August 6, 2023
Evening Service

Review of Chapter 12:

·        This is Tuesday of the Passion week throughout 12 and 13 (lots happening!)

·        Parable of the Vinedressers prophecy of God rejecting the Jewish Nation and accepting the Gentiles.

·        The Pharisees trick question on taxes

·        The Sadducees trick question on the resurrection

·        The Scribe’s great question on the “Greatest commandment of all?”

·        Jesus question on David to the religious leaders

·        Warning on the false pretense of the scribes, seeking to please men not God.

·        The widow’s two mites offering.

 

Chapter 13 begins in what is now called the “Olivet Discourse.”  It is called this because of where it took place on the Mount of Olives.  It rises above Jerusalem to the east and from its slopes a person can look down into the city and see the great Temple.  Zechariah predicts that the Messiah will stand in that very spot when He returns to set up His eternal kingdom.  The chapter first begins with Jesus and His disciples leaving the Temple and Jesus using that teachable moment.

 Mar 13:1-2 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  (2)  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

            The stones they talked about were unlike anything these men had ever seen before.  Some of the stones were 35 feet long 12 feet high and 18 feet wide!  One stone would come close to taking up this whole stage!  It would be impressive today to see something that large, let alone in that time frame.  Jesus however opens a window into the future and proclaims; “not one stone shall be left upon another.”  This prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 as the Roman army led by Titus destroyed the Temple.  Jesus’ prophetic statement got the disciples attention to question Him later that evening.

 

Mar 13:3-4 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, (4) "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"

            Again notice the setting of this discussion and who is there.  No crowds just the five of them sitting together in the evening gazing down upon the beautiful city of Jerusalem.  The disciples are comfortable enough to dig deeper into Jesus’ comment about the stones and ask Him a timeframe for when these things will happen.  Jesus does not really answer their question directly at first, but goes deeper emphasizing things to look for when that time approaches.  Some of these prophesies were fulfilled around the time of AD 70, but others still lie in our future and that makes it extremely relative and important for us to listen in.

 

 

Mar 13:5-8 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you.  (6)  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.  (7)  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  (8)  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

·        First be looking for deception, many claiming to be Messiah but are not.  This is certainly true today as deception (hiding of truth) is everywhere and so easy to access through the internet, social media, and the news.

·        Wars and rumors of wars will abound.  This is so true today with Ukraine/Russia-China/Taiwan-North/South Korea-Iran/Israel

·        Nation vs nation, kingdom against kingdom, “but the end is not yet.”

·        Earthquakes and natural disasters are more frequent including famine, but “these are only the beginnings of sorrows.”

·        Now Jesus gets more personal with these men He is investing so heavily in, being very transparent about the struggles they will face.  We must take heed, because the day the we may face these same trials may be coming quickly upon us.

 

Mar 13:9-13 "But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  (10)  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  (11)  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  (12)  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  (13)  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

·        This is not such a rosy picture Jesus is painting for His followers here.  They will be called before councils, beaten, betrayed by their own family and hated by for our allegiance to Jesus.  This may come true for us as well.

·        He does promise the aid of the Holy Spirit to empower us in the time of opportunity to speak.  We are told not to premeditate our speech, but to allow the Holy Spirit to provide the words we need.  We see this very thing happen with Peter and John as they were called before the Sanhedrin and preach a powerful sermon those religious leaders in Chapter 4 of the Book of Acts.  After being released, they prayed for even greater boldness to speak truth and God shook the building in approval!  Oh that we would shake this building one day!

·        Looking at this prophecy, it is a wonder that these men did not walk away saying; “you can’t be serious, I did not sign up for this.”  But they did not.  They were fully in it to win it.

·        Now Jesus moves into what I believe is in our future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 13:14-23 "So when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  (15)  Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.  (16)  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  (17)  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  (18)  And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  (19)  For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  (20)  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.  (21)  "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it.  (22)  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  (23)  But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

            This is the time when the Temple will be rebuilt and the Antichrist will desecrate it by proclaiming himself to be god there.  This will begin the second half of the tribulation period that will last 3 ½ years.  It will be by far the worst time period since this world was created.  God, however, will mercifully call an end to it before everyone is destroyed.   Paul also spoke of this is 2 Thess. 2

 

2Th 2:3-10 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, (4) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  (5)  Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  (6)  And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  (7)  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  (8)  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  (9)  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

            The “man of sin” will be revealed to us the church.  We will know and recognize him as he exalts himself to be called god.  The Spirit of God then will be removed from holding back the darkness and it will abound for a time of great tribulation.  But that will only last for a set time as then the “Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  Jesus continues with that very point in our Mark study.

 

Mar 13:24-27"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; (25) the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  (26)  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  (27)  And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

1Th 4:16-18For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  (17)  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  (18)  Therefore comfort one another with these words.

            This is the day we all long for, the return of our Lord and Savior to establish His kingdom for eternity.  Our faith will become sight in that moment of glory and “there we shall always be with the Lord.”  That day will come and we who “endure to the end will be saved!”  Just as a mother quickly forgets the pain of childbirth by holding her newborn, we too will think very little of the suffering we endure to reach this point we have longed for.

            Jesus now uses two parables to kind of answer the question the disciples first asked about “when will these things be?”

 

Mar 13:28-31 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  (29)  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!  (30)  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  (31)  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

·        The parable teaches us to be watching for these signs just as we watch the weather for the changing of the seasons.  When the leaves begin to turn colors and fall, we know winter is just around the corner.  We see many of these signs daily in our world so know the time is approaching, be prepared.  Jesus continues:

 

Mar 13:32-37 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  (33)  Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.  (34)  It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  (35)  Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— (36) lest, coming suddenly, he finds you sleeping.  (37)  And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

            This has been God’s way of keeping everyone over the last 2000 years to be watching and preparing for this prophecy to come true.  I know our grandparents had to think when World War 2 raged forward, that the Tribulation was upon them.  We feel the same today and we must prepare accordingly.  God does not want us to become complacent, but preparing.  Far better to be ready and His coming be delayed than for it to come upon us and find us not ready!  This is a lot to digest in one reading, but our command is easy to understand, watch and be ready.

 

Heavenly Father, open our eyes to be able to discern the times that are upon us.  Reveal to us any deception that comes our way by showing us the truth.  Protect us through the Holy Spirit to be prepared to endure to the end of whatever path You lead us down.