Mark 13:1-13
It’s been over a month since we’ve been in the book of Mark together, so I think a quick recap of where we are will be helpful. Jesus has entered Jerusalem for His final week. He’s been in and out of the temple, challenging the religious authority and teaching the listeners the true nature of the Christ, and a new way to love and serve one another. It is now Tuesday of Holy Week, and Jesus will leave the temple for the last time, heading to the Mount of Olives to deliver His prophetic discourse on the End of the Age.
Before we get into chapter 13, I think it’s important to say a few things right up front. When talking about the end of the world, about the return of Jesus and the timing of all of it, we must keep in mind that Jesus Himself said that “no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” And while it’s fun to debate how all of these things will transpire, no amount of speculation will cause us to arrive at the reality of the events. Many have tried, probably none more than the Jehova’s Witnesses, who have been certain 9 times over that the end has arrived.
I read in a commentary this week that in 1988 there was a book written called, “88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988.” I don’t remember that, but I do remember in 2012 when the world was supposed to end on December 21st, at least according to the ancient Mayan calendar. We are still here, and Jesus is still seated next to the Father waiting for the go ahead. Point is this. We can argue and speculate and have fun while doing it, but we can only be certain about what Christ has made certain, and that’s what we are going to talk about in the next few weeks as we walk through Mark 13 together.
Big Idea: We must not live in fear, but in readiness think biblically about the End of the Age.
Read Mark 13:1-2
As they are walking out of the temple, the disciples are admiring the extravagance of the whole complex. It was an architectural wonder that caused many to be in awe. It would have been totally natural to reflect together on the beauty and immensity of the temple complex, but Jesus quickly redirects, and let’s them know that even the most impressive and ornate man-made structures will eventually fall.
The Destruction of the Temple in AD 70
Jesus was very specific that not even one stone would be found laying on top of another. The structure will be so destroyed that all that will be left is rubble. Jesus was referring to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 by the Roman soldiers under the command of General Titus. In 66 AD, the Jewish Zealots took control of Jerusalem from the Romans. Over the next few years, they went on the attack, and in the countryside were attacking Roman garrisons and killing as many as they could. The Romans retaliated in AD 70, and surrounded the city with an estimated 100,00 people trapped behind the city walls. When the Romans finally invaded the city, Titus gave an edict that would actually spare the temple complex. “Destroy everything,” he said, “but do not lay a hand on the temple.”
“Somehow” the temple caught fire, and all the treasures of gold that were found within melted. Some of the gold melted into the cracks between the stones, so the Roman soldiers tore apart the walls to get to the gold, leaving not a single stone standing on top of another.
Of course the disciples didn’t know exactly what Jesus was referring to, but it must have come as a shock to them. However, they believed that this would be a mark of the End of the Age. This is what prompts the follow-up question in the next section.
Read Mark 13:3-13
Jesus takes His disciples up the Mount of Olives, and they sit with Jerusalem and the temple in view (show pic). As they do, the disciples can’t help but think about what Jesus said. Destruction of the temple? What does it mean? What else isn’t He telling us? So they boldly ask: “When is this going to happen? What will be the signs?” In other words, “How will we know?!”
Jesus does walk them through some different things to watch for, but He starts first with the fact that no one truly knows when everything is going to happen. When someone comes along and says that they know that the end is here, they can’t possibly know that. Many have built organizational empires on the idea that they are modern day prophets. They will tell you that they have been given a vision, that God has somehow shown them what no one else knows. Some will even claim to be Jesus Himself! The Greek words behind “I am He” is actually just “I AM.” It’s a direct claim to deity. And we’ve already seen this happen multiple times over. Perhaps a few that you will have heard of:
Jim Jones, termed the “mad Messiah,” who claimed to his followers that the world was going to end in 1967 by nuclear war. It didn’t happen, but he had already gained nearly 1,000 followers.
David Koresh, who claimed to be the final prophet and led his followers to believe they were living in the time that was talked about at the end of the book of Revelation. They named their compound the “Ranch Apocalypse,” where they lived and waited for the end of the world. Their complex burned to the ground in a battle with US Forces, and 76 of the cult members died in the fire.
“Beware,” Jesus says, “of anyone who is claiming to be the Messiah. Beware of anyone who claims to know that the end is here. No one knows. And they will use modern events to convince you.” They will use wars, natural disasters and famine to convince you that the end is near. Do not be alarmed! These things are just the beginning!
We need to run away from anyone who claims to be the Messiah. Now, does this mean that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with what is going on in our world and how it may relate to prophecy? Of course not. But we need to make sure we think biblically and with clarity on what we DO know to be true.
What do we know?
Wars
Wars have been raging for the last 2,000 years. In fact, one historian said that “in the last 3421 years of recorded history, only 268 have seen no war.” War is nothing new. War and rumors of war should not cause us to be alarmed. War is inevitable. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” We will not see peace until Jesus comes back and brings eternal peace.
Let’s talk about birth pains for just a minute. When a woman begins laboring, birth pains are mild and inconsistent. But as the laboring continues, the pains become more intense and more frequent, until finally she births the child. Wars, earthquakes, famines, these things will exist and will progressively get worse before the return of Christ.
Earthquakes
I’m not a geologist, but I spent a bit of time this week reading studies on recent seismic activity. One article was titled, “Why are we having so many earthquakes?” In that article, the author is quoted: ”According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 16 major earthquakes in any given year. That includes 15 earthquakes in the magnitude 7 range and one earthquake magnitude 8.0 or greater. In the past 40-50 years, our records show that we have exceeded the long-term average number of major earthquakes about a dozen times.”
Famines
A famine is simply defined as “an extreme scarcity of food.” This one is a little bit harder to track over history. As technology progresses, the ability to provide food seems to increase. But the correlation that we see is that with war and natural disasters bring great famine. If there is an increase in war and earthquakes like we have seen, then surely there would be a rise in famine.
From an article published in Time Magazine: “Until recently, success in the fight against global famine was one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Between 1990 and 2019, the rate of chronic malnutrition around the world dropped from 38% to 7.9%. However, It is now again rising rapidly with devastating consequences. Today, over a quarter-billion people grapple with severe hunger and malnutrition, a 100% increase in just the past five years.”
So what do we know to be true? War, earthquakes and famine will only get worse before Jesus comes back.
Conflict With Government (9, 11) Conflict With Family (12) Conflict With Everyone Else (13)
While Jesus is speaking directly to His disciples here, we can look in our world and see that this truth has only gotten worse. His disciples would stand before the religious leaders and testify to their belief. They would be beaten, and most of them killed for their faith. Jesus doesn’t tell them to run and hide. He doesn’t tell them to avoid persecution. He tells them to face it with boldness, trusting that the Holy Spirit will give them the words to speak. And this promise is still true across the world today.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 80% of the world's governments interfered with their citizens' religious worship in some way in 2019. In 11 countries, persecution against Christians is considered extreme. In 39 countries, persecution is considered very high. In an article published by Christianity Today, a study found that in 2022, 5,600 Christians were killed for their faith, 15 every day. More than 2,100 churches were attacked or forcibly closed, almost 6 every day.. More than 124,000 Christians were forcibly displaced from their homes, 340 every day, and almost 15,000 became refugees, 41 every day. Most studies would tell us that persecution against Christians is getting worse every year, and the Christianity is the largest persecuted faith system in the world.
In many strict Muslim countries, Christian converts are in danger of being beaten or even killed by their own family members. In many other countries, families are disowning loved ones for converting to Christianity. And Jesus makes sure to cover all the bases. Not only will Christians face persecution from the government, and their own family, but from everybody else as well. We like to think that we are free and clear of persecution in America, but the definition of persecution is “hostility and ill-treatment, especially on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation or political beliefs.” Hostility and ill-treatment because of religion. We have definitely seen this, especially over the last few years. Religious persecution is right on our doorstep.
Gospel to All Nations (10)
In the midst of all of this, Jesus gives one more very clear prerequisite to the end. The gospel must be preached to ALL nations. All peoples must have an opportunity to hear the gospel and respond to it. While there is great progress being made, there are still people groups across the world with no access to a Bible, no missionaries and no church planting efforts in place. But this is one of the most simple and clear end of age prophecies that we have. In order for the End to begin, all nations must have the opportunity to respond to the gospel.
Finally, Endure!
