V.
Endure to the END (Matthew 24:13, Mark
13:13, Luke 21:17-19)
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Matthew 24:13
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Mark 13:13
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Luke 21:17-19
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But he that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved.
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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.
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And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's
sake. But there shall not an hair of your head
perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.
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a. Why would Jesus state that those that endure to the end would be saved, if He planned on evacuating them?
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Enduring persecution requires discipline and courage, and above all faith
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2 Timothy 1:7 –
For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind.
o Fear – cowardice or the opposite of courage
o Sound mind - Discipline
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Why would God give us this power,
love and discipline only to carry us away? Why would he equip us with spiritual
armor only to flee the battlefield?
o Ephesians 6:10-13 – Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand.
o It is by His power and His power alone that we are strong. He equips us with armour to do what? To flee?
Heaven forbid! We are to put on the armour of God so that we can stand against
the enemy in the evil day.
b. This passage in Luke appears to be in contradiction to the previous
verse, for here he states that: “…there
shall not an hair of your head perish…” , In the previous verse we see
that the servants of Christ shall be delivered up to be afflicted, and caused to be
put to death. Is this a
contradiction or does it refer to our Spirit bodies not being subjected to the second death? This seems to be the only
logical conclusion, why else would Luke contradict himself within the same
paragraph?
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Matthew 10:28 -
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.
o Destroy - ἀπόλλυμι apollymi, verb which can be a
metaphor meaning to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell,
to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed
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In Luke 21:16 the word death is θανατόω thanatoō
which is a verb meaning to
put to death
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Luke 21:18 is ἀπόλλυμι apollymi,
used above in reference to being lost.
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The passage in Luke seems to be
emphasizing that though we may be persecuted and some of us may even be killed
for our faith in Jesus, we have nothing to worry about for we are not in danger
of being lost, or destroyed in the fires of hell.
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Luke 9:24 – For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life
for my sake, the same shall save it.
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“In your patience posses ye your
souls” à
“Whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it”
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This word patience could probably
be better translated as steadfastness, constancy, endurance or a patient
enduring, sustaining perseverance.
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In our sustaining perseverance
in Christ Jesus (even through death) we shall posses our souls or save our
lives
c. To what end is Jesus
referring? The end of the age or the end
of our lives? Could it refer to both? For
every generation other than the last it could mean endure until the end of your
life, but for the last generation this could refer to the end of the present
age.
d. Matthew 13:30 – Let both grow together until the
harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “Gather ye
together first the tares and
bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
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Key verse that provides the order
in which end times events transpire, no “rapture” could take place prior to the
removal of the wicked without contradicting this parable.
e. Matthew 13:39 – The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
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World - αἰώνaiōn, 1) for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity 2)
the worlds, universe 3) period of time, age
f.
Matthew 13:47-50 – Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered
of every kind: Which, when it was
full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but
cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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We see the same story given in
another way the catch contains both good and bad fish just as the harvest
contains both wheat and tares. The tares
and the bad fish are cast “away” alluding to the destruction of the wicked in
the furnace of fire mentioned here.
g. Both the good seed and the bad seed grow together until the harvest,
which is defined by Christ Himself as the end of the world, aion or age. In this parable Jesus specifically states
that the tares are gathered first.
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Without contradicting Christ how
do we reconcile a pre-tribulation rapture or gathering of the church when Jesus
clearly states that the wicked will be removed before the children of the
kingdom? Are the children of the kingdom
and the church separate groups or one in the same? If they are the same then
this verse eliminates the possibility of a pre-tribulation rapture.
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It appears from these verses that
we are to stand through the tribulation, relying on the provision and power of
God. It is only by His power that we are
preserved, for all of the wicked face destruction.
VI.
Gospel preached to the nations (Matthew
24:14, Mark 13:10)
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Matthew 24:14
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Mark 13:10
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And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
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And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
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a. Notice that in Mark it is mentioned that the gospel going forth is in
the midst of the delivering up and is out of sync with Matthew on this point.
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Clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ
has been going forth in the world since His death and resurrection, does this
indicate that the delivering up is an ongoing phase (rather than a one time
future event) and that martyrs down through history have served this pivotal
role in expanding the gospel?
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What purpose would it serve for
the gospel to be preached immediately before the end of the age? It would lead
to salvation for many but these last minute converts would miss out on building
a relationship with the Lord.
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The preaching of the gospel
message has been going forth into the world for the past 2000 years; Christians
have been “delivered up” to persecution and death for that same length of
time. Stephen was delivered up and he
being filled with the Holy Spirit gave a testimony of faith.
b. Many hear this gospel message through the persecuted Christian. Persecution provides credibility; people will
not normally endure persecution for something they do not believe. God allows His children to suffer for the
purpose of saving the lost and expanding His kingdom to the hearts of
unbelievers
c. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
indicates that all of the apostles except for John were put to death for their
faith in Christ. Their testimony and
sacrifice has saved the souls of millions.
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John 15:13 - Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
o This is what Jesus did, and what His followers do, not for themselves,
but for the promotion of the gospel.
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1 John 3:16 -
Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and
we ought to lay down [our] lives for
the brethren.
o Jesus received no benefit in sacrificing Himself for us; He was already
God and had no obligation, other than His Word, to save us.
o The disciples, likewise, received no earthly benefit through the
sacrifice of their bodies, the benefit was passed on to the following
generation of believers that these men who sat at the feet of Jesus believed
what He taught them, so much that they would endure excruciating deaths.
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Romans 5:6-8 - For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
o While we were still dead in our sin, Christ died for us
o Therefore, being raised out of our sin by the sacrifice of Christ, we
may in turn be required to die so that others might believe in His Word.
