Mark chapter 13, you'll find it on page 1019, if you're using a church Bible.
And we'll read the whole chapter together.
Words spoken by Jesus just a matter of days before he would go to the cross.
Mark chapter 13, and let's hear the word of God together.
As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him,
And look, teacher, what massive stones, what magnificent buildings.
Do you see all these great buildings? replied Jesus.
Not one stone here will be left on another.
Every one will be thrown down.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple,
Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
Tell us, when will these things happen?
And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?
Jesus said to them,
Watch out that no one deceives you.
Many will come in my name, claiming, I am he, and will deceive many.
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.
These are the beginnings of birth pains.
You must be on your guard.
You'll be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues.
On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial,
do not worry beforehand about what to say.
Just say whatever is given you at the time,
for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child.
Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.
All men will hate you because of me,
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
When you see the abomination that causes desolation,
standing where it does not belong,
let the reader understand,
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.
Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Pray that this will not take place in winter,
because those will be days of distress,
unequaled from the beginning when God created the world until now,
and never to be equaled again.
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.
At that time, if anyone says to you,
look, here is the Christ, or look, there he is,
do not believe it.
For false Christs and false prophets will appear
and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect,
if that were possible.
So be on your guard.
I have told you everything ahead of time.
But in those days, following that 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.
At that time, men will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great power and glory,
and he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
Now learn this lesson from the fig tree.
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.
I tell you the truth.
This generation will certainly not pass away
until all these things have happened.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.
No one knows about that day or hour,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the sun,
but only the Father.
Be on guard.
Be alert.
You do not know when that time will come.
It's like a man going away.
He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge,
each with his assigned task,
and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
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.
Muriel Spark,
a 20th century novelist
who lived in,
or grew up in Morningside here in Edinburgh,
wrote a book called Memento Mori.
And the story of that book
involves a group of elderly people
receiving anonymous phone calls
repeatedly over a course of months
where the caller would simply say,
remember,
you must die.
And we then hang up the phone.
And it was interesting to chart
the response of these elderly people.
Some of them feared that voice.
Others simply put it out their mind
and lived in denial.
Others turned to anticipate
their own death
with a sense of peace.
A different kind of artist,
R.E.M.,
the music group,
one of their early songs
was called
It's the End of the World
as We Know It.
And for them,
to finish the title,
they said,
and I feel fine.
I wonder
if it's something
that we think about
at the end of the world.
And if we do,
what sort of reaction,
what sort of emotion
does it conjure up for us?
In one hand,
I guess it's an uncomfortable topic
for us to consider,
but it's an important topic.
Do we have that same sense of fear
that some of the characters
from Amento Mori had?
Denial?
Perhaps even anticipation?
Well, Jesus turns to teach
on just that,
the end of the world.
So remember,
Jesus has been on his journey.
We've seen in the last couple of chapters
of Mark's gospel
that he's arrived at the temple.
He's condemned both
the religious leaders
and the worship in the temple
for being far from what God would want.
And then if we look at chapter 13,
the first three verses,
we see he's now leaving the temple.
The disciples,
they're amazed
at this wonderful marble and gold temple.
They're really impressed by it.
And Jesus announces
ultimate judgment on the temple
because the worship there
is far from pleasing to God,
a judgment that will fall
in AD 70.
And as Jesus' disciples
are processing this truth,
they recognize here is an event,
the destruction of the temple,
here is an event so huge
that they wonder to themselves,
will this signal the end of the world?
Verse four,
tell us when will these things happen
and what will be the sign
that they are all about to be fulfilled?
And so Jesus is going to begin to teach
for the rest of the chapter.
Remember, effectively,
the world must end.
And in this chapter,
he gives both a sense of reality
and a sense of hope
for life in the last days.
Reality and hope too
for facing the last day,
the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
You can find lots of books
written on the topic of the end days
and the last day,
dates and times and speculation.
It's really important
to hear Jesus on this topic.
So that's what we're going to do.
Before we really get going,
just as a little side note,
it's really important
to get our timing right
in Mark chapter 13.
I wonder if you've had the experience
in a holiday car journey,
if you've ever traveled with children,
and maybe you were that child
who would ask,
just after you pulled out of the driveway,
are we nearly there yet?
You know the question.
Usually, by the time
that question is getting asked,
there's usually still
a really long stretch of the journey,
sometimes a hard part
of the journey still to go.
Often, if you're going a long way,
you're not even sure
when you're going to arrive.
The disciples are asking,
are we nearly there yet?
Is the end of the world nearly here?
Well, Jesus doesn't give them a time.
He doesn't say in so many years.
What He does say multiple times,
four times in this chapter
is watch out,
be on your guard,
be ready.
And He says to them,
and He says to us,
our journey of faith,
it may be long,
and it may be hard and difficult.
And we don't know
when the end of the world is.
So what Jesus is trying to do
is He's trying to prepare us
to persevere
for that long, hard journey.
He wants us to persevere
in our walk of faith.
When we find ourselves
under pressure,
when we find that life
is really hard,
to find hope from Him.
The timeline of Mark 13.
It's important to get this right
because some of it is immediate.
He'll talk about some things
that will be fulfilled
within His generation,
but some of it is very much future.
So in verse 5,
all the way to verse 23,
Jesus is describing the last days.
That's the period of time
between the first coming of Jesus
and the second coming of Jesus.
So that's describing the last days.
And what Jesus says
is that these things
that He's talking about,
they're happening now.
Verse 28 to 31
are talking about the last days.
And He's saying,
some of the things
that I'm talking to you about,
talking to the disciples,
they will be fulfilled
in your own generation.
Do you see that in verse 30?
I tell you the truth,
this generation will certainly
not pass away
until all these things have happened.
So He's talking about the last days.
These are signs
of the end of the world.
So you've got that time frame,
but then there's also
Jesus teaching on the last day,
on the judgment day,
on the second coming.
Lots of different ways
the Bible talks about it.
And we find that
in verses 24 to 27.
So there's events
that lead up to the second coming,
but then there's separate teaching
on the return of Jesus.
And that time is unknown.
It's unexpected.
Verse 32,
no one knows about that day or hour,
only the Father.
And so in light of these two timelines,
Jesus is saying,
watch out, be ready,
be on your guard.
Okay, so let's look at the text.
Let's look first of all
at the last days.
What is Jesus saying to us?
He's saying to us
that these last days
are dark days.
And he gives us warnings
and promises.
So remember,
this is spoken first
to his disciples.
So what I want to do
is to look at the two warnings
that are applied specifically
to Jesus' generation.
The disciples
and those who would live
at the time
shortly after the death
and return of Jesus to heaven.
So verse 14
speaks about
the desecration
of the temple.
That's the first warning.
When you see
the abomination
that causes desolation
standing where it does not belong,
then let those
who are in Judea
flee to the mountain.
Now,
in the Old Testament,
book of Daniel,
Daniel had visions
about the abomination
that causes desolation.
In short,
something would happen
to make the temple
unfit for worship.
Something would happen
within the temple
such that God
would leave the temple
such that the people
would no longer
be able to worship God
in the temple.
Ultimately,
it would be destroyed.
Now,
that happened in history,
168 BC,
and Jesus is saying
it's going to happen again.
In actual fact,
Jesus has said
this has already been happening
in his own day.
Remember people buying
and selling
in the marketplace?
Remember the false worship
that's been going on?
God is not pleased with that.
Bear in mind too
that Jesus said,
I am the temple of God.
And how did the people
of his day treat the temple?
Well,
many rejected
and killed him.
And so,
Jesus is warning
the temple
is going to be
desecrated
and then destroyed.
And that would happen
as Rome came to attack
in 70 AD.
So,
that happened
in that generation.
Tied up with that,
Jesus goes on
to speak about
the distress
that would come
following those events.
Verse 15 to 19
speak about distress.
Verse 19 in particular,
because those will be
days of distress
unequaled from the beginning
when God created the world
until now.
So,
here is Jesus' warning
of intense suffering
to come.
He's saying to them,
don't waste a minute
gathering your possessions.
You better hope
the weather is good
because you need to run
because suffering is coming.
Rome's revenge,
as history would play out,
would be terrible
on Jewish rebellion.
And there was a time
of great suffering
for the city of Jerusalem
and the nation.
And so,
they are told
to watch out.
Desecration is coming.
Distress is coming.
So,
those are spoken
to Jesus' disciples
referring to
his own generation.
But he gives
three other warnings
that are more general
that we see played out
in life
in our days,
which are also
the last days.
The first thing
to pay attention to
is the deception
that comes.
So,
in verse 5,
Jesus said to them,
watch out
that no one
deceives you.
Many will come
in my name
claiming I am he
and will deceive
many.
And then in verse 21,
at that time,
if anyone says to you,
look,
here is the Christ
or look,
there he is,
do not believe.
For false Christs
and false prophets
will appear.
So,
there are false claims.
There are some people
saying,
I'm the Christ
claiming the position
of God
and the honor of God.
Or they're saying,
Christ is here.
The return has come.
There are those
who are deceiving
the church of God
towards false worship.
So,
Jesus is warning
of this dangerous
deception
that takes place
in the last days.
What does that look like
for us?
Well,
maybe it's that
teaching that we hear
that says,
well,
ultimately,
all roads lead to God.
All religions
are equal.
There's no absolute truth.
So,
it doesn't matter
which God you believe in
so long as you're
religious.
Taking away
the unique place
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Or perhaps,
it's the teaching
that we hear
that says,
well,
for me,
Jesus is life.
Jesus is my buddy.
Jesus is my guru.
Jesus is whatever
that strips us
away from the revelation
that we find
in the Bible
to the Jesus
of one's imagination.
Or it might be
the teaching
that you hear
from those
that claim
to be Christian churches
that denies
the virgin birth
of Jesus,
that denies
the atoning death
of Jesus for sin,
that deny
the resurrection
of Jesus,
that deny
that Jesus
will return
in glory.
There are ways
for God's people
to be deceived
and so Jesus says,
watch out.
He says,
stand firm
in the truth.
Here's a call
to us
as a local church
to remain committed
to the Bible
as the Word of God
with full authority,
to be committed
to the gospel.
There's not just
deception
in the last days,
though there's also
disasters.
Verse 8
makes that plain.
Verse 7,
also,
when you hear of wars
and rumors of wars,
do not be alarmed.
Nation will rise
against nation
and kingdom
against kingdom.
There'll be earthquakes
in various places
and famines.
These are the beginnings
or the beginning
of birth pains.
These are not the end.
These are signs
that this is life
in the last days.
A survey
was conducted
in the UK
asking people
about their
greatest fears.
Not phobias,
they do separate
surveys for phobias,
but when it comes
to those sort of
big overarching fears.
In the UK,
we are afraid
of international
terrorism.
We are afraid
of armed conflict.
We are afraid
of climate change.
We are afraid
of global pandemics
that will sweep
through the world.
It's easy
to be afraid.
You switch on
the news
and it's easy
to be afraid.
So there are
disasters going on
out there,
but also
we are aware
of our own
personal disasters.
Those heartaches
that we have,
those sorrows
that we endure,
those struggles
that we have
with our health
or in our workplace
or with family
relationships.
And it can be easy
to give in
to despair
as the people
of God.
And what does
Jesus say?
He says,
watch out.
He says,
stand firm.
He says,
trust.
Let me read
from Psalm 46.
How wonderful words.
God is our
refuge
and strength
and ever-present
help in trouble.
Therefore,
we will not fear
though the earth
give way
and the mountains
fall into the heart
of the sea.
The Lord Almighty
is with us.
The God of Jacob
is our fortress.
That's what our trust
and our confidence
must be
because
deception will come
and disasters
will come.
And not only that,
division
will come.
Division in the form
of opposition
and persecution.
Verse 9.
You must be
on your guard.
There's the warning again.
Be on guard.
You will be handed
over to the local
councils and flogged
in the synagogues.
Verse 12.
Brother will betray
brother to death
and a father his child.
Children will rebel
against their parents
and have them put to death.
All men will hate you
because of me.
William Lane
commenting on this passage
says that Jesus' life
is the cruel
prototype
for his followers.
How is Jesus treated
in the gospel of Mark?
What have we seen so far?
We've seen many people
oppose him.
Many reject him.
Many be hostile to him.
We've seen that Jesus
divides opinions.
Jesus divides communities.
Jesus divides families.
And just as it was
for Jesus,
he says,
so it will be
for his followers.
It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer
in Germany
in the 1930s
who said,
when Christ calls a man,
he bids him
come and die.
Die to self.
There is a sacrifice
involved in following
Jesus.
And here,
we are reminded
that Christians
may face opposition
from authorities
and from our own families.
How do we see that today?
We see it in
state-sponsored persecution.
We see it when
community leaders
surround
and intimidate
and destroy churches
in different parts
of the world.
We see it when
Christians find themselves
sidelined at work.
When we feel
the squeeze
on our
faith values.
Perhaps
you know
the experience
in your own family
of being the only Christian,
of being misunderstood
or mocked
or feeling
isolated.
division comes.
There is a cost
to discipleship.
It's another reminder
why membership matters
because we need each other.
This might be
the only family
that we have.
Opposition
is normal
so we need
community
for strength.
We just
recently finished
watching
a documentary
following the
travels
of a British
adventurer
called
Levison Wood.
He was walking
from the
top of Mexico
through
Central America
and he was just
passing through,
just about finished,
passing through
the Darien Gap,
one of the most
inaccessible
jungle forests
in the world
and there
he met
some
men
from Pakistan
who were
journeying
as illegal immigrants
from Pakistan
all the way
to America
and they'd spent
days
trekking through
the mountains
totally unprepared
trekking through
mountains
going through
these really
dangerous forests
because they were
hoping for
the better life
the promised land
of America
and you know
in so many ways
that sort of
journey
well represents
the Christian
life
there is
struggle
there is
battle
sometimes we
feel like
immigrants
where nobody
else understands
us
where our
culture is so
different from
the people
around us
and so Jesus
is providing
realistic warning
for us
some of us
are reading
Pilgrim's Progress
this night
a spiritual
classic
from a bygone
age
it's a great
book to read
for a reminder
of the reality
of spiritual
battle
Jesus is saying
watch out
because in one
hand for us
there's the
pool of the
world
that's telling
us chase
your best
life now
what Jesus
is offering
sounds really
difficult
so why not
live for ease
and leisure
and pleasure
watch out
because there's
also that
internal war
going on
in our
heart
sin is
defeated
but still
wants to
fight
wants to
drag us
away
from
God
as John Owen
the Puritan
said
be killing
sin
or it
will be
killing
you
and then
there's
the temptation
of the
devil
constantly
saying to
us
well look
at your
sin
you call
yourself
a Christian
and you
did that
or he'll
point to
your
circumstance
and say
well look
how hard
life is
where's
this God
who made
all these
wonderful
promises
or maybe
just tempt us
to look at
the rewards
now and forget
about the fact
that there is
an end of the
world that Jesus
is coming
there is eternity
to look forward
to
the last days
are dark days
difficult days
given all that
is there any
hope for us
well Jesus
says absolutely
yes there is
and he points us
to it
in his teaching
first of all
we have the
promise that God
works despite
the darkness
let's look at
verse 9
in the middle
of all this
persecution
Jesus says
on account
of me
you'll stand
before governors
and kings
as witnesses
to them
and the gospel
must first be
preached to all
nations
so there's going
to be people
that want to
destroy the church
but God is
stronger than
that opposition
and the gospel
is going to
spread
maybe we feel
that all the
people around
us are either
opposed or
apathetic to
the gospel
but you know
what God
is stronger
he can change
hearts and
transform lives
he will
continue to
build his
church until
Jesus returns
so God
works despite
the darkness
verse 11
we're reminded
that God is
with us in
the darkness
whenever you're
arrested and
brought to trial
don't worry
beforehand about
what to say
say whatever
is given you
at the time
for it's not
you speaking
but the Holy
Spirit
so when you
feel most
isolated
most opposed
most persecuted
remember
the spirit
is there
God
is there
helping us
to testify
for Jesus
helping us
to stand
firm
in our
faith
God is
with us
in the
darkness
and God
calls and
keeps us
through
the darkness
verse 13
all men
will hate
you because
of me
but he
who stands
firm to
the end
will be
saved
and in
verse 20
speaking
about days
of distress
but for
the sake
of the
elect
whom he
has
chosen
he
has
shortened
those
days
this is a
reminder
that God
is working
in history
for his
church
for his
people
God never
abandons
his people
not one
of his
chosen ones
will be
lost
we will
be
saved
and remember
Jesus is
speaking these
words while
he's on
that journey
to save
his own
reminding us
that trust
in Jesus
is never
misplaced
he is
our only
hope
in life
and death
so we
seek to
stand firm
trusting
in our
saviour
so the
last days
are
dark
days
but there
is hope
now let's
look briefly
at the
last day
the second
coming
let's look
at Christ's
return
and again
let's see
warnings
and promises
here
Jesus
turns from
signs
that the
end of
the
world
is
coming
to
drawing
our
attention
to
the
end
of
the
world
itself
there
is a
warning
here
that
judgment
day
is
coming
verse
24
in
those
days
following
that
distress
the
sun
will
be
dark
and
the
moon
will
not
give
its
light
the
stars
will
fall
from
the
sky
and
the
heavenly
bodies
will
be
shaken
this
is
Jesus
speaking
from
the
book
of
Isaiah
13
and
Babylon
and
then
judgment
on
the
nations
because
of
their
rebellion
against
God
and
his
people
and
his
purposes
for
their
continued
hostility
and
refusal
to
submit
to
God
their
refusal
to
honor
God
as
king
therefore
judgment
would
come
so
there's
a
warning
against
unbelief
and
rebellion
but
there's
also
a
word
of
hope
because
here
is
a
promise
that
though
the
world
is
dying
God
will
come
back
and
one
day
will
put
everything
right
it's
one
of
the
great
hopes
of
the
persecuted
church
that
Jesus
will
come
and
bring
justice
in
Jesus'
day
we've
seen
it
throughout
Mark's
gospel
many
rejected
him
they
denied
his
power
and
authority
they
said
we
don't
trust
you
we
don't
want
you
and
Jesus
saying
that
attitude
will
bring
judgment
to
make us
recognize
how
serious
this
is
imagine
coming
face
to
face
with
our
queen
as an
example
we're
being
invited
to a
nice
fancy
ceremony
and
the
queen
is
shaking
lots
of
hands
imagine
when it's
your turn
to shake
hands
with the
queen
and you
turn your
back on
her
face
or
you
cover
your
ears
so you
don't
listen
to her
nice
words
or
worse
still
as she
comes
to shake
your
hand
you
turn
and you
slap
her
face
what a
shameful
thing
to do
what a
dishonorable
thing
to do
but the
bible
says
that's
how by
nature
we
choose
to
treat
god
and
just
as
if we
were to
treat
the
queen
that
way
there
would
be
significant
consequences
so the
consequences
of
treating
our
father
in
heaven
shamefully
will be
far worse
there is
judgment
and there
is hell
the bible
says
refusing
to receive
jesus
as lord
and saviour
so there is
warning
about the
last day
but there is
also promise
here too
the promise
of salvation
that comes
when the
king returns
jesus's
second coming
the bible
says will be
totally different
to the
first
verse 26
at that
time
men
will see
the son
of man
coming
in
clouds
with
great
power
and
glory
and
he
will
send
his
angels
and
gather
his
elect
from
the
four
winds
from
the
ends
of
the
earth
to
the
ends
of
the
heavens
when
he
comes
back
it
won't
be
quiet
in
weakness
humility
of a
stable
he
will
come
with
all
power
and
glory
and
every
eye
will
see
him
and
what
does
this
mean
for
his
church
for
his
people
did
you
see
verse
27
he
will
send
his
angels
and
he
will
gather
his
elect
he'll
come
back
in
other
words
for
his
chosen
ones
the
ones
he
loves
the
one
he
has
died
for
he
will
gather
them
wherever
they
are
heaven's
earth
he
will
gather
them
in
a couple
of
days
after
this
Jesus
would
be
talking
to
his
disciples
who
were
troubled
about
the
fact
that
your
hearts
be
troubled
in
my
father's
house
are
many
rooms
I'm
going
there
to
prepare
a
place
for
you
and
I'll
come
back
and
take
you
to
be
with
me
when
Jesus
comes
back
in
glory
he
will
call
the
elect
to
himself
so
we
can
enjoy
his
glory
for
all
eternity
that's
the
final
goal
of
salvation
to
enjoy
being
in
the
presence
of
our
God
and
our
Savior
to
enjoy
life
in
his
kingdom
to
enjoy
forever
being
children
in
his
family
to
enjoy
life
of
that
wonderful
feast
that is
spoken
of
to
be
the
bride
of
Christ
united
to
him
in
love
forever
the
Bible
is
full
of
these
pictures
of
security
and
love
and
joy
and
peace
that
never
end
to
sustain
our
hope
in
the
last
days
which
are
dark
days
there's
one
final
watch
out
one
final
be on
your
guard
from
verse
33
to
verse
37
Jesus
tells
that
short
parable
a
master
goes away
and the
servants
are supposed
to be
busy
and then
the
master
comes
back
at an
unexpected
time
and the
point
is that
the
servants
should
be
ready
the
master
will
come
back
they
don't
know
when
therefore
they
should
be
serving
they
should
be
showing
him
that
honor
now
Jesus
has
very
clearly
said
to
us
that
he
will
return
he
will
come
back
in
power
and glory
one day
and so
the question
for us
then is
will
he
find
us
ready
he is
the
master
will
he
find
us
ready
for
that
day
when
we
stand
at
the
judgment
seat
of
God
are
we
ready
for
that
day
how
are
we
to
be
ready
we
get
ready
by
trusting
in
Jesus
by
trusting
in
his
saving
work
by
resting
in
him
alone
by
recognizing
that
he
is
on
this
journey
to
save
his
own
people
that
he's
on
the
way
to
the
cross
in
order
to
face
the
judgment
for
the
sins
of
his
people
to
secure
salvation
for
his
people
by
forgiving
our
sins
so
we
can
be
reconciled
to
God
the
last
days
are
dark
days
but
there
is
that
final
day
coming
a day
of
glory
a day
of
honor
a day
that
we
love
and
joy
for
all
eternity
for
the
people
of
God
so
let
Jesus
determine
how
we
think
about
the
end
of
the
world
and
it's
important
that
we
do
to
think
about
our
own
mortality
and
think
about
the
return
of
Jesus
and
to
be
ready
for
that
by
trusting
him
now
and
forever
let's
pray
together
briefly
without