The Sovereignty of God

 

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? --Lamentations 3:37

One of my favorite stories of faith is from a man identified only as "Brother Andrew."  In the early 1960s he felt impressed by God to smuggle copies of the Bible into Iron Curtain countries where communist leaders had outlawed it.  His book, God's Smuggler, recounts how Brother Andrew was able to sneak across international borders and past tight security.  Somehow, God blinded the eyes of the border guards, or distracted their attention, so that the Word of God could be read by underground Christians.

"Persecution," he said, "is an enemy the Church has met and mastered many times.  Indifference could prove to be a far more dangerous foe."  Christian persecution began with Christ Himself, but unless God allowed it, the will of men who meant evil toward Jesus would have been thwarted.  Let's turn to Scripture to see what I mean.

Plotting by deception

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill Him, for they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people."  --Mark 14:1-2

The Jewish leaders had finally had enough.  They wanted to take Jesus into custody and have Him put to death.  However, they saw the large crowds that had gathered in Jerusalem for Passover celebration, and they feared riots in the streets if they arrested Him openly.  So they sought ways to sneak around and do it in the dark, quietly without raising a commotion.

The irony was that they were attempting to exert their will on a situation that God had firmly in His control.  One would think that their plan at this point would be to wait until after the Jewish holiday, and make their move when the crowds in Jerusalem disbursed.  God had other plans.  It was His will that Jesus be arrested, tried, and executed in a short time, so that the significance of the Passover would not be lost--Jesus would Himself become the Passover Lamb. 

Preparing for death

And while He was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over His head.  There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?  For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor."  And they scolded her.  But Jesus said, "Leave her alone.  Why do you trouble her?  She has done a beautiful thing to me.  For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want you can do good for them.  But you will not always have Me.  She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for burial.  And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."  --Mark 14:3-9

Jesus knew He would be killed, and that the time was near.  If you are familiar with the crucifixion story, you know that because it was the Passover and the Sabbath, His followers were not able to properly prepare His body for burial, but had to go to the tomb with spices and ointments the day after the Sabbath (only to find the tomb empty--but that's another story.)  This is why Jesus said that by anointing His feet with sweet smelling perfume, she was doing the work that was normally done to a dead body prior to burial.  She was not just honoring Him with an expensive gift; she was not only glorifying Him by washing His feet and applying the sweet smelling ointment; she was actually preparing His body for burial.

God will work out His will in His time, and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  We often misinterpret this verse to say that all things work out for our good if we love God; that's not what it says.  God is in charge, and He works out all things for His own good (that is, the way He likes), and we who love God and are called to His purpose recognize this fact and run with it.  We can see the good that God does after the fact, and even though it seems to be for our benefit, it is only according to His sovereign will.  If we abide by His will, we will recognize that whatever He wills is best, whether it benefits us directly or not.

Penetrating the Darkness

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.  And when they hard it, they were glad and promised to give him money.  And he sought an opportunity to betray Him.  --Mark 14:10-11

Both Matthew and John wrote in their accounts that Satan entered into the heart of Judas so that he would betray Jesus (see Luke 22:3 and John 13:2).  If this is true, then even Satan does not work by his own power and will.  God is all-powerful.  He is not subordinate to Satan, and Satan does not hold a station equal to or greater than God, no matter what the world looks like today. 

Remember that the Pharisees were afraid to arrest Jesus during the Passover celebration?  When Judas approached them, however, it was an opportunity they could not pass up.  Here was one of the twelve, one of Jesus' inner circle, willing to sell Him out to them.  Sure, they would go under cover of darkness, but they would conduct His trial and execution during the height of the Passover feast.  God's will above their own.  God's will above that of Satan.  God's will above that of yours or mine.

God penetrates the darkness of sin and sadness to bring us to Himself.  He will accomplish His will, whether it means overcoming our plans or even the plans of Satan, the prince of darkness.  He is King, the Lord over all.  Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

How then can we be complacent?  We must do the work of the ministry in order to be used by Him, lest the rocks and trees themselves cry out in praise (Luke 19:40).  He will work out His will, for He is sovereign.  His will above all.

It's not quittin' time

 

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority."  --Acts 1:7

 The Oxford Dictionary defines "object lesson" as "a striking practical example of some principal or ideal."  Jesus was a master teacher, and was masterful at using object lessons.  As He was walking and talking with the disciples, He adeptly changed the subject from the Temple, which they had been admiring, to a leaf on a ripe fig tree that illustrated His point.

Let's rejoin our text at Mark 13:28 and following.

From the fig tree learn its lesson; as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.  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. --Mark 13:28-31.

Clearly Jesus was speaking of the destruction of the Temple, which occurred in 90 A.D., and not the end of the world.  That event actually happened within a generation of the time that Jesus was speaking.  In all probability, however, John may have been the only Apostle still alive when the Romans destroyed the Temple.

Some dispensationalist denominations teach that every time the Bible uses the term "fig tree", it is a reference to Israel.  Thus, they would make a big deal out of the phrase "budding of the fig tree," or "putting out it's leaves" as referring to the time that Israel became a nation again in 1948.  They believed that within one generation of Israel becoming a nation, Christ would return for His church.  A lot of time has passed since 1948 and some have amended their prediction to say that the Second Coming might occur within one generation of Israel's Six Day War in 1967.  Again, a lot of time has passed since that event, so perhaps a different method of interpretation is needed for this text.  I believe that Jesus and His disciples were walking along and saw some fig trees in bloom, and Jesus used them as an object lesson for the first part of their question, when will His prophecy of the destruction of the Temple take place.

As to the question of the end of the world, Jesus was quite clear: it is not for you to know.

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard, keep awake.  For you do not know when the time will come.  It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.  Therefore stay awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning--lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.  And what I say to you I say to all:  Stay awake.  --Mark 13:32-37 

 Only God knows the day and the hour of Christ's return, and He didn't tell us.  There is wisdom in this: if we thought that the end of the world was not imminent, we may not be faithful.  On the other hand, if we knew it was coming within the year, or within the month, or within the week, we would be tempted to act differently as the time approached.  I think the point that Jesus was making was that we should not act differently.  The command to "stay awake" means to always live as if He were coming back tomorrow.

When the Apostle Paul was giving instructions to Timothy, a young pastor in the early Church at Ephesus, he wrote these words: "As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."  I think it is interesting that every action movie Hollywood has ever made encourages the hero to fulfill his own destiny.  No matter how discouraged or despondent the main character becomes through the course of the story, someone always appears who will encourage him or her to try harder, to overcome, to fulfill their destiny.

We as Christians, on the other hand, know that our destiny is secure.  Heaven is assured for us, and nothing can take that away.  However, lest we become complacent, we are encouraged to fulfill our ministry.   We each have a ministry given to us by God, who has put in in our current circumstances on purposes.  Like Queen Esther in the Old Testament, we are put in our current circumstances "for such a time as this."

Will there be suffering?  Yes.  Will we make bad decisions sometimes?  Yes, unfortunately; but even if we get a crazy idea stuck in our heads, we are to be sober-minded.  Will we get discouraged and tired of being salt and light, revealing Jesus to the darkness?  Yes, but that is our job, to evangelize our corner of the world.  Jesus Himself said just before He ascended into heaven, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18).

Last week we talked about "the abomination of desolation."  If we get so discouraged about Jesus not coming back after 2000 years that we stop doing the work of the ministry, then we have made being desolate (abandoned by God) our idol (and idolatry is always referred to as an abomination).  In other words, we must never act as if God has abandoned us.  Instead, we are to fulfill our ministry, the work that God has placed us here to do.

The abomination of desolate darkness

 

And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.  --Daniel 11:31

We live in a period of spiritual darkness.  In the 1900 years since the biblical canon was closed (with the death of the Apostle John ca 100 A.D.), there has been no new revelation from God.  With God seemingly silent for so long, Satan has succeeded in confusing the hearts of men as to the true source of light.  Men have called good evil and evil good for so long that at the very least lines are blurred, and at the very worst sin has overcome the world. 

This is what Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  Evil evolves over time to appeal to changes in the hearts and minds of humanity.   With each news cycle comes a new lament, a new injustice that must be made right, yet the solutions put forth by the world have no basis in Truth, because truth is relative; they have no foundation in Faith, because so many faiths lead to an incoherence of inclusiveness.  We have made an idol of Science, yet we refuse to acknowledge basic biology--people born with either an X or Y chromosome can ignore science and determine their own gender based on their own proclivity for sinning.

Christian author Frank E. Peretti wrote in This Present Darkness, "I understand that sometimes the truth of God's word can become a divider, an irritation, a stone of stumbling.  But that's only because it remains unchanged, uncompromising, and steadfast.  And what better reason could there be to build our lives on such an immovable foundation?  To violate the Word of God is only to destroy ourselves, our joy, our peace, our happiness."

I think that's what the Bible means when it talks about "the abomination of desolation."  When God seems so far from us, we feel desolate, and are prone to making choices antithetical to scripture.  In Scripture, there is a close relationship between idolatry and the idea of abomination.  Therefore, when desolation or the feeling of being abandoned by God becomes our idol, and the result is abominable.

Continuing our study of Mark 13, Jesus continues his discourse with the disciples about the end of the world.  If you read my last post, you will recall that the disciples marveled at the construction of Herod's Temple, and when Jesus predicted that it would be torn down with "not one stone left upon another," they thought that its destruction would signal the end of the world.  They asked Jesus about the end of the world, when the Temple would be destroyed.  Jesus tried to separate the two events, but in verses 14 through 27 He transitions from one event (the destruction of the Temple) to the other (the time leading up to the end of the world).

But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.  And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter.  For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.  And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.  But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.  --Mark 13:14-20.

As we have mentioned before, Herod's temple was destroyed by the Romans in 90 A.D.  From that time on, animal sacrifices stopped, signifying no further means of atonement for the Jews.  Jesus knew that Jews would be tortured and killed like never before, so He warned them to flee to the hills and take refuge in the rocks.  He prayed that this event would not happen during winter, and He bemoaned the fate of pregnant and nursing women during this period.  Skeptics might look at this passage and say it is patently false, pointing to the holocaust in the 1930's as the worst persecution of the Jews ever.  While the scale may have been greater, I would argue that death by gas chamber is more humane that being dragged through the streets by a Roman soldier, being killed by the sword (a gruesome way to die).  Imagine seeing your friends and family members being dismembered by a soldier's blade, or a pregnant mother having her belly cut open and seeing the unborn child as she slowly bled to death. 

Please understand, I am not downplaying or denying the holocaust.  The death of six million Jews was a terrible thing in world history.  However, the reason there were that many Jews in Europe was due in large part to the disbursement of the Jews, or diaspora, resulting from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the unspeakable things that happened to them there.

Moving on, Jesus's words regarding tribulation could have more than one meaning.  They could describe more than one event.  This is not uncommon in Jewish prophecy.  Take for example Isaiah 7:14, which is universally accepted as being a messianic prophecy: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."  While we all agree that it pointed to the birth of Jesus some 500 years later, it also had meaning to Ahaz, the king of Israel at the time.  Isaiah goes on to tell Ahaz that before the child reaches the age of accountability, being able to tell right from wrong, the two kings whom Ahaz feared would be dead, and their lands deserted.

Keeping this double-meaning in mind, we can also apply Jesus's prediction of persecution to also mean the future persecution of Christians.  Let's re-read the passage again, beginning in verse 19 and move on to where it obviously means an event occurring in the distant future, not just the next 60 years.

For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of creation that God created until now, and never will be.  And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.  But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.  And then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there He is!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will arise and  perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.  But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.  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 in the heavens will be shaken.  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.  --Mark 13:19-27

The days will come, Jesus said, when persecution would seem to prevail, but He would protect His chosen people, the elect.  As time goes on, false messiahs would appear, and some would be quite convincing, even to the elect.  We were warned to be on guard, and watch for this to happen so we would not be deceived.

Jesus seemed to foretell a period of time when there would be no light; the sun would be darkened and the moon would not shine.  I believe we are in that period of time right now.  Darkness seems so pervasive that it appears we are abandoned, desolate.  The world has made an abomination of this desolation, proclaiming that there is no God, or if there ever was, He has abandoned us.  Thankfully, we do have something to look forward to.  Jesus will come in the clouds, and be seen in the sky.  He will gather His people, the elect, to Himself to take us home with Him forever.  Then He will judge the Earth.

Peretti wrote in Piercing the Darkness, "No amount of lies, no matter how cleverly couched, will ever outstrip or outlast God's truth, nor will any lie outreach His grace.  The Lord knows those who are His, His sheep here His voice, and the arm of the Lord is never so short that He cannot save."