Article Of The Month
WATCHING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN (7)
Mark 13:21-23
Introduction
Last time we considered a very positive sign of Christ’s return. The white horse of the preaching of the gospel must run triumphantly through the earth. God’s elect must be saved from all nations and out of all time. Then the end of this world will come. We have found that this sign too is quickly reaching its end, for most nations have heard the gospel of Christ.
But there is a second sign that we must look for in the church that will indicate Christ comes. This sign is heartbreaking for the true church, especially after hearing of the conquering power of the gospel. It is one that has also been around for a long, long time: apostasy in the church, the preaching of false doctrine and heresy. But what makes this sign so heartbreaking is that as the end of time nears, there will be a general falling away from the truth. Men will follow after heresy and eventually a false gospel will take the place of the true gospel of Christ unto salvation. The church world in general will follow in the way of false Christianity, and, as we have found with most of the signs, this will lead to the development of the Antichrist.
So, the sign we consider tonight is not merely abounding apostasy in the last days. But it is a sign that deals with a certainly defined development in Christianity. It is a development that will lead to the persecution of the true church and an exulting of the false church as the true representative of Christianity.
If you notice, we are using several verses out of Mark 13 to single out this particular sign. Mark 13 is a parallel passage of Matthew 24. It is a chapter that speaks of the same events as Matthew. For this reason, the preterist will make the same claim about Mark 13 as he does about Matthew 24. He will say that all the events recorded here in this chapter were already fulfilled at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. These events therefore, including the event referred to in the verses we consider, are already fulfilled and have nothing to do with the end of time and the return of Christ. Again, we insist that he is wrong. He fails to take into account two important factors. First, the destruction of Jerusalem was a type or a picture of the destruction of the world at the end of time.
But secondly, and most importantly, all of Scripture supports the idea that there will be abounding apostasy before Christ returns. We will be making reference tonight to various passages that do speak of the sign Jesus considers here: such as II Thessalonians 2:3; II Timothy 3: 13 and 4:3, 4; and I John 2:18. Revelation 13 speaks of this sign as well. So, the Bible witnesses to the truth that this passage we consider tonight may be and ought to be applied to the return of Christ at the end of time.
We have a sign here to which we need to take heed, as Jesus tells us. We must not be caught unawares as those who think they do not need to watch for signs of Christ’s coming.
THE RISE OF COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY
I. FALSE CHRISTIANITY
II. CLEVER SEDUCTION
III. URGENT WARNING
I. False Christianity
There is a reality assumed by Jesus in the verses we consider. It is not one that many Christians take into account since they are not really looking for the coming of Christ. It is also one that the post-millenniallist ignores. That reality is this: always in the history of the church alongside the true church there also exists the false church. In the ND the true Christian church has always been opposed by and suppressed by the false Christian church. In our modern day and age of relativism it is often heard, “well, we are all Christians. We may disagree with each other but we are all going to heaven anyway.” The sharp differences between the true church of Christ and the false church are neatly folded and tucked away in the corner of the closet in order to avoid exposure. Instead it is heard, “look at the great influence of Christianity in this world. The world is heading toward an age of peace and prosperity under the influence of the Christian church.” Even Christians of Reformed persuasion seem blinded to the truth that false Christianity is embracing the church world.
True Christianity is losing ground. Right now, the question of Jesus in Luke 18:8 can be applied to our time and world, “when the Son of man cometh, will he find faith in the earth?” Everywhere the NT warns against false Christianity! Jesus warns us against it in the verses we study tonight. “False Christs and false prophets shall rise to seduce the elect.” Paul warns us too in Timothy that there is going to arise in the last days evil men and seducers who will lead Christians astray. In order to identify false Christianity (false Christ’s are and false teachers) we must consider the true church of Christ in this world.
The apostle John identifies false prophets and teachers for us in I John 4:2-3, Herby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of god: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” Now, the truth that Jesus Christ is come into the flesh may not seem all that sharply distinctive to be able to divide between false Christianity and true. I mean, the true believer confesses a whole lot more than that, right? But this is and will be the fundamental difference (the fundamental, the basic difference) between the true and the false church.
The true believer makes this blessed confession: Jesus, the one whom God sent to save His people from their sins, Christ, the Chosen and Anointed One of God, is come into our flesh. He is come, that is, He has left His highest state of glory in heaven being the divine Son of God, second person of the Trinity, coequal and coeternal with God the Father and Holy Spirit. He is come into our human flesh. He was born of the virgin Mary. He is become God and man in the one Person of God’s Son. Why has He come into our flesh? He came in order the die the death of the cross to secure for lost sinners salvation from sin. He has come to pay the price of sin for God’s elect people in order to remove our guilt and condemnation. He has come to overcome the power of sin in our lives in order that we might live a new and godly life unto God. All of this, and even more, is implied in the confession that the true believer makes. It is the basic confession that is upheld and defended by the true church of Christ in this earth.
And this sets it distinguishes it from the false church. False Christianity does not confess that Jesus Christ is come into the flesh. Notice, John says does not say that false Christianity comes right out and denies this. He says, that false Christians and the false Christian church will not confess it. False Christianity is too shrewd and subtle than that. Instead we hear of a different confession that is made concerning Christ. Jesus is not the sovereign Lord from heaven who came to save His people from their sin. He is come to show God’s love for everyone in this world, by earning salvation for everyone. Christ is He that appeared in history to make everyone in this world feel good about themselves – even, mind you, when they are walking unrepentantly in the deep way of sin! Christ is neither chosen nor appointed by God to accomplish the salvation of the church. He is not come down from heaven as the divine Son of God born into human flesh. Oh, the false Christian church may not be so bold as to deny this fundamental truth of Scripture, but neither does it preach this truth. Instead it is heard more and more that Christ was this wonderful example to mankind. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. He stood up against those terrible narrow-minded and bigoted Pharisees who thought they were the only ones going to heaven. He has left you and me the ultimate example to follow. Look at the good He did to mankind! That is why Christ came to earth. That is the heart of Christianity. Christians ought to follow the great humanitarian of all ages: Jesus Christ. He came to make you and me better people. He has come to inspire us to go out into this world and make it a better place to live.
There is no sound of salvation from sin in all of this. There is no sound of the promised Christ who would save His people from the torments of hell. Again, it is not denied. In fact, there might be a sprinkling of this talk through what is said. But the false church does not make this the heart and soul of her confession. She does not truly believe in the divine Son of God who accomplished a powerful salvation on the cross to save His people unto eternal glory.
Instead false Christianity sets up a counterfeit Christ – a false Christ. Literally we read in our text a pseudo-Christ. And that word “pseudo” means “apparently” rather than “actually”. They will have a fake Christ – a counterfeit Christ. One who appears to be the real Christ but is not the actual Christ of Scripture. The Christ taught by the false church will go under the name of the Christ of the Scriptures. The largest share of the church will even be passionate in clinging to this false or pseudo Christ. The false Christ will come to be known in this world as the Christ of Christianity – even though he is not the true Christ.
So we hear of it today, do we not: “lo, here is Christ, or, lo, he is there.” The cults of today that seek to enjoy Christian status, go from door to door proclaiming that they have the Christ. “Lo, here is Christ!” Many mainstream Christian denominations, whose size and generic message makes them popular tell us, “No, we have the Christ! He is here!” Evangelists or mega-churches who appeal to the masses claim they have the Christ. Churches that pride themselves in all the pomp and rituals, who make bold claim that they hold in their power salvation from sin boast that they are the true vicars of Christ.
We are reminded of what the prophet proclaimed in Amos 8:11, 12, “Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” We are reminded of what Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 4:3, 4, “For the time will come when they shall not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” False prophets shall arise who will teach their false Christs, Jesus tells us, in order to seduce men to follow after them instead of the true Christ of the Scriptures. And the attempt of Satan in all of this will be to seduce even the elect to turn away from the truth.
These false teachers and preachers who tickle the itchy ears of people who desire to listen to myths or fables – are not many scattered and unrelated attempts to turn people after their own brand of Christianity. This is one sign Jesus points out to us. The sign is this: the false Christian church in this world will slowly take the place of the true Christian Church. Paul forewarns in II Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” False Christianity will become so hugely popular that the people involved in this false Christianity and the people of this world will begin to think that false Christianity is, in fact, the only Christianity. The true church of Christ will become small and despised. It will get to the point that no one, or at best very, very few, will even give ear to the warnings of the true church. The true church will be labeled as fanatical. In the minds of many in the false church, the true Christian church is so small and so out of touch with reality that we ought to pity the poor folk.
All we need to do is look at the development of the church in the OD to find an example of what we mean. The prophet Isaiah lived during a time of great apostasy in Judah. The people of Judah were calling good evil and evil good. Just read the first four chapters of his prophecy and you will find the many sins Judah was committing. In the midst of this forsaking of the truth Isaiah spoke these words in Isaiah 1:4 and 8, “Ah, sinful nation a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.. . .And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” . The vast majority of the Old Testament church was apostate. Yet, they were the people of God. They believed they truly represented Jehovah. And they despised the few faithful who were nothing more than a besieged city in Israel. That is what is going to characterize the Christian church in the last days! False Christianity will grow and flourish. Because it is so strong, might will make right. And though there may be minor differences between various denominations that false Christ who follows after the whims of sinful man will be exalted as the true Christ.
True Christianity will be silenced. When you see all this happening, Christ tells us, then take heed: I am coming! And when men say, “Lo, here is Christ; or. Lo, he is there; believe it not! Do not be deceived by the apostasy and error of the false church. Continue in the things that you have learned and been assured of. Continue in the holy Scriptures that make us wise unto salvation! II Timothy 3:15 ff.
II. Clever Seduction
That, then, is the sign. Jesus also forewarns us of how the false church goes about accomplishing her task. We read in verse 22, “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” To seduce – seduction: that is the means Satan uses to persuade men to follow after counterfeit Christianity and its false or counterfeit Christ. The term seduce used here is a Greek word that means to cause to lead astray, or to lead one away from the truth to the lie. The idea is that of a ship resting in harbor tied to the dock. An enemy comes at night and cuts the ropes. As a result the ship drifts away from the dock and begins to float aimlessly at sea, with no direction or goal. Men will come in the course of the history of the church who will by their false teachings cut the church loose, so to speak. She will slowly drift away from her theological moorings. She will then slowly drift away from the safety of the harbor and into the open sea of unbelief.
This, has happened repeatedly since the very time of Christ, of course. John writes to the early church in I John 2: 18, “Little children, it is the last time: and even as ye have heard antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know it is the last time.” But as time goes on more and more of the church will give heed to evil men and seducers and these men will lead the church out into the open sea of unbelief. This will be accomplished by two means: first by means of false prophets and secondly by means of signs and wonders. The word used for false prophets in our text is similar to the one used for false Christ. It is pseudo-prophets. And again, what is meant by this word is: apparent but not actual. They look like prophets or teachers, or better, preachers of Christ. But they are only look-alikes. They are not genuine. They are not true preachers or prophets of Christ. They are counterfeit. These are men who come in the robes of Christianity but who preach the doctrine of men. What is this doctrine of man? An earthly kingdom where man will dwell in peace and safety, a kingdom where sin is not considered sin and man can find his way with a God and a Christ that will follow his every whim and wish. As the return of Christ draws closer so also we will see such false prophets on the rise.
The other means used by those who seduce is that of signs and wonders. Notice, our version of the Bible does not translate these terms as miracles. It could have since these same words in the Greek make reference to some of the miracles that were performed by Jesus and others. But I agree with those translators who do not translate these terms here in verse 22 as miracles. A sign is an unusual occurrence that one uses to prove the cause he is pleading to be true. This occurrence will be claimed to be a miracle and may even seem to be a miracle but as is the gospel he preaches is false so also his signs. A miracle is sent by God and given into the hands of one of His servants to prove God’s cause. This is why false prophets seek to use what they claim to be miracles in order to prove that God sent them.
The word wonders here in these verses refers to a strange occurrence that needs to be watched. Again, it can refer to a miracle, but not necessarily. But, lets face it, people of God, these signs and wonders of false prophets are not new. The RCC claims to change bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ. Surely, that is a claimed miracle. The Pentecostal movement claims to speak in the language of angels and to be able to heal the sick or receive visions. All of these are claimed miracles. Who knows how great these signs and wonders that false prophets will show will become as time goes on. We do not know just how far God will allow evil men and seducers to go before Christ’s return. But these signs and wonders will be great! We can be sure of it! So great will they be, that they will deceive the masses of Christians. We will see the church world following en masse after counterfeit Christianity, so much so we might even begin to waver. There are so many people, even those we love following in this way. Can we possibly be right?
So great will be the apostasy of the last days that, if it were possible, the very elect themselves would be deceived! So great will be the seduction of that day! Of course, God’s elect are chosen by God from eternity and held in His almighty hand that they cannot be taken from Him. They are not able to be deceived. But if they could be, they would be! That is how strong the pull toward pseudo-Christianity will be.
III. An Urgent Warning
“Take heed! Behold, I have foretold you,” Jesus says in verse 23 of the verses we consider. Now, we have been warned. What we see going on about us in the church world ought not to alarm us. It saddens us, of course. We certainly do not like watching so many follow after the lie. It hurts us, especially if they are family or loved ones. But this must not perplex us or confuse us. We have been forewarned. Jesus Himself here has told us. That makes the warning He gives us urgent.
Take heed! Such is what we are told as elect believers: take heed! Watch and guard yourselves! We are saved in the way of perseverance. Then we must, having been foretold of all things, watch for ourselves! We must exercise ourselves in these last times unto godliness. We must learn the holy Scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation. We must give attendance to prayer and study of God’s Word in church, in the home and family, and privately for ourselves. We may not neglect these matters. The warning is so urgent. May God give us eyes to see the signs of Christ’s return and may we strive to remain faithful to His cause.
Amen