Mark: According to

Part 64

Mark 13:1-14:2

Jesus’ Message of Warning

“Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, see what manner of stones and what builders 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.’ ³ Now 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?”

Have you ever wanted to know history before it happens? Yet the Bible clearly states that “No man knows the hour of Jesus coming, except the Father which is in heaven.” Yet Jesus in the gospels, Daniel and Revelation give us clues as to where we are in history. For those that faithfully study and seek to understand God’s Holy Scriptures, there is nothing that is hid that we should know concerning the will of God for his people and the plan that is in place for our salvation. This includes certain warning signs. Warning signs as it were to give us clues to the nearness of Christ’s Second coming and also the conditions of our hearts, so that we may know and understand if we are ready for Christ’s return. In Mark, Luke and Matthew, Jesus points out events that will take place throughout history. He foretells history in advance and when we heed these warning signs then we will know that Christ coming is drawing near.

Christ foretold the persecution the early Christian church would endure in Jerusalem and then throughout the then known world. He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem that would take place in 70 CE (AD). This is the destruction Jesus foretold when he said not one stone of the great temple complex would be left on upon another.

He foretold the terrible persecution that would arise during the dark ages and the beginning of the protestant reformation.

Jesus foretold that after his resurrection and ascension there would arise many who would claim to be a prophet of light, The Messiah himself, but Jesus said that until he returns with the New Jerusalem, that his feet would not again touch upon this earth.

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, (tribulation that took place during the dark ages and the protestant reformation) the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ 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 the earth to the farthest part of heaven.” Mark 13:24-27.

We are living between verse 25 and 26 of the 13^th chapter of Mark. The Sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light happened in New England of the United States on May 19^th 1780. On this day, the sky was observed to darken in parts of Canada and New England that it caused the birds to roost for the night and cows to come home to be milked. The darkness was so intense that many described it as being thick as if you could cut the darkness with a knife. Then when the moon arose that night it was a full moon that was blood red in color.

On November 13, 1833 is the night that the stars fell from the sky as foretold in Mark 13:25 which took place across much of Eastern North America and was recorded in countless News Paper articles of that time.

So it is safe to say that as we look at the events that have been foretold in the thirteenth chapter of mark all have taken place except the events of verses twenty six and twenty seven. All the other events told by Christ to his disciples as they sat upon the mount of Olives just a few days before his crucifixion have come to pass.

Bible scholars call this time we live in the time of probation, giving each of us the opportunity to make a decision for or against Christ. And before we begin to think that there is limitless time in front of us, for each of us probation ends when we fall asleep in death, awaiting our final reward. Jesus has told us his plan and given us sign posts to look for, so that we understand the nearness of his return and in Mark chapter 13 it is evident that we are living between verses 25 and 26.

These sign posts are there for us to understand the nearness of Christ coming and history shows that they have happened, so we can rest assured that what Jesus says will happen, will indeed happen.

Jesus drove home the point with his disciples and for us by giving us the parable of the “Fig Tree”

²⁸ 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.

Many have looked at the above passage and said, “Jesus said ‘This generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place,’ yet here we are, the disciples have long since gone and we are still here upon this earth. How can this be if Jesus said, ‘This generation will by no means pass away?’”

We often think of a generation as the passing of one generation to another as a father, son relationship. The father makes one generation and the son makes the next and so we look at the passage and say, “Hey they have all passed away, that generation has long since passed away.”

But we need to expand our thinking and instead think in terms of salvation. From the time of Adam until Moses is known as the Patriarchal period or generation. From Moses to the time of Christ’s Ascension is known as the Levitical period or generation. So then after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, upon the Day of Pentecost a new generation or period of time started and that would be the Christian era, which Christ said would not pass away until the time of His returning in the clouds of glory to take his faithful followers home. But although we have mile markers showing us what has happened Christ warns that we should be vigilant and watchful, for none of us know the exact time of his return.

Therefore, watch and be ready for the hour of Christ’s coming will be like a thief in the night to those that are not ready.

God is hoping to save us all, and ultimately it is our decision, but none of us know when probation will close, therefore it is important for us to be ready, ever watching, daily seeking a relationship with Christ that we will be ready and not caught off guard, sleeping as it were waiting for the bridegroom to take his bride back to his home in heaven.

^14:1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. ² But they said, “not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”