What the Bible Says about December 21, 2012 - Part I

(Ending date of the Mayan calendar)

Prayer -  

Heavenly Father, we thank You that we can gather this morning in Your house and that we can worship you and praise You; we thank You that You have forgiven our sins and that You have given us new life with You. You tell us, Heavenly Father, that through that forgiveness we will never, never be separated from You and Your care. Thank You for that. And now, Heavenly Father, as we read the Bible verses that talk about the end of time and our entrance to eternal life in heaven, we ask that Your Spirit would be with us and give us wisdom, understanding, joy and peace and a desire to spread the Good News of Jesus to others so that they, too, would be saved. And we pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Scripture Readings -  

The scripture readings today all deal with the end times, with the end of the world, with Christ’s second coming. The first one from Daniel chapter 12 deals with the end times and God’s care and help for His people during those times.

Old Testament – Daniel 12:1-3  At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

The second reading from the Book of Second Peter answers one of the questions that people have. People have been waiting for two thousand years for Jesus Christ to come, for the world to end, for the angels to reach out and take God’s people home to heaven - and we wait – and we wait. There is a reason we’re waiting and the Book of Second Peter answers that question. We are waiting because God desires all people to be saved and He’s giving us time to spread the Gospel, He’s giving people time to repent and turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Epistle – 2 Peter 3:9-15  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed is coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elopements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

Chapter 13 of Mark is the basis of our sermon today and we’ll go through the entire chapter. In this chapter, Mark talks about events that will happen that signal when the time is ripe for Jesus Christ to return. 

Gospel – Mark 13:1-9, 32-37  As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him fid you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch’!”

Sermon –

The date is December 21, 2012! I know that date means something to you because it’s been in the news and last Friday a movie premiered nationwide titled “2012”. The movie is about events that could happen or could begin to happen on December 21, 2012. Specials about that date have been on the History Channel, and there have been books, magazine and newspaper articles written about it. If you are wondering just what the big deal is – that’s the date that the Mayan calendar ends. Consequently, since the Mayan calendar has been in existence for centuries and centuries and has been extremely accurate, people are speculating perhaps that could be the sign that December 21, 2012 is the end of the world.

The doubters say, “Well, I have my brand-new 2010 Thrivent Calendar, and it ends December 31, 2010! Does that mean the end of the world is going to come that day just because my Thrivent calendar ends then?” Of course not so why then, do people think that forces could be in effect to bring about the end of the world on December 21, 2012 just because the Mayan calendar ends that day? December 21 is the date of the winter solstice and on that date the sun and the earth are in direct alignment with the black hole that is at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, an event that has never happened before in recorded history.

And on that date, the earth completes a wobble on its axis that has never before happened. There is speculation that when these events come into play, the magnetic fields of the earth would cause a “pole shift” and with this shift there could be earthquakes, and tsunamis - major flooding The Mayan Bible says that is the beginning of the time when the earth will be destroyed by water.

The Mayan calendar has been predicting this for hundreds of years and it’s been confirmed by scientists who have used computer programs to determine how the planets function. The Mayan calendar has also predicted various other events. As an example, hundreds of years before it happened, the Mayan calendar predicted that on March 5, 1519 bearded white men would arrive from across the sea. That date is the exact date Cortes and his men arrived in the New World. People are starting to pay attention to what the Mayan Calendar says. The Mayan calendar also agrees with the Long Count calendar and other ancient calendars regarding the events in 2012.

What we need to see is that this is probably the greatest evangelism opportunity that you and I have had in recent years. With the movie, the specials on the History Channel, and all the articles that have been written about it, this is a tailor-made opportunity for us to be prepared for the end in Jesus Christ. In Adult Bible Class on Sunday mornings we have been talking about the principle that God is always at work around us and this is the perfect event illustrating that principle. God is at work in this “2012” thing and it is our responsibility to bring the message of Jesus as Lord and Savior to others so that when the end does come, people are prepared, they don’t have to fear the end, and know that “the end” means entrance to eternal life in Heaven.

But in order to do this we have to know what the Bible says about the end times. Probably the most concise, Reader’s Digest version, of the end times is in Mark Chapter 13 and that’s what we want to go through in Part 1 of our series. In Mark Chapter 13, as Jesus was leaving the Temple with his disciples they said to Him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” And Jesus replied, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Then Jesus and His disciples moved across the area to the Mount of Olives and Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him two questions, 1) “When will all these things happen?” and 2) ”What will be the sign that all is about to be fulfilled?”

In the first question, “all these things” is referring to the destruction of the Temple. In the next question the word “all” is referring to Christ’s Second Coming. In other words we have 1) all these things and 2) The End. The greatest thing in the world will be The End, it is the greatest day of your life, you’re going to heaven. Either the day you die or “the end” will be the greatest day of your life. Solomon, the wisest man in the world said, “The day of death for the Christian is much greater than the day of birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1) That’s the day everything is fulfilled! That’s the day you go to heaven!

Those are the two categories and Jesus addresses them in a very logical order. The commentaries on Mark Chapter 13 and the corresponding section in Matthew Chapter 24 have always been very confusing because the commentaries have not kept the categories separate. The commentaries say that Jesus mingles near-term prophesies with end-time prophesies and because of that it’s just hard to understand what He is talking about. I always believed that was true because I read it in the commentaries. But this week everything started making sense because I threw away the commentaries and just read what Jesus said in Mark Chapter 13!

The disciples asked Jesus two questions: 1) when will these things happen, i.e. when will the Temple be destroyed and 2) when is everything going to be fulfilled, i.e. when the end of the world would come.   In verse five, Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he’ and will deceive many.” Before answering either of the two questions, Jesus told his disciples to not to be deceived because there would be writings, calendars, and prophesies from others. And remember all these other prophesies have a certain amount of truth to them; if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to deceive people. So don’t let what the Mayan calendar predicts shake you up, and don’t be deceived because there is a certain amount of truth in Nostradamus’ prophesies; Jesus said that would happen.

Then in verse seven He said, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” Jesus said first, make sure no one deceives you and secondly, don’t try and predict the end just because there are a lot of earthquakes, tornados, wars or a time of tribulation. He said that things are always going to happen, they are the birth pains. When this stuff happens, new life comes, the wars and rumors of war are like birth pains, they are signs that the end will come, and signs that people need to repent. But don’t try to predict the end just because of them, they are just a part of what will happen in life.

And in verse nine Jesus says, “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to local councils, and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.” This refers directly to things the early church would encounter as they spread the gospel.   And these things are continuing to this very day - when Jan Foytek came back from China she told about some of the persecutions that the people there are going through. In these verses Jesus is saying, “Don’t be deceived, don’t be shook up by wars and earthquakes and remember - the main thing is to be a witness to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And when I read verse ten, the light bulb went on! In verse ten Jesus said, “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” This verse has always been very confusing because, according to the commentators, Jesus jumps ahead to the 20^th century in this verse.  One commentator in particular, who wrote books in the 80’s, said that the world was going to end in the 80’s and if we made it into the 90’s we were living on borrowed time and certainly by the year 2000 things were going to end. He said that verse ten is a direct prophesy about the 20^th century because it won’t be until the 20^th century, with the satellite and communication capabilities that will be available, that the gospel can be spread around the entire world. Everyone grabbed onto this idea but if we take that viewpoint, Jesus is flipping all around, talking in verse nine about things the early church would encounter and talking about the end times in verse ten.   But in reality, in verse ten, Jesus was talking about some of the things that would happen in the disciples’ generation.

Can you think of a time during the disciples’ generation that the Gospel was preached to all nations? It was the day of Pentecost! Verse ten is a direct prophesy of the Day of Pentecost! On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus Christ was preached to all nations; all nations heard the gospel in their own native language.

Then Jesus says in verse eleven, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say, just say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” So, again, this whole paragraph deals with getting the Word out to all nations. The most important thing to remember is not to worry about the end, not to try to predict the end, just get the Gospel out so that people know Jesus as Lord and Savior and they are ready for “the end” – the greatest day in their life – entering eternal life in heaven.

And in verses twelve and thirteen Jesus said, “Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”   Jesus is warning people ahead of time that when you come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you may have family members who reject you. It happened in Biblical times and it happens today. When Jan Foytek came back from her mission trip to China, she talked about a young girl who came to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior and her family disowned her. So don’t get shook up, Jesus is warning us that these things will happen.

Then in verse fourteen Jesus continues talking about “all these things” referring to the destruction of the Temple. He said to his disciples, “When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong – let the reader understand…” The abomination that causes desolation is a phrase from the Book of Daniel referring to a time when the pagans came into the temple and desecrated it. This happened in 167 BC - Antiochus Epiphanies sacrificed a pig on the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem and desecrated it. This event is known as the abomination of desolation.

That’s the first time it happened. About 200 years later, Jesus said to his disciples, “Have understanding. The same thing is going to happen again and that will be the beginning of the end of the Temple”. In about 67 BC, the pagan Romans came into Jerusalem, set themselves up in the Temple and it could no longer be used for worship. That was the abomination that causes desolation. This culminated in 70 AD with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. That’s why Jesus said in verse 2, “Not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down.”   If you read historic accounts of the time of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, it was a time of massive bloodshed; that’s why Jesus told people that they should get out of town when it begins to happen. He said, “Flee Judea to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Pray that this will not take place in winter because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world until now – and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.” Jesus was saying that the Roman destruction of the Temple would not be the time that He would return. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” In verses 14 through 23 Jesus is talking about the destruction of the Temple that would occur in the disciples’ generation.

Now, having talked about “all these things”, Jesus then addresses the disciples’ second question regarding the end times, His second return. The NIV version of verse 24 reads, “But in those days, following that distress…” What Jesus is saying here is, “After all these things, after the time of destruction happens in 70 AD…” and Jesus doesn’t say how long after, because it’s been almost 2000 years, but, following that time of distress in 70 AD the end will come. Jesus said that you will know the time is coming, you won’t have to figure it out, you won’t have to figure out if someone is The Christ returned, you will know it, because some signs will happen that you will not be able to ignore. Verse 24 tells us that “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken…” and when that happens you “…will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” You will absolutely know Christ is returning, you won’t miss it, you won’t be confused at all. And when you see those things happening, Christ immediately will return. That will be the end and Christ “will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” Gathering “the elect” is another way of saying, “the believers”, those who have confessed their need for a Savior and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

And in verse 28 Jesus says, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening you know that it is near, right at the door.” This finally makes sense when we read it along with verse 30. In verse 30 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” “This generation” is referring to the disciples’ generation, a generation was about 30 to 40 years during Biblical times, and “all these things” is referring to the destruction of the temple. So when Jesus said in verse 28, “see these things happening”, He is referring to “all these things”, the Romans coming in to the temple, the abomination that causes desolation, people fleeing Judea, and the destruction of the temple. Then verse 30 makes total sense - it’s referring to the destruction of the temple. If you say that verse 30 refers to the end times, Jesus’ Second Coming, it doesn’t make any sense because that generation has long died and Christ still hasn’t returned!

And recapping what He said about the end times, Jesus continue in verse 32, “No one knows that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him fid you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch’!”

So let’s see how we can apply this to what we know about December 21, 2012. And again, people are paying attention to the Mayan calendar and the Long Count calendar because of the incredible predicting ability and incredible accuracy they have had for centuries. People pay attention   to Nostradamus because he is incredibly accurate. Against that backdrop, we need to see that Jesus is incredibly accurate. When you talk to people about 2012 and they talk about the accuracy of these other prophesies, you have to talk about Jesus’ accuracy. He correctly predicted what the Romans would do to the Temple, and He correctly predicted the time frame in which it would occur.    He correctly predicted that the best thing to do in those days was to flee to the hills and He correctly predicted that the gospel would be spread to all nations on the day of Pentecost. Above all He correctly predicted His own death and resurrection numerous times.

Jesus has an incredible track record so when you are witnessing to people about December 21,2012, tell them that Jesus’ track record is much better than Nostradamus, much better than the Long Count calendar and much better than the Mayan calendar combined! Jesus is the one to listen to. And remind them of His words in verse five, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”

And the Mayan calendar predicts the destruction of the world by water. So what does Jesus have to say about that? Read Genesis 9:15 - after the great flood God promised that never again would the earth be destroyed by water. In fact, our Epistle Lesson says that Jesus is going to take His people out of the world and the earth will be destroyed by fire. So if anyone tells you that the earth will be destroyed by water, you know they’re wrong.

With the events of 2012 and the “pole shift” idea, people are saying that it could change the seasons and there could be great droughts and famine. Again, we have to look at what the Bible says about that because Jesus is incredibly accurate. The Bible reference for that is Genesis 8:22 when, after the flood, God promises that summer, winter, seed time, harvest would never disappear as long as time goes on.

People are saying that the end will happen on December 21, 2012and you know that that’s wrong because the words of Jesus in verse 32 are “No one knows the day or the hour.” They will know when the season is ripe, but will not know the day or hour. So if anyone tells you a specific date, you know it’s wrong; you know the world is not going to end on December 21, 2012. The end will come at a time when people are not expecting it. It could come later this afternoon, it could come this week, we don’t know.

Remember, “all these things” have happened, and the event left to happen is “The sun will darken and the moon will not give it’s light.” We will see “the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory” and His angels gathering us up into heaven. And according to Jesus’ discourse, this could come at any time because “all these things” that needed to happen first have been fulfilled.

So the thing to do is turn toward Jesus, confess that you need a Savior, trust in Him as Lord and Savior and “the end” will be the greatest day in your life - the day the angels come and take you home to heaven.

And that’s what the Bible says about December 21, 2012 - part I.

Prayer -  

Heavenly Father, we have talked about how the Bible prepares us so that nothing takes us by surprise. Help people to ask questions about this so that we can given them the news that Jesus Lord and Savior and as the epistle says today, speed your seond coming. Heavenly Father, we ask your blessings as we do this and as we contemplate the end, we ask that you help us to be ready and to watch.. And we pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.