Gospel of Mark Study #42

“A Window Towards the Future”

Mark 13:1-8

Study #42 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Most of us have a certain amount of fascination about the future. We want to know what is coming; we want to know what is going to happen so that we will be ready for it. But the reality is that no one can predict the future. People try but it is all a scam—wizards, horoscopes, Ouija boards, fortune tellers, tarot cards—none of them can tell you what is going to happen tomorrow, let alone years from now.

The only one who truly knows the future is God. That is because He stands outside of time and space and is not limited by either. Moreover, He is Sovereign and what He says will happen, and right on time. He is in the process of working out His plans and purposes, and He orchestrates events to fit within His grand and perfect plan. Most of the time we must wait and see what He is going to do but, in some cases, He has already revealed His plans through the Scriptures. The Bible is the infallible revelation of God concerning Himself, His creation (including us), and where it is all heading. The Bible starts in eternity past with the words, “In the beginning, God…” The Bible ends with a description of the future eternal state, the place we call “Heaven.” The gap between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21 describes how God is working out His will in time and space, especially regarding mankind, the jewel of His creation (cf. Psalm 8). 

TRANSITION:

However, in truth, much of the story is already past. Most of the things God said He was going to do have already been accomplished. Yet the Bible tells of some events still to come, some wonderful and awesome and terrible things still scheduled to happen.

Today we are moving into a passage of Scripture that describes events, most of which have not yet occurred. This passage and its parallel passages have been entitled, “The Olivet Discourse.” This sermon by Jesus is recorded in three of the Gospels: in Matthew 24-25, in Mark 13, and in Luke 21. This teaching has been misunderstood by many over the years. It has led to crazy movements and doctrinal debates. It has divided denominations and led to heated arguments and name-calling. However, none of that is going to happen here, and for at least two reasons: (1) We are going to carefully dissect the text and look at Jesus’ words in their context, something that many fail to do; and (2) We are going to keep our perspective and remind ourselves often that while we have a right to our opinions, this passage is still futuristic and we will only have absolute confirmation when we see the events unfold. Until then we are in the realm of speculation and best-guessing.

Having said that, I do believe that all of Scripture is comprehensible, including the Olivet Discourse. By that I mean that God did not put this text in the Bible to confuse us, but to enlighten us. I believe that by correctly applying the rules of biblical interpretation (i.e., hermeneutics) we can arrive at the correct conclusions. However, in the short time we have to examine this text I am not going to be able to do a very thorough job. That is my disclaimer. As we go through the passage, I will tell you what I believe it says but I do not have the last word on the subject, and you should not just swallow whatever I say. You need to examine the Scriptures for yourself like the Bereans of Acts 17 and ask God to enlighten you.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: As He was going out of the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 

• Jerusalem was a beautiful city in Jesus’ day. It was the jewel of the Middle East, and Herod’s Temple with its surrounding buildings was breath-taking. Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote of it: “Now the outward face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise men’s minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it to turn their eyes away, just as they would have done at the sun’s own rays. But this Temple appeared to strangers, when they were at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for, as to those parts of it which were not gilt, they were exceeding white. Of its stones, some of them were forty-five cubits in length, five in height and six in breadth.” By the way, a cubit is approximately eighteen (18) inches, sometimes as much as 21 inches.
• Highly likely these were some of the stones that the disciples saw and mentioned. They were extremely impressed. I know just how they felt. This passage reminds me of walking around Washington, D.C. looking up all the time. Those great marble buildings are amazing!
• Without a doubt the disciples were thinking that those buildings would be there for a long time. Nothing says permanence like giant stone structures.

Verse 2: And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” 

• This must have blown their minds! At first Jesus agreed with them—the buildings were truly remarkable—even He called them, “great.” They represented the best of man’s creative ability, his power, and his engineering savvy. That is what made the Lord’s second statement such a bellringer. Notice that He did not say that the buildings would one day fall on their own, through the process of natural aging and erosion. He said that these buildings would be systematically “torn down” to such a degree that no two stones would be left connected, and He was very emphatic about it. He used the Greek double negative to leave no doubt. That was a hard pill for the disciples to swallow. They could not even imagine such a thing. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened less than 40 years later when in AD 70 the great Roman general, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, laid the city of Jerusalem in ruins, including its beautiful Temple. The soldiers literally took the Temple apart stone by stone to extract all the gold. All that was left was a giant rock pile, a huge mound of rubble. 

Verses 3-4: As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 

• From verse three you can see why this passage is called the Olivet Discourse. From where Jesus was sitting, He they could look directly west across the Kidron Valley to see the Temple Mount in all its shining magnificence. By the way, Olivet was thickly wooded in Jesus’ day, rich in the olives that gave it its name, although most of the trees were later cut down during Titus’ siege of the city.
• These questions were posed by only four of the disciples. They had probably been discussing Jesus’ words as they walked along together on their way to the Mount of Olives. However, the other disciples were undoubtedly there to hear Jesus’ discourse.
• The disciples’ question: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” Matthew’s account sheds greater light on what their question really was. In Matt. 24:3 we hear the disciples say, “Tell us, when will these things be [i.e., the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple], and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” This verse is very important because without it we could mistakenly think that in the verses that follow Jesus was only talking about things that would happen in the apostles’ lifetime, when in fact most of these things still have not happened yet, nearly 2,000 years later. Also, from the disciples’ questions we might conclude that they were under the impression that these three events might happen simultaneously.
• Jesus’ answer reminds me of a scene painted by a great artist. On the same canvas, in the same picture, he paints the inside of the cottage and the table sitting under the window. Outside the window he paints the farmer’s fields. Behind them you can see the beautiful blue sky that goes way off into the distance. Jesus’ answer touched on the immediate, the destruction of the Temple. But it also dealt with events in the middle distance [i.e., the Tribulation], and finally the far distance [i.e., the end of the age].

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Dramatic Pause: I need to stop right here and clarify a couple of things, including some terms that we will be using for the next several weeks.

• “Signs” = Wonders, attesting miracles, that are unmistakable evidences that certain prophecies are unfolding. (cf. John 20:30-31)
• “Return of Christ (Rapture)” = When Christ comes back to take His Church, His Bride to be with Him. He will come in the clouds and call believers, the living, and the dead, to return to Heaven with Him. It is a silent coming, with no signs preceding it. This is the next event on God’s timetable. Important: This is not what Jesus is talking about here in Mark 13.
• “The Tribulation” = A seven-year period following the Rapture during which the Antichrist will establish his regime, will persecute tribulation believers, and will try to destroy Israel.
• “The Antichrist” = Also called the Beast, the Man of Sin, etc. He will be a human ruler that is controlled and empowered directly by Satan, who wants to overthrow Christ’s authority on the earth.
• “Second Coming” = When Christ comes back in power and glory at the end of the Tribulation to judge the earth and to establish His millennial kingdom. It will be preceded by supernatural signs in the heavens and on earth as described in Revelation 4-19.
• “Day of the Lord” = The term used throughout the OT to describe the time when God will pour out His judgment on the nations. This will start at the midpoint of the Tribulation and will culminate at the Battle of Armageddon when Christ will return with His holy angels in power and glory to destroy the Antichrist and all those who war against Israel to destroy her.
• “The Millennium” = The 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth. He will govern the world from the City of Jerusalem. This follows the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon. Only believers, those who have trusted in Christ and survived the Tribulation, will go into the Millennium.

I also need to explain that I believe that most of this chapter describes events that are still in the future, that will occur during the seven years of Tribulation. I do not believe that any of this, except for the part about the destruction of the Temple, was about events that occurred during the apostles’ lifetime. Specifically, I believe that verses 5-8 describe events that will occur during the first 3½ years of the Tribulation, that verses 9-23 describe events that will happen during the second 3½ years of the Tribulation [also called the Great Tribulation], and that verses 24-27 briefly describe the events at the time of Christ’s Second Coming, including the Battle of Armageddon. The rest of the chapter, verses 28-37, is a warning to the Tribulation believers to be watchful, looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ “with power and glory.”

In other words, I do not believe that Mark 13 was directed either to the first century apostles or to us, but to those who will be alive during the Tribulation period, awaiting the Lord’s Second Coming when Christ will return to judge the earth and to set up His kingdom. In a sense it is a Guide to Survival for those who will be living in that future time.

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Verses 5-6: And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.  ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many.” 

• Jesus began His rather long and complicated answer to their questions by describing a phenomenon characteristic of their time as well as ours, and one that will also be prevalent in the future age. Even in Jesus’ day there were false messiahs who claimed to be the promised Christ. Each of them managed to trick a few people into following them, although none of them lasted long. Most were killed off by the Romans or just drifted off the scene. And right down to our day there are those who have claimed to be the Christ. One of them whose name is well known is Sun Yung Moon, the Korean founder of the Unification Church, known commonly as the “Moonies.” He claimed to be the Messiah and he led many astray, including Christians.
• Later we will talk about that one who in the future will manage to fool most of the world into believing that he is the Christ. The Bible calls him the Beast, or the Antichrist, and he will be the main character during the Great Tribulation.
• But let’s stop for a moment and look back again at the question the disciples posed to Jesus: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” They wanted to know several things.  First, based on Jesus’ shocking statement in 13:2 they wanted to know exactly when the Temple would be torn down. Notice that Jesus did not tell them, although several of them lived long enough to see it happen. Secondly, they wanted to know when Jesus was going to reveal His power and glory to the world, set up His earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, and overthrow the Romans. They thought that He was going to do that any day. What they failed to understand was that there would be a long gap between His first coming as the Suffering Savior and His coming again as the Conquering King. That still has not happened yet and in my estimation will not happen until after the Church is raptured and the Tribulation has run its course of 7 horrible years. Their third question had to do with the ultimate last things. In other words, “When are You going to pull the plug on this whole screwed up world and finally judge the wicked and reward Your faithful followers? When will be the end of the age?” 

Verse 7: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.” 

• In one sense, this word of encouragement is of value to Christians in any age. We are not to be like scared sheep that run this way and that in terror every time a wolf howls in the distance. Our confidence is in the Great Shepherd who watches over His sheep. The Bible says, “He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love and a sound mind.” 
• But there is something we need to consider: all Scripture is for our benefit and instruction, but not all Scripture is specifically addressed to us. In other words, when we interpret a passage, we must ask ourselves to whom it is specifically directed. In this case, the disciples who were sitting at His feet listening to this discourse are representative of believers who will one day find themselves living on the earth in the last days just before the Second Coming of Christ. Here Jesus is casting His eye down the long corridor of the future to the day when those Tribulation believers will find themselves in the clutches of the Antichrist in a time when God is pouring out His wrath upon the earth. At that point, the Church will have already been taken out of the picture. We will be with the Lord in Heaven. But those who come to faith in Christ after the Rapture of the Church will pay a heavy price for taking their stand for Christ. The Antichrist is going to try to kill every one of them and will succeed in many cases.

Verse 8: “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” 

• The earth has always had wars and earthquakes and famines. This is nothing new. However, in the verses that follow you will see that Jesus is talking about supernatural signs, not merely natural disasters. These things are described in detail in Rev. 4-19. The events that will occur during the Great Tribulation will make the Plagues of Egypt look like a walk in the park by comparison.
• Jesus’ words here are not directed to the Jews who were sitting at His feet. Nor are they directed at you and me. If you are a child of God, you will be taken to be with Him “in the twinkling of an eye.” No, these words are specifically for the instruction and orientation of those who will be left behind, millions of whom will believe in Jesus Christ within days of the Rapture when their loved ones are caught away to be with the Lord. Many will come to faith in Christ through the power of the Scriptures and the knowledge that they have been left behind. But they will then find themselves the target of the wrath of Satan and the Antichrist.

CONCLUSION:

This is just our first of three (3) installments on this prophetic passage known as the Olivet Discourse. I apologize in advance for the fact that I do not have all the answers and may even manage to confuse you more than you were confused when we started out. Today and the next two studies are part of what is called, “eschatology,” or the study of last things. By its very nature it is somewhat perplexing and even a bit frightening when we begin talking about the judgments that God will pour out on mankind.

However, if you are a true child of God, you have nothing to fear. You will not go through the Tribulation. You will simply be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and it will happen in one glorious, breath-taking second. There will be no pain, no fear; just the amazing joy of seeing Jesus face-to-face.          

On the other hand, if you do not know Jesus today you have much to fear. When He comes, you will get left behind along with millions of other unbelievers. Christians that you know, and love will suddenly be gone, and you will be left to face the wrath of the Antichrist. You may or may not survive through the next seven years of Tribulation. Most will not. So, I beg you—if you are not sure of your relationship with Christ, talk with a Christian that you trust to tell you the truth and make sure that when that day comes you will be ready to meet the Lord Jesus.