LESSON NINE
Jerusalem Controversies

The Parable of the Vineyard and the Unfaithful Vineyard Keepers

Mark 12:1-8 A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a place for the wine vat, and built a tower, and leased it out to vinedressers, and went into a far country.
At the vintage time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive fruit from the vineyard.
But those vinedressers caught the servant, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
Once again he sent another servant to the vinedressers; yet they cast stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
And yet again he sent another servant; this one they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
Having a son, his only and well beloved, he sent him at the last to them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those vinedressers said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore, what shall the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy those vinedressers, and will give the vineyard unto others.

"The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant." Isaiah 5:7. Upon this people God had bestowed great privileges, blessing them richly from His abundant goodness. He looked for them to honor Him by yielding fruit. They were to reveal the principles of His kingdom. In the midst of a fallen, wicked world they were to represent the character of God. {COL 285.1}



They understood the parable, but the warning in it changed nothing.
It's the same warning we see illustrated in the object lesson of the fig tree.
These were Christ's last strong calls to the leaders of Israel, the vinedressers, who had been placed in charge of the Lord's vineyard, and who, that very week would initiate His crucifixion.

That beautiful sculpture of a grape vine with huge clusters of grapes, adorned the pillars of their temple, represented what God had intended for them. But Jesus pointed out the reality which was resulting in their rejection of the ONE Who was everything to them.

We read what happened back then, but how does it apply to us today?
Who are the vinedressers today?

Are the principles of His kingdom being revealed today in the midst of a fallen, wicked world?

LESSON NINE
CONTROVERSIES IN JERUSALEM

What authority?

Notice the religious leaders no longer asked for a sign, instead they challenged Christ's authority.

They had all the signs.

--authority over demons (they obeyed His command to leave)
--authority over nature (even the wind and waves obeyed Him)
--authority over all manner of disease (even that of leprosy)
--Power to create (wine from water, enough fish and loaves to feed thousands)
--Power of life and resurrection (the dead were raised)
--Power to know the hearts and thoughts of the people (time and again He addressed their unspoken thoughts and questions)
--Power to cleanse the temple (they all fled, they could not stand up against His command "to take these things out") as well as cleanse people from sin.

They had the signs!
Now they ask by "whose authority were they done?"

The devil was moving his forces in for the final conflict upon which everything was at stake, not just in the immediate circumstances but for all eternity! It was he, (satan) who had challenged Christ's authority in the heavenly courts and started the war against Christ's authority and position.
The religious leaders were angry that Jesus' righteous authority had caused them to disrupt their money making market in the temple. His righteous life had been exposing their hypocrisy and challenging their unrighteous ways and they resented this.
The great battle, or controversy of the ages was all about authority. Lucifer complaining that he resented Christ's righteous and loving authority over the heavenly hosts. Ignoring all the goodness, love, and harmony of heaven, he started demanding that they should have the freedom to do whatever they wanted to do, thus bringing the whole mess of sin and misery into existence.

Jesus in previous a parable said, "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this [man] to reign over us." Luke 19:14

And that's what those caviling leaders were saying, and just like the parable of the vinedressers, Satan was inspiring those leaders to kill the Son of God, to kill the Creator, in the twisted idea that this would establish their freedom in an unhindered kingdom of rebellion.


Yet, Christ's death and resurrection did bring freedom -- freedom from sin and eternal life to all who accept HIM as their Lord and Master and Savior. Satan is defeated, though still raging in rebellion against the authority of Christ, and showing the absolute horror that rebellion brings, will soon be gone forever.

CHAPTER TEN
The Last Days

Mark 13:1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]!
13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
13:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be?

The destruction of Jerusalem is used to typify the last great destruction of the world,
But according to both Matthew 24 and Mark 3:10 the gospel must first be published among all nations.

Even though it was just two days before the crucifixion, this discourse was given at a time when the disciples still believed the Messiah would bring glory to Jerusalem, and the temple was the central architecture to this kingdom.
What a shocking statement! Not One stone of their magnificent Temple would be left standing upon another?
Could it be that the magnificent temple, which was the nation's glory, was soon to be a heap of ruins?
As they passed with Him out of the temple, they called His attention to its strength and beauty. The stones of the temple were of the purest marble, of perfect whiteness, and some of them of a most fabulous size. How those mighty walls could be overthrown the disciples could not comprehend.

Yet, they listened, and when the reality happened 40 years later, they remembered, and not one Christian perished in the fall of Jerusalem, as they recognized the sign and were able to get out in time.

What lessons can we learn for out time?
1. Can our preconceived ideas hinder our comprehension?
Could we be looking too much at our great "structures" and institutions which had their origin in God's plan and guidance, but though they look grand and prestigious now, could be heading for a great fall at the last.

Do we know the signs that give the warning to "flee"?
Yes, this is the last church, with the last message, but remember it's not the structure, not the institutions, it's the people who follow Christ Who will be saved in the end. The buildings and institutions will fall when the final crises comes.

An interesting record of a conversation with EGW, may warn us not to depend on the magnificent "buildings" and institutions, but to make sure we have the right message and connections with our Lord and Savior in our hearts and minds.



The above was not written by Ellen White herself, as it was recorded by someone who heard the conversation.

Yet structural temples, that we look to with pride, will fall when the crises hits What counts is what is in the soul temple in connection with Christ that clings to the cord of faith even when all else is gone.


Notice, even though there is a scattering, there is a regathering.
EGW never advanced the thought that, as we near the close of time, every child of God will act independently of any religious organization. But a lot of things in the system that we look to will tumble.

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ADDED below are quotes written by EGW herself pretty much saying the same thing.

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Matt. 24:14 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.

This gospel -- the gospel of God's kingdom
is to be preached in all the world
Why? For a witness.

The Greek word translated as ?witnesses? is martyres, which primarily conveys the idea of someone testifying at court.
Interesting, it doesn't say to "convert the world" but to be a "witness" in all the world. To be Christ's witnesses.

Isa. 43:9-12 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
You are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Saviour.
I have declared, and I have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you: therefore you are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

The whole world is to be brought to a point of decision. Two sides are presenting their position, which will people choose, for, or against Christ and His kingdom. The gospel presentations are a witness for Christ. They are to be powerful witnesses for Christ, not only in words, but in the transformed lives of the witnesses. The devil has plenty witnessing for him, trying to make people believe his ways,
In the end the whole world will be brought to decision for Christ's kingdom, or for the kingdom of disobedience.


The book of Acts details the expansion of the Christian faith, starting with the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 people joined the fold (Acts 2:41).
For 40 more years Jerusalem watched as the power of the gospel spread. Many individual's in Israel went forth as witnesses for Christ, yet the main leadership chose the earthly kingdom, and it was rent from their hands.

In the end, the whole earth will be lighted up with people witnessing and testifying for Jesus. (Rev. 18:1,2) The gospel of God's kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world! The whole world will be brought to decision. But the world in general will reject the gospel of God's kingdom and will seek to extinguish Christ's witnesses, choosing instead the earthly kingdom, but that earthly kingdom is already in big trouble and is headed for destruction.
"The destruction of Jerusalem foreshadowed that great, great destruction to befall the whole earth.

Jesus didn't promise a peaceful, high esteemed life for His faithful witnesses. They would meet with lots of resistance, betrayals and hard times, but in the end, to be Christ's redeemed witnesses will be worth it all, and more!!!

LESSON TEN
THE LAST DAYS

The Abomination of Desolation

Mark 13:14-18 But when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it should not be, (let him that reads understand,) then let them that are in Judaea flee to the mountains:
And let him that is on the roof of his house, not go down into the house, nor go in to take any thing out of his house:
And let him that is in the field not go back again to pick up his clothes.
But woe to them that are pregnant with child, and to them that are nursing their infants in those days!
And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

What is this "abomination of desolation"?
In Daniel 9, we see this abomination at work when Jerusalem is destroyed.
We generally translate this as Roman standards set up close to the temple.
When the Roman armies surround Jerusalem with their banners or standards, there was a brief interlude during which Christians in Jerusalem fled.
We project that to the end time to mean when Papal Rome with full support of other denominations, mandates Sunday worship laws, it's a sign to flee.

In other parts of Daniel we references to this abomination set. It was prophesized to be set up at a later time. after Christ's life on earth, it would be set up by Christianity itself, (11:31, 12:11, and lasting for over a thousand years. In Dan. 8:12 its called transgression of desolation)

How can we identify the 'abomination'?

An abomination detestable thing or idol.

Daniel's use of the word matches Strong's Number H8251 Hebrew word (siqquṣ),
which occurs 28 times in 26 verses in the WLC Hebrew.

Duet. 29:17 " their abominations, H8251 their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold
1 Kings 11:5 Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination H8251 of the Ammonites
1 Kings 11:7 Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination H8251 of Moab
1 Kings 11:7 and for Molech, the abomination H8251 of the children of Ammon
2 Kings 23:13 builded for Ashtoreth the abomination H8251 of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination H8251 of the Moabites,
2 Kings 23:24 all the abominations H8251 that were spied in the land..Josiah put away
2 Chr. 15:8 Asa...put away the abominable idols H8251 out of all the land of Judah
Jer. 4:1 put away thine abominations H8251 out of my sight,
Jer. 7:30 they have set their abominations H8251 in the house which is called by my name
Jer. 13:27 thy whoredom, and thine abominations H8251 on the hills in the fields
Jer. 32:34 they set their abominations H8251 in the house, which is called by my name
Ez 7:20 they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things H8251
Ez 20:7 Cast ye away every man the abominations H8251 of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols

Obviously this is talking about honoring and serving gods that are not God.

Now, the Roman army required a device for the various units to recognize, watch, and follow in the heat of battle. These standards were held, by the Roman army, in very high regard. Not only were they important in the establishing order in the army, acting as signaling posts, they also represented strength from the various pagan gods.
The standards also played key roles at religious festivals. On these occasions, they would be anointed with precious oils and decorated with garlands. So revered were the standards during such ceremonies, that it might be argued the standards themselves were worshipped by the troops.
The eagle (Aquila) became the supreme symbol because of its association with the god Jupiter.

The Jews well understood about an abomination surrounding the temple. Just recent to Jesus discussion, Pilate had, by night, brought some of these standards into Jerusalem. When the Jews saw them they formed a delegation to protest this "assault" before Pilate. Pilate refused to remove the standards. Pilate had the protestors surrounded by troops, but when he demanded they accept the standards or die, the protesting Jews bared their necks and said they'd rather die. Pilate relented.
The disciples grasped the meaning of these abominable standards surrounding the city. They later recognized the sign and all Christians fled Jerusalem before the final Roman assault took place.

But how does the "abomination" fit in the other references?
Well, did the Roman church accept standards that honored gods that were not the true God! Did they not raise a "sign" of their authority to worship as they pleased, in defiance to what God commanded? Sunday is their sign and rally point, that they have power over God's commandments.

Thus the end time sign-- when the standard signifying the power that claims it has authority over and above the signet sign of the Creator God, is marshaling it's armies to subject the nations to it's authority, and are surrounding God's people with the aim of making them yield, it's high time to flee.

LESSON TEN
THE LAST DAYS
The Second Coming

Mark 13:21-27 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; do not believe him: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

As the Holy Spirit is being withdrawn from the earth, Satan puts forth supreme effort to gain control of the whole world. This is a time when religion will actually be in a key position in the world, as it's frantic battle by Satan, who wants the worship that belongs only to God. There will be false prophets all over the place, claiming to be speaking for God. There will be people claiming to be Christ.


Take heed! Jesus, Himself warned us there will be powerful deception aimed to get people to turn away from the true Christ and Savior. It will be the "easy" way. As trouble and calamities are all around, this supernatural, dazzling and gentle being will appear offering peace and healing. It is what everyone is longing for -- but it's a huge deception.

The TRUE Christ will never negate His law. The 7th day Sabbath sign of His creative and sanctifying power is in the very heart of His eternal law.
Also, the TRUE Christ will come in clouds of glory and great power. With a host of angels who will gather all God's children from every part of this earth!

Is. 25:9 Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

1 Thess. 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

LESSON ELEVEN
Taken and Tried
Mark 14

Two contrasting stories

A woman with perfume honors Christ.

Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he, (Jesus) sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head....
14:8 She has done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

All four gospels tell this story some adding more details. This woman responds to Jesus with a thankful heart. Her sins which were many, Christ had forgiven. For her Jesus meant everything. The other gospels tell us this is "Mary". When we hear about this Mary, we find her at the feet of Jesus, listening,
Luke 10:42 One thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Now, just a couple days before Christ's death, she is again at His feet, honoring Him the best way she knew. Giving the best she could buy to Christ.
She has chosen to love Christ with all her heart, soul and strength.

A man, one of the ordained twelve, dishonors Christ, with outright betrayal.

Mark 14:4 And there were some that felt indignation within themselves, and said, Why is there this waste of the ointment?
14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
14:10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.
14:11 And when they heard what he would do, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

Judas had spent three and half years in company with Jesus. He had seen and heard. Intellectually he had recognized there was something special about Jesus, but somehow His heart was not moved. Judas lacked a deep relational fellowship with Jesus.
Judas did NOT chose the good part, but sold his Savior for a few pittance

LESSON ELEVEN
Taken and Tried
Mark 14

Who are You?

Do we know who we really are?

The story of Peter is a most interesting and revealing story of a person who wants to be with Jesus and spends three years in close fellowship with HIM, yet he is not converted, he is impetuous and self assured, desires the applause of men, fearless but succumbers to fear, he is deeply committed, yet ends up denying the One he loves, but he acknowledges his sin in deep repentance and finally is converted.

We may wonder about Peter, but how many of us are like him? We have moments when we are close to Jesus enjoying spiritual fellowship with Him, even sharing our testimony of praise and wanting to do great things for HIM. But we vacillate, doubting, wanting people to appreciate us, so we do things that compromise, even hiding our connection with Christ, because we fear the lose of acceptance with people around us.

What does it mean to be converted?
Wasn't Peter converted the moment he left his fishing boats behind and left everything to follow Jesus?

Contemplating on what transformation was needed before Peter was in actuality converted, and from that trying to find the true meaning of conversion.

The true sign of conversion seems to be a turning from self sufficiency and self reliance, to recognizing our helplessness and putting our full trust in God. Depending fully upon Christ strength and salvation.

LESSON TWELVE
TRIED AND CRUCIFIED

Mark 15:1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
Mark 15:13 And they cried out again, Crucify him.

John 1:9 He was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.
1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 19:6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

Why would the religious leaders, who had the scrolls of the prophets, who had the temple with it's symbolic telling of the story of redemption, they were well versed in the scriptures: why would they crucify the King of the universe? Why turn against the One Who had given them MANY signs that He was the Messiah, the One Who had come to redeem them?

LESSON TWELVE
TRIED AND CRUCIFIED
Mark 15

Who is Jesus?

Mark 14:61 He held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mark 15:2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it..

Jesus did not defend Himself over the conflicting accusations people were saying against Him.

Then when Caiaphas, raising his right hand toward heaven, addressed Jesus in the form of a solemn oath: "I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God." (Matt. 26:63)
To this appeal Christ could not remain silent.


Pilot too, wondered who Jesus really was.



The priests thought it would be easy to get Pilate to sign the death warrant. He usually didn't worry about the lives of prisoners. If the Jews wanted one of their own dead, what was that to him.

But Who is this Man? Pilate did not want to condemn him. So he started demanding,

The Jewish priests accused Jesus of plotting against the Roman government and calling Himself, the king of the Jews.


Poor, vacillating Pilate, he was convicted, this was no criminal, no ordinary man. He was impressed with Christ's dignity and noble bearing, yet the screams of the mob and the insistent cries demanding Jesus' death, telling Pilate he was no friend of Caesar's if he didn't sign the death warrant, broke any resolve Pilate had to save Jesus life, and he not only signed the death warrant but had Jesus cruelly beaten, twice.

The power of the mob, especially a mob inspired by the evil spirits of darkness, has great force. People get swept into it, even when their logical thinking is letting them know the mob is in terrible error.

In contrast is the power of our Savior, standing there, even in His agony, calm, longing to save sinners, surrounded by an angry sea of shouting, false accusation, and demands for His death. His meekness and patience exalt Jesus above humanity, and prove His kinship to God. His abasement was the pledge of His exaltation. The means of our salvation.