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When is Jesus coming back?
Some people hear a question like that and they're like, ooh, this is going to be an exciting thing to talk about. And some people are like, man, I should have slept in late today.
Surely it must be soon. I mean, look at the world around us, right? It's got to be soon. We hope so. Many people would say, yes, we know that he's coming back soon. Or if they don't have an outright yes to that, they'll say, well, we at least know the general time frame has to be soon. And sometimes those people who are telling you, yes, we can at least know the general time frame, will then have a paperback you can buy for $14.95 and find out all about it.
Since the 1970s, there's been an explosion of end times related media. It goes back further than that, but there was a real explosion in the 70s in Christian publishing and books with titles like The Late Great Planet Earth, The Day Approaching, or my favorite title I found, 2022 to 2042: The Final Days of Civilization.
If I sound a little sarcastic as I'm reading those titles, it's because I have read some of those books. And I've also read Mark 13, our chapter here, where in verse 32, Jesus says, “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” But maybe the people writing prophecy books know better than Jesus.
It's very easy to be consumed with looking for signs of the times, drawing up charts of what future events will hold, and in doing so completely miss the point of biblical prophecy and apocalyptic literature. So that's an error on one side, to just get consumed by it. But there's also an error on the other side, if in reaction to some of the crazy that's out there, we fail to see the genuine important role that prophetic literature plays in the Scriptures.
Over 30% of the Bible is prophecy. Now, a lot of that prophecy is already fulfilled. But nonetheless, this is a huge portion of God's Word that falls into the genre of prophetic literature. But when we're looking at it—looking at any part of the Bible, but prophecy especially—we have to be careful to let the Bible itself drive our thinking and drive our priorities.
It's good. There's nothing wrong with having our own questions, having our own priorities when we come to the Bible and looking for Scripture's answers to those questions. But we need to be careful in imposing our current questions on the ancient text. God's Word does have answers, but sometimes what God's Word does is actually change our questions. The Bible should be the source of our questions as much as it is the source of our answers, which is a long way of saying in Mark 13, I'm looking for the intent of Jesus, the speaker, and Mark, the author.
I'm not concerned first and foremost when I read these kinds of texts with how to make sense of news reports out of Russia or Iran or Israel. So as we come to Mark 13, we're looking at one of the most contested, the most controversial passages in the New Testament. It and its parallels in Matthew and Luke are called the Olivet Discourse. And as many commentaries as you read, you will find twice that many opinions on what this text is talking about.
And I want to be clear that there are disagreements over this passage between Christians who love the Lord, love His Word, and genuinely want to understand it. Some of the imagery in this text is just hard to understand and to make it all fit together. And these details can be disagreed upon by Christians in good faith. And while I won't say that it doesn't matter what you believe about it, I think we can disagree sometimes about the details and still agree on the main point that Jesus is trying to drive home. I hope I'll show that as we go through the sermon.
We don't have the time and you probably don't have the interest—at least most of you—for me to walk through all of the different ways you could interpret each of these different images and pictures that Jesus gives in this text. That would turn into an entire sermon series. So what we're going to do is this.
We're covering Mark 13 over the next two weeks. This week, I'm going to read through the whole chapter and make big overview comments on how I think it fits together. And then we'll zoom back in on verses 3 through 23, which is what the bulletin says we're paying attention to this week. And I'll give what I think are the most plausible, best ways to understand those verses. And then at the end of the sermon, we'll conclude by really zooming in on what I think is Jesus' main point in the text—what He's trying to do as He gives this information to His disciples.
And that's this: I'll give you it ahead of time. The disciples need to have their eyes wide open as they face. They need to be on guard as they face hardship and trial in this life.
So let's read Mark chapter 3, beginning in verse 13. It says this. Not beginning in verse 13—Mark 13, beginning in verse 1.
As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings." And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?"
And Jesus began to say to them, "See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter.
For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
And then 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 arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."
This is God's word.
So we need to remember where this text is picking up from. Chapters 11 and 12, we have essentially two full chapters of Jesus condemning the religious hypocrisy of first-century Jewish worship. And last week we saw him talking to his disciples and warning the crowds about the dangers of self-righteous religious leaders, self-righteous religious attitudes, and self-righteous religious infrastructure. And that culminated with the prophecy here in chapter 13, verse 2, where Jesus says one day the temple itself would be brought down—not one stone left upon another.
Now, considering that the stones of the temple—at least the foundation stones—weighed literally millions of pounds, they were about 37 feet by 12 feet by 18 feet. These stones are enormous. It would be pretty hard to believe that such a grand structure is going to be torn down stone by stone.
As Jesus and the disciples then exited the city, they would have walked across the Kidron Valley. And the entire time, this grand temple would have been visible to them. And there were parts of it that were plated in gold. And so as they're walking down through the Kidron Valley in the evening, they're looking up. The sun's glistening off the gold. And they come and they sit up on the Mount of Olives opposite, looking back towards the temple. And the disciples—Jesus' first four disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew—they pull him aside and ask, "When is this going to be?" Like, this is hard to even picture. "When is this going to happen, Jesus? What will be the sign that these things are going to be accomplished?"
We've got to remember, these men are first-century Jews. They're waiting for the Messiah to come and restore Israel's glory. And they see Jesus as that Messiah, that one who's going to come and restore glory. And now he's talking about tearing down the temple. And that would be just confusing for them. They would see it in connection with essentially the end of the world—some epoch-changing, world-shaking event.
The temple isn't just a building. It's the place where God meets with man. That's where the sacrificial system takes place. It's got the Holy of Holies in it. For it to come down would mean the end of the world—or something very near to the end of the world.
This end of the world thing is about to be accomplished. The disciples are looking for a sign. They're looking for all the things that would be accomplished before Jesus inaugurated his earthly kingdom, before he came back in power and in glory.
Jesus says—before he talks about his return in verses 24 to 27—that in verse 23, he has told them all things beforehand. So I think what Jesus is saying is that in verses 3 through 23, he's giving all of the signs. In those verses, we have everything that happens that has to happen before he comes back in power and in glory. Then in verse 30, when Jesus says that all these things will be accomplished, he's talking about all the signs. He's not talking about the return itself. I think that's how the logic of the passage fits together. Again, there are different opinions on that, but that's the way I think makes the most sense of Jesus' words.
So what are the signs? Beginning in verse 6, Jesus gives a complex of signs, which he collectively refers to as the beginning of the birth pains. These are commonly cited verses when people look at our current world and say, “This has got to be talking about today.”
Verse 6: Jesus talks about many people being led astray from the truth.
Verse 7: wars and rumors of wars.
Verse 6 again: false Christs.
Verse 8: nations rising against one another, kingdoms rising against one another, natural disasters like earthquakes and famine.
We look out at the world and we go, “Yeah, all that stuff is happening today,” and that’s true—those things do characterize our day. But remember, the first audience for these words are the disciples in AD 33. They would have been reminded of these words when they heard about wars and rumors of wars in their time.
False Christs—or as 1 John says, antichrists—were going out into the world, deceiving people. Many of the New Testament letters were written to combat falsehoods already present in the churches. They were already in the first centuries of Christianity. We often think about the early churches as this primitive era where Christians had everything right and were so much closer to Jesus. But almost all of the New Testament letters are written to combat false teaching and errors that are already pulling people away from Jesus.
What about famines? In the year 45, Egypt experienced extra-high floodwaters on the Nile. They counted on floodwaters every year as part of how they planted their crops. But if they had too much, it would destroy a lot—something we’re familiar with here in Iowa. It set Egypt back to the point where it started a decade-long series of bad harvests, which then affected other parts of the empire. In the year 57, there was such a bad famine around Jerusalem that the Apostle Paul was collecting money to help the famine-stricken Jewish church.
What about earthquakes? The Roman historian Tacitus records that in the year 50, there was a whole series of earthquakes that seemed unusual. In the year 62, the city that would later be destroyed in 79 by the eruption of Vesuvius had already been heavily damaged by an earthquake. That earthquake is estimated to be between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes were all around. These things were happening in the world of the disciples in the first century—they would have been on their radar.
The second thing we see in this passage is persecutions. Verses 9 through 13 talk about this. Jesus warns in verse 9: they will deliver you over to councils, you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them. This is essentially the story of the book of Acts.
In Acts 4, Peter and John are dragged before the council of the ruling elders—the Sanhedrin. In Acts 6, men from the synagogue of the Freedmen dispute with Stephen. He’s dragged before the council and eventually stoned to death. In Acts 24, Paul stands before the governor Felix. In chapter 26, he stands before King Agrippa, appealing his case all the way to Caesar. In chapter 28 of Acts, Paul ends up in Rome bearing witness to the truth for at least two years.
The history of the early church was one of persecution beginning in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the Roman world. Jesus sent them with his message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth—persecution followed them the whole way. By the time Paul's life ends (between AD 64 and 68), the gospel had covered the known world. Disciples had gone down into India, up into Europe, all over the Roman world. It had been proclaimed among the nations, among the Gentiles—and all the while, God's people were hated.
Jesus told his disciples that families would turn against one another and all would hate them because they hated him first. That’s what Jesus said in John 15: “Know that if the world hates you, it hated me first.” Jesus is saying the same thing here: you're going to take my message out, and persecution will come. The disciples must be hated before he returns in glory to save them. They could say, “Check, that happened to us.” They're being beaten, imprisoned, and killed.
Maybe the most perplexing part of this passage begins in verse 14: “When you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” That language, “abomination of desolation,” comes from Daniel’s prophecy, chapter 9, verses 26–27. Many Jews considered this already fulfilled in their time because in 168 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes—the Seleucid ruler—had conquered Jerusalem. He saw himself as Zeus incarnate, set up an altar to himself in the temple, and began slaughtering pigs on that altar.
Many Jews considered that an abomination that made desolate the worship in the temple. But Jesus takes that language and puts it into the future. Yes, what Antiochus did was bad, but something else is still coming.
Mark apparently inserts the phrase “let the reader understand,” suggesting his first-century readers should recognize what’s happening. I think the most likely way to understand this is to look at the actions of the Jewish zealots during their war with Rome in the AD 60s. The zealots were fighting to become independent from Rome. They set up shop in the temple. Thieves and murderers were allowed to roam. Murders took place in the temple itself. They even installed a new high priest—a man named Phanni (or Fanny), who was essentially a clown by trade. They made a mockery of worship in the temple.
This is right before the destruction of the temple in AD 70 when the Romans came in. One retired priest lamented, “It would have been far better for me to have died before I had seen the house of God laden with such abominations.”
There are two main reasons I think this fits Jesus' description of the abomination of desolation: (1) what the zealots did was abominable, horrendous, sacrilegious; and (2) it fits perfectly with what Jesus says to do next: flee.
When they see this abomination, Jesus says let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Make all haste in getting out of town. Pray these things don’t happen in inclement weather. Pity the nursing mothers or pregnant women, for whom travel would be difficult. In winter, not necessarily because of snow, but because water levels would rise, making it harder to cross rivers for safety.
If you’re on your rooftop—remember, they had outdoor staircases—don’t even go back inside to get anything. Just run straight for the hills.
This fits well, because during the Jewish rebellion against Rome, there was opportunity when people heard what was happening, to escape the city and to escape with their lives, many Christians actually did so. They formed another community outside of town, but once it was too late, it was too late. The city was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and over a million Jews were slaughtered in that war. For Jews, this would have been worse than anything else in the history of all creation.
Now, one difficulty with this understanding is the universal language in verses 19 and 20: "Such tribulation has never been, never will be. If the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would have been saved." The best way to answer that challenge is the fact that prophetic language sometimes universalizes. If there’s an intensely horrible circumstance, sometimes what you’ll read in the prophets—even in the Old Testament—is language that says that the ears of all the earth will tingle when they hear of it. Well, when the prophet in Israel says that, that doesn’t mean that somebody in South America’s ears are tingling, but it does mean that anybody who comes in contact with this news is absolutely going to tremble. And there was never before anything like that intense period of destruction in Jerusalem as there was in the days leading up to the destruction of the temple.
So hopefully that clears up some of the most perplexing elements of the passage—or maybe it just leaves you even more confused. In either case, we should be asking, what do I do with this?
Jesus gives us these words. He gives us these instructions for a purpose. And thankfully, Jesus does not leave us hanging with what he wants us to do. I wonder if you noticed, as we went through these signs, that each of them comes in the form of a warning. Jesus is warning his disciples, standing before him in the first century, of the things that would surely take place before the destruction of the temple in AD 70, which would have to take place before the second coming as described in verses 24 to 27. And he warns them because he wants them to know how to respond when these events surely do come.
Now, as I said, I think that the conditions of all of those things were fulfilled prior to AD 70. Nonetheless, the same circumstances abound today and Christ has not come back. So in that sense, we’re still living in the same world that those apostles were. There are still wars and rumors of wars, and false prophets and teachers, and Christians are still persecuted. And so the lessons for the disciples there apply to us as well.
I think Jesus’ warning can be summarized in three words: Be on guard.
Be on guard. Be on guard, first of all, against alarmist fear. Verse 5, the phrase that here in the English Standard Version is translated “see that,” is the same phrase as “be on guard” in verses 9, 23, and 33. Jesus is first of all saying to be on guard that no one leads you astray. Verse 5: “See that no one leads you astray.” Be on guard that no one leads you astray.
Like we talked about last week, any religious leader, any movement that’s trying to take you away from Jesus—where the focus is not pulling you back to Christ, to Christ, to the real Christ—and is trying to lead you away with some new teaching or something that is kind of like Jesus but not as he’s revealed in Scripture, that’s something we must be on guard against.
Well, what’s one method that people use to do that? Fear. Alarmist fear. Fear is one of the most powerful motivators for human beings. This is one of my main critiques of a lot of the prophecy-focused media and literature. There’s this tone of fear and terror: the bad guys are coming, the bad days are coming. And that kind of fear sells books. It motivates people to keep spending their money and find out more and keep clicking through the YouTube videos. But it doesn’t motivate Christian obedience.
As Jesus says in verse 7, “Do not be alarmed.” That’s a hard one for us when we see crazy things in the world. But Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.” When you look at the chaos in the world, yeah, you’ve got to have eyes in your head. Don’t pretend it’s not there. We don’t live in a Pollyanna. The trouble is real, but do not be alarmed or afraid because you know the one who reigns over history. And he is not confused or baffled or helpless when he sees all of the wars and rumors of wars. This is all part of his plan and purpose for human history. So be on guard against alarmist fear.
Second, be on guard against the fear of persecution. Jesus’ disciples in the first century, and we in the 21st, must be on guard against the fear of persecution. Jesus predicted that they would be dragged before civil and religious authorities for their belief and proclamation that Jesus is Lord. But he told them, number one, that this should not prevent them from preaching the gospel. Verse 10 says, “The gospel must be proclaimed in all nations.” So he’s saying you’re going to be persecuted for this, but you’ve still got to do it. You’ve still got the job in front of you.
How much of the world around us does not have a strong gospel witness? There are languages and people groups who don’t have any witness. They don’t have the scriptures. They don’t have missionaries. Even places that we would consider Christianized or formerly Christian are increasingly less and less so. Much of what we consider the developed Western world—there’s a Christian heritage, but it does not seem to be exercising much influence at this point. France was once a Christian country, and we saw the beginning of the Olympics. We need to continue pursuing to bring the light of the gospel—the good news of Jesus’ death in the place of sinners, and his resurrection promise of eternal life for everyone who believes in him—the forgiveness of their sins, even if bringing that message is risky or costly.
For some, that cost might be physical harm. For us here, it’s probably going to be more emotional, relational harm. The risks of witnessing to Jesus, though—whatever they are—are absolutely worth it.
Second, he told them they don’t need to be anxious, and therefore we do not need to be anxious over exactly what to say when witnessing for Christ. The Holy Spirit will give you the words when you need them.
Jesus endured the cross, and he rose victorious from the grave in your place. We serve a God who, as G.K. Chesterton put it, “knows the way out of the grave.” So share the gospel with that friend or that family member even if you don’t think your words are perfect. Your words aren’t perfect. You will say things that are wrong. You will make mistakes. That’s not going to hinder God. He just wants you to pursue faithfulness.
Confidently live for Christ, even if you think it might cost you socially. Don’t be afraid of who’s watching. Their watching you is part of the point—that they too might come to know and love Christ, that they would see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. That’s what Peter says in 1 Peter. Be on guard against the fear of persecution.
Third, be on guard against those who would lead you astray. The first two are about not fearing, but then you’ve got to be on guard against those who would lead you away from the right fear. The third section of our text, verses 14 to 23, is where Jesus discusses the need to flee from the destruction of Jerusalem. And there he warns against false Christs and prophets who would lead many astray.
This had happened in Israel’s history before—like in the time of Jeremiah. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to tell the people: this place will be destroyed. You need to, for them, go willingly to Babylon and live for Christ there. But then there were false prophets who were saying, “Peace, peace,” where there was no peace. And they said, “It’s all going to be okay. God’s judgment isn’t coming. It’s all going to turn around.” It wasn’t going to turn around. God’s judgment was falling.
1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins in God’s house. First of all, he judged the house of Israel. The church too, at times, faces periods of purging. Beware of anyone who says that following God means smooth seas and easy sailing—who, in the words of Jeremiah 6, say “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace. Following Christ guarantees a good life, an abundant life with meaning and purpose. It does not promise an easy life.
Even in the midst of hard days, though, we can and we must cling to Christ. Verse 13 says, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Friends, Jesus wants us to live on our guard, to be on guard against fear. Do not fear your circumstances. Do not fear the circumstances out there in the world. Do not fear disapproval from mere human beings, no matter how close to you or how important to you they may be. Fear the Lord, and let that holy and righteous fear order your thinking.
Proverbs 1:9 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Trust in Christ to save you both from the eternal judgment of God, but also to preserve you and carry you through hard days on earth.
Let us, as Peter says in 1 Peter 4:18, entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Let’s pray.
Father God, thank you that we can entrust our souls to you who are faithful, while we pursue obedience to you, while we pursue honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we do live in a crazy world—a world full of sin, a world full of consequences for that sin, a world that’s often chaotic and full of false teaching and false teachers and those who would lead us away from you. And Father, we just ask for your Holy Spirit to keep us close to Christ. Keep us in your word. Keep us submitted to you and seeking to live in a way that reflects you to those around us. We pray in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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