times a million.  The word “desolation” means that as a result of this profaning of the temple, it’s left desolate, empty, deserted.  The “abomination that causes desolation” (NIV) is a helpful translation because it tells us what the abominable thing will do, it will “cause desolation.”  It will defy and defile God and cause God’s people to scatter.

Jesus takes this language right out of the Old Testament.  He’s referring to something that the prophet Daniel talked about.  Daniel predicted a scandalous event that would lead to the defiling and profaning of the temple (9:27, 11:31, 12:11).  Daniel’s prophecy was that the temple would be desecrated by a foreign persecutor.  An enemy of God would come and defy God and scatter God’s people.

Who is this referring to?  I ask “who” because verse 14 uses a masculine pronoun, “standing where he ought not to be.”  Several people throughout history have been considered.  It could be Antiochus IV from Syria who outraged the Jews in 168 BC by building an altar to Zeus in the Jewish temple and sacrificing a pig on it.  It could be referring to the Roman general Pompey who conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC and entered the holy of holies.  It could be the Roman emperor Caligula who unsuccessfully tried to put a statue of himself in the temple in 40 AD.  Or it could refer to the Roman general Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 66-70 AD.  He entered the holy of holies and stole several things and took them back to Rome. 

The “Man of Lawlessness”

All of these are possibilities, but none of them seem to capture the magnitude of the blasphemy and destruction that this person will unleash (v. 19).  This is why most scholars understand Jesus to be referring to the Antichrist, the one who’ll come to lead the nations away from God and to wage war against God’s people. 

Paul describes this “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, 9-10.  This “man of lawlessness” is most likely the antichrist, a man who’s used by Satan (v. 9) to lead an outright rebellion against God and his people.  He’s also called “the son of destruction” (v. 3) because his destiny is to be destroyed and defeated when Jesus returns (v. 8).  Verse 4 says that he’ll “oppose and exalt himself against every so-called god or object of worship,” “take his seat in the temple of God,” and “proclaim himself to be God.”

The “temple of God” in verse 4 has been interpreted as a literal temple in Jerusalem, a heavenly temple, or the church.  Paul might be alluding to the fact, as I’ve said, that several foreign kings desecrated the temple.  Whatever the exact meaning, the point is that this man will perform a concrete and observable act of defiance against God.  Paul is saying more about this man’s character than the literal location of where he’ll appear.  British pastor and scholar John Stott says that the “Antichrist will…dethrone God in order to enthrone himself…he will demand for himself the worship which he has forbidden to everybody and everything else.”

Back to Mark 13, Jesus’s point is that, when this man appears, the end is near (v. 14).  This terrible antagonist will unleash a severe tribulation on the people of the God (v. 19), which in turn will usher in the return of the Lord (vv. 24-26). 

Antichrist Is Already Here

Though Scripture teaches that a man will be raised up by Satan in order to lead an all-out rebellion on God and his people just before Jesus returns, we must remember that we’re already living in the end times, the time between Jesus’ first and second coming. 

The apostle John talks about this in his letters (1 John 2:18, 22, 4:2-3).  John says that we’re living in the “last hour,” that “many antichrists have come,” and that the “spirit of antichrist” is found in anyone “who denies that Jesus is the Christ” and “who (does) not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” 

This means that the evil that is coming is already building and growing in the world.  Satan knows that Jesus’ death and resurrection have ensured his demise, so he’s wreaking havoc on the world through every possible means.  He’s working desperately to keep people from seeing Jesus for who he really is (2 Cor. 4:4).  He wants people to think that Jesus was a good guy, a great teacher, a prophet, a life coach, rather than the Son of God who’ll come one day to judge all those who have not repented of their sins and put their trust in him. 

False teaching about Jesus is used by the evil one to prepare people to follow the “man of lawlessness.”  If you don’t know who Jesus is, what he said, and what he did, you’ll be more easily deceived and carried away by the “spirit of antichrist” that is “in the world already.”  Christ is coming and antichrist is coming.  It’ll be hard to know the difference if you don’t know what the Word of God says about Jesus.  The best way to get ready for the end times is thus to read your Bible.  This is the only infallible way to ensure that you’re following the real Christ.

What Should We Do When the Antichrist Arrives? 

Now, to our first question, what should we do when the Antichrist arrives?  Mark 13:14b-18 suggest that we should flee.  Anytime a disaster is approaching, it’s wise to get out of its way.  This isn’t cowardice.  It’s wisdom.  The idea behind vv. 14b-16 is that the Antichrist presents a danger so great, that there’s no time for delay.  Lives are at stake.  When Jesus’ followers see this desecrating thing set up, it’s time to make a run for it. 

This will be difficult for anyone, but verse 17 says it’ll be especially hard for expecting moms and those with babies.  It’s an understatement to say that pregnant women and nursing moms have an inability to hurry.  Suzy and I can’t go anywhere with our kids in a hurry.  It takes approximately 37 minutes just to get from the door to the van!  Moving quickly away from the danger of the Antichrist will be especially hard for them, and harder for anyone if it happens in the winter (v. 18).  The streams and rivers swell during the winter and there are no crops to glean food from. 

So what should we do when the Antichrist arrives?  We should get as far away from him as possible as fast as possible.

What Will Happen When the Antichrist Comes?

Our second question is, what will happen when the Antichrist comes (vv. 19-22)?  To put it simply, all hell – literally, will break loose upon the earth.  The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was but a foreshadowing of what’ll happen when Antichrist comes.

Jesus is again referring to something Daniel said in his prophecy, “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.  And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.  But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book” (12:1). 

This is often called the “Great Tribulation” because it’ll be unlike anything that’s ever happened before.  It’ll be so bad, that if God doesn’t cut it short, no one would make it (v. 20).  But “for the sake of the elect, whom he chose,” God won’t let the tribulation go on for too long.  Who are God’s elect?  They are those who God chose before the foundation of the world to be united to his Son Jesus through faith.  Their names were written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). 

How do you know if that’s you or not?  Are you trusting in the blood of the Lamb for the forgiveness of your sin?  Have you turned away from yourself and your sin and the world and given your life to know and follow Jesus?  If you have, you are God’s elect and you’ll live forever with him.  The Scriptures don’t call the lost to see if they’re elect and then come to Christ.  The call is to come to Christ.  If you’re elect and you’re around when the Antichrist comes, he’ll shorten the days of the tribulation because of you, because he loves you. 

Verses 21-22 say that more false messiahs will come, claiming to be able to save us from the impending disaster.  They’ll pull every trick out of the bag in order to get God’s people to stick around to see the arrival of the Christ.  But, thankfully, it’s not possible for God’s children to be led astray by charlatans.  As we’ll see next week, we won’t need anyone to tell us that Jesus has arrived.  Everyone will see him, and his people will be gathered to him.

What Are We Supposed to Do While We Wait for this to Happen?

Our third and final question is, what are we supposed to do while we wait for the arrival of the Antichrist?  Verse 23 tells us.  In the original language, this is an imperative, “Pay attention!  Stay awake!”  Our calling is simple: we’re to stay awake while we wait.  Jesus wants his followers to be vigilant while we wait for his arrival. 

There are great consequences for those who aren’t (Lk. 12:45-47).  People who cease to be vigilant, attentive, alert, cautious, and on their guard are the ones who’ll be taken off-guard.  Jesus wants his people to be at their posts, patiently waiting for him, not getting lulled to sleep or distracted by all that the world offers.  Our call is to wait and watch. 

This isn’t passive waiting and watching, like many of you will do during the Super Bowl tonight.  No, we’re to wait and watch actively.  While we wait, we work to spread the gospel, to push back evil, to help the helpless, to build up the church.  We wait in prayer and in worship and in community.  We watch while we take the gospel to all the nations.  The end is coming, the Antichrist is coming, the real Christ is coming, so we want as many people as possible to be ready to flee from the one and flee to the other.