Serving the Saviour - Studies in the Gospel of Mark - 10
The Servant and the Future
We continue in our studies in the Gospel of Mark. This time we study Mark chapte13. There is a great interest in the future today. There are horoscopes, and psychic phone lines. The Lord Jesus Christ has told us all we need to know, and all He wants us to know, about the future.
Chapter 13 deals with the end times. In this chapter Jesus uses the principle of "double-fulfilment". This means that the things prophesied by Jesus have both an immediate fulfilment and a future fulfilment The disciples are leaving the Temple with Jesus and they make a comment. Verse 1 says, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!". The Lord Jesus gives a surprising reply. We read in verse 2, "Do you see these great buildings? ..Not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down".
The disciples were inquisitive. In verse 4 they say, "Tell us when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all to be fulfilled? " Jesus answers this question in the following verses, but at the same time he uses the answer as a picture of the signs we can expect to see around us just prior to his second coming, For example, Jesus says in verses 14 and 15, "When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong, let the reader understands then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains". This literally happened in AD 70 when Titus, the Roman General, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Those who remembered the words of Jesus fled and were saved. But it goes beyond that. Jesus says in verse 26, "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory". This did not happen in AD 70! Jesus is giving us a clue as to what we may expect to see before He comes.
The events of AD 70 are an illustration of events that will characterise the end times. What are these signs? There are spiritual signs. We read in verses 5 and 6, "Watch out that no-one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he', and will deceive many". Many will appear just before the return of Christ saying they are Jesus or some form of Messianic deliverer. We have seen people like this in recent times. Think of David Koresh and the tragic incident in Waco, Texas, to name but one.
There are international signs. Verse 8 says, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom". In AD 70 it was the Romans coming against Jerusalem. In the last days the world will be a boiling pot of warfare and international tension. There will be natural signs. Verse 8 goes on to say, "There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines". There will be a noticeable increase in these things. There will be family signs. Verse 12 says, "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child". There will be a lack of love and integrity in the last days. There will be religious signs. We read in verse 14, "When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong". This refers to the Temple and its desecration by Titus. But it applies to the desecration of anything that is holy.
Prior to the coming of the Lord the things of God will increasingly be ridiculed and blasphemed. We see this around us today in the media. The Christian message is treated with contempt. The message of the cross is trodden under foot. Someone might say, "What's new? Throughout history there have always been wars, famines, and ungodliness!". The key words in answer to this are found at the end of verse 8, Jesus said, "These are the beginnings of birth pains". When a pregnant woman is going to give birth to a child the birth pains begin. At first they are infrequent. Then they increase until they are very regular. It is true that this world has always been plagued with wars and distress of all sorts. Wars in themselves are not the sign. The sign is the frequency of wars, and of all the other calamities Jesus listed. It is the increasing regularity of them that indicates that Jesus' coming is very near! Are you ready for his return?
In verses 24 and 25 the Lord Jesus says, "In those days, following the distress, 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." Is this a literal event that will happen in the sky? Probably not. The Old Testament helps us to interpret this sort of phenomenon carefully. In Isaiah chapter 13 verse 10 the same expression is used. Its meaning is explained in verse 9 where we read, "The day of the Lord is coming, a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land desolate and destroy sinners with it." Clearly this has to do with the judgement of God on. wayward Israel. Verse 17 clarifies when this will happen. We read, "See I will stir up against them the Medes." So this apocalyptic wording about the stars failing from heaven is a vivid picture of the severity of God's judgement that will come upon Israel through the Medes. It speaks of a great calamity of the most awful kind. Such will be the day of the coming of the Lord upon all those who have rejected him. Verse 19 says, "Those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning".
The generation which sees these things in the way described by Jesus will not pass away until everything is fulfilled. Jesus uses the illustration of the fig tree. He says in verses 28 and 29, "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". The leaves and fruit are seen in good number all together. So when you see many wars and calamities clustered together be sure the end is near!
What must your response be to all this? If you are not a believer then turn from your sin and ask Christ to save you from the wrath to come. If you are a child of God then be prayerful and watchful. Be ready, prepared, and be busy in the work of God. Jesus says in verses 35 and 36, "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 cock crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!".