Mark 13 - Jesus Teaches on the End Times

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The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

There are a couple of things going on here, as Jesus talks about the destruction of the temple. There was the actual temple in Jerusalem, which went back to King Solomon. Over the years it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, after it lay in ruins from the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. And King Herod greatly rebuilt it into a magnificent structure and one of the wonders of the world in Jesus' time. 

This is the temple where people made an annual pilgrimage to bring their sacrifices to the Lord. This is where the high priest once a year went into the holy of holies to meet with God. This is the place where the innocent lamb of God was offered as atoning sacrifice for the people's sins. 

When Jesus says that not one stone will be left, this literally was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans demolished the city and the temple not leaving one stone in place. 

It is said that at the fall of Jerusalem, the last surviving Jews of the city fled to the temple because it was the strongest and most secure building remaining. Roman soldiers surrounded it, and one drunken soldier started a fire that soon engulfed the whole building. Ornate gold detail work in the roof melted down in the cracks between the stone walls of the temple. To retrieve the gold, the Roman commander ordered that the temple be dismantled stone by stone. The destruction was so complete that today researchers have some difficulty learning exactly where the temple was. - Guzik

But in this passage Jesus connects the destruction of the temple to the end times. Jesus refers to false messiahs who would come claiming to be him. There would be wars, famines, and earthquakes. But these were only the beginning of the end. He likens these to "labor pains" a woman goes through before bearing a child. We know Jesus is talking about the end of the world because he says, "The gospel must first be preached to all nations." 

We do know that persecution happened to the first apostles and grew progressively worse toward the end of the first century. At various times and place persecution and matrydom has happened through out the last 2,000 years in the church.

According to David B. Barrett in his book Today’s Martyrs, some 165,000 Christians died for their faith in the year 2000. Researchers estimate that since the Day of Pentecost, more than 43 million Christians have been killed for their faith. A persecution index provided by Open Doors with Brother Andrew listed 28 countries with strong or massive persecution. In another 23 countries, Christians suffer discrimination and, in some regions, severe harassment. - Guzik

We often don't give God enough thanks for the fact that we can practice our faith and worship publicly with little or no fear of persecution. This is certainly not so in many places of the world today. This fact should remind us to pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted. 

As we head to the climax of these end times, Jesus describes an "abomination that causes desolation".  What is this?

 Essentially, the abomination of desolation speaks of the ultimate desecration of a Jewish temple, an idolatrous image in the holy place itself, which will inevitably result in the judgment of God. It is the abomination that brings desolation. - Guzik

Jesus also described a time of tribulation. 

Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation… nor ever shall be: Jesus said that this will be the most awful time in all of human history. When we consider the massive calamities humanity has suffered through the centuries, this is a terribly sobering statement. The Book of Revelation describes this terrible time when God pours out His wrath on a God-rejecting world. - Guzik

Then, Jesus describes His return as "coming on the clouds with great power and glory". Jesus will send his angels to gather all those who have been elected and chosen to be sons and daughters of God. It appears that he is referring to both those who have died aka saints, and those who have survived the tribulation. 

There are a lot of differing interpretations of when the rapture of Christians will happen. Ie. before or after the tribulation, which is further described in detail in the book of Revelation. Verse 20 seems to indicate that Christians will go through the tribulation Jesus is describing. I.e. Why would he say no one would survive these days if thery were not cut short for the elect, if there weren't any Christians around during the tribulation. 

“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. 

There are other passages which seem to imply that Christians meet Jesus in the sky before the tribulation happens on the earth. While it is important for Christians to know what the bible teaches about the end times, beware of black and white thinking and over focusing on the end times and/or specific interpretations. 

Why? Because of what Jesus says in the next passage.

The Day and Hour Unknown

This verse is a sober reminder that we mustn't get obsessed in predicting when exactly Jesus will return. 

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father

When Jesus was alive as human, he said even he didn't know, or the angels in heaven. Presumably now that Jesus is at the right hand of the Fatherm he does know, but in some ways it doesn't matter. 

There have been many people who have tried to predict the exact date that the end was going to come with Jesus' return. They rallied many people around them, so they would all be in one place when Jesus returned. While you can appreciate their sincere desire to be with Jesus, I wonder about the kind of teachers who put God to the test by assuring others Jesus would return at a specific moment in time. 

So while we should pay attention to the signs around us, like wars, famines, earthquakes and abominations that cause desolation in the holy places around the world, we still do not know when Jesus is going to return.

So what shoold we do as we wait for him to return given we don't know when that is going to be? That's easy. Do the things Jesus told us to do when he left the earth. Jesus gave the disciples a very clear command. Make disciples who make disciples by teaching them to obey everything I have commanded and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are the marching orders for every church. 

I saw a funny bumper sticker once that said, "Jesus is coming soon look busy!" While there is some humor in that, we don't need look busy, but be busy doing the things he taught us to do. Jesus taught in his parables that since we don't know the day or hour when the thief is going to try and break in steal, we should be ready at all times. The scripture says that Jesus will come "like a thief in the night". Therefore, we should be ready at all times. 

How can we be ready? By laboring in His vineyard. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. This is why for me personally I would rather be laboring in the vineyard (the church) than sitting around trying to figure out the exact date of Jesus' return.

If Jesus were to come tonight would you be ready? What would you change in your life in order to be ready? Why not start those changes now? Partner and pray with those in your church who want to be ready for Jesus' return. Work together with them and your pastors to fulfill the Great Commission one life at a time. After all, I should be more concerned about helping save one person from a Christ-less eternity, or waiting around for Jesus to return in a hut.