About the Future (These / Those)
- The End Times.
- Some key elements of the Biblical foretelling apocalypse have seemingly lined up in the last calendar year, and once again we sense End Times fervor.
- The last year has seen the aligning of nations against Israel, and that is a very specific sign before the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Ezekiel 38
A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:
2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.
3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
Zechariah 12
2 I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.
3 On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
- Today’s passage must be our anchor, the very words of Jesus tell us how to live:
- Standing in faith and trust in God even as the world seemingly unravels or aligns its entire self against God and His Word.
- Let’s get our comfort from Jesus today:
Mark 13
As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.”
2 Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him privately and asked him,
4 “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?”
- NLT says ‘across the valley from the Temple’, which is a geographic indicator, yet the language also includes the idea ‘opposite’ the Temple, which has been what the last three chapters has been about:
- Jesus’ opposition to the Temple, His glory retaken.
“Jesus is sitting (position of authority teaching) opposite the temple yet in the position of God.”
- Zechariah 14.1-8 is a prophetic passage with multiple points of fulfillment, and Jesus sitting here now opposite the Temple is yet another preview of that passage’s ultimate fulfillment.
- This is the end of the section of chs 11-13 and the condemnation of the corrupted temple.
- As we unfold the word, watch the order and the comparison between
- These Things and Those Days
v1-13: The End of the Temple and the Fall of Jerusalem
v14-27: Tribulation and the Lord’s Return (Parousia)
v28-31: End of the Temple / Fall of Jerusalem
v32-37: The Lord’s Return (Parousia) and Watchfulness
Edwards, PNTC:
- Pay close attention to the warnings against timetables and deciphering signs of the Lord’s Return– Parousia
- We must remember as we look that *“Mark 13 is not primarily to provide a timetable or blueprint for the future so much as to exhort readers to faithful discipleship in the present.” *
Mark 13
5 Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,
6 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
7 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
8 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
9 “When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. 10 For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. 11 But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.
13 And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24.14
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
- Careful to note: preached throughout the whole world and preached to all nations does NOT mean every individual hears a Gospel sermon.
Keys:
- Be alert / Be watchful / Watch out: 6 times (v5, 9, 23, 33,35, 37)
- Do not know the time of the end - v33, 35
- Do not be led astray by signs - v5, 6, 21, 22
- The End ‘is not yet’ - v 7, 13
- Jesus never encourages us to be Bible Eschatology ‘code breakers’ - it’s preposterous that so much of evangelical Christianity has been so obsessed by this! - Jesus is saying:
“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Edwards:
“The premium of discipleship is placed not on predicting the future but on faithfulness in the present, especially in trials, adversity, and suffering.”
Ephesians 6.13
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Matthew 24
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Hebrews 3.12
Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
Philippians 3.9
God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.
I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
