A Glimpse into the Future

If you could get a glimpse of the future, and learn when and how you would die, would you look? And would knowing this critical information change the way you lived?

Or what if you could take a look into the future, not to see necessarily the way you’d die, but to see the trials and struggles you’d face. What if you could know about disappointments ahead of time, what if you could know about trials and tribulations, what if you could know it all? What if a traumatic, disastrous event was going to happen in your lifetime, and you could know roughly when it would happen, and what it would be?

The disciples got this experience. In our section of Scripture, Jesus puts on his prophetic hat and begins to tell the future.

How do you feel about studying end times? On one hand, it’s possible we overdo it. We go beyond what Scripture teaches and try to play detective and figure out who’s the antichrist and what’s the mark of the beast to the point of setting dates and making outlandish claims of certainty. On the other hand, some just refuse to study end times at all. They say, “I’m not a premillenial, I’m not a postmillenial, I’m a pan-millenial - It’ll all pan out in the end.” But I’m not sure that’s the correct approach either. If it’s in the Bible, we should wrestle, we should study, we should seek understanding, and we should consider how it applies to our lives.

What we’re going to do this morning is work through Mark 13, which is one of the most difficult sections in the New Testament. In it, Jesus speaks privately to his disciples about the future.

Let’s let verses 1-2 set the stage. It’s late Tuesday. He’s spent all day teaching and dealing with questioners in the temple. Now, they leave the temple and a disciple points out the beauty of the temple. “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.”

And it truly was a magnificent place. It was built by Herod in an effort to show his own greatness and power. He used massive stones and overlaid them with gold. It was glorious, and as the disciples are departing the temple, the setting sun makes the gold glimmer, and they can’t help but remark on how wonderful it is.

The beauty of the temple doesn’t impress Jesus; he’s grieved at the apostasy of his people; they’ve rejected him. His response is much more somber: “Do you see these buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Jesus’ reply probably caught them off guard. You know why? Because the disciples have been hoping for Jesus to set up the kingdom of God there in Jerusalem. And now they’re told the temple will be destroyed. That doesn’t sound like a glorious kingdom: getting ransacked by gentile armies. They’ve begun adjusting to Jesus talking about his death and resurrection, but now there’s another bone to choke on: Jerusalem will be destroyed.

So they go out of the temple and they’re on the Mount of Olives. And the disciples must have been mulling over what he just said. They know that there’s no kingdom if Jerusalem falls.

So Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him two questions: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished.” When and what. And in answer to those questions, Jesus begins to tell the future.

From verse 5 to verse 27, Jesus answers their question. He tells them roughly when these things will happen and what signs will accompany them. He does it with startling accuracy.

In verses 28-37, he shows how knowing the future should shape us. And that’s where I want to start: I want to start at the end, because I think it will help us grasp the whole. 28-30 reads, “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. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Jesus uses the fig tree - a common tree in Israel - as an example. JUst as you can tell that summer is near by looking at the leaves on a fig tree, you can know when the temple is about to be destroyed by observing the signs I just told you. And he says, in vs 30, that the things they observe will happen in their own generation - a generation being roughly a 40 year span of time. Jesus wants the disciples to know how certain thai is, so he reiterates that his words are more certain than heaven and earth.

The disciples were to know what was going to happen so as to be ready. And that’s the point of verses 32-35. “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 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. 35 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— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Here’s the point: Jesus told the future for a purpose, and the purpose was not that we’d argue about signs in the heavens and political figures. The purpose was that we would be alert.

Before we read it, I want to point out the point of this entire section, and thus the point of our sermon: Vs 9: “But be on your guard.” Vs. 23: “But be on guard, I have told you all things beforehand.” Vs. 33: “Be on guard, keep awake.” Vs 35: “Therefore stay awake.” And verse 37: “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

There is a spiritual drowsiness that creeps upon the one who never thinks about the end of the world. I wonder whether anyone here is spiritually drowsy, because they’ve never sniffed the smelling salts of eschatology. So we’re going to study this with the end goal of growing more spiritually alert and reminding ourselves that the world we live in will soon come to a dramatic conclusion.

This ios not an easy text, and the interpretative path I’ve taken has its own challenges, but I think it fits best with the context.

A Warning for the Disciples (5-13). So Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him two questions: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished.” When and what.

Jesus warns about three things: deception, devastation, and distress. First, deception. Vs. 5-6 “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.” He reiterates this in 21-22, which speaks of false Christs and false prophets and false signs and wonders.

Before the temple is destroyed, there will be men rising up and claiming to be Jesus. By this time, Jesus will have already died and rose again and ascended into heaven. And he’s warning after his departure that some will claim to be him, returning to set Israel free from Roman rule.

This actually happened historically. One popular messianic imitator was a man called “Judas of Galilee” who got a group of 400 or so followers, convinced them he was the Messiah, and led an uprising against Rome. Jesus warned the disciples not to get duped by that.

Second, distraction. Verses 7-8 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 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.

The disciples might have been tempted to believe that wars were the sign of the destruction of the temple. Or that earthquakes or famines. Jesus says, “Nope, not those things.” Those aren’t the signs. Don’t be alarmed at those, those have happened in every age. And in the age following Jesus' ascension there were wars and rumors of wars, there were political upheavals and conflicts; there were even famines recorded during those years that affected Israel and her neighbors. Jesus is saying these are birth pains, these are not the signs. They are the bits of suffering that must happen before the end, before the temple is destroyed.

Third, distress. Now, it gets more personal. There will be false Christs, there will be distractions in the world - wars, earthquakes, famines - these aren’t the sign of Jerusalem’s destruction but they are leading up to it. But now he talks about what’s going to happen to them:

9 “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. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 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. 12 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. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Imagine being told this. Listen, here’s what’s going to happen to you: You’ll be taken. You’ll be beaten. You’ll stand before powerful people. And you must bear witness to them.

Look at verse 12 - brothers against brothers, fathers against their own children, children against their own parents. People will hate you guys. You’re not getting out unscathed.

Jesus predicted this for the disciples, and it most certainly came to pass. They all died martyrs’ deaths, except for John who was exiled. They died bearing witness. And I like how Jesus was not ashamed to tell them this. “Sorry boys, but here’s a little detail I left out…” No. He’s been telling them that to follow him means to take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me. And here he’s saying, “Look, here’s how it’s going to go for you.” And at the same time you get the idea that Jesus is convinced it’s all totally worth it!

Suffering was certain for the disciples. Jesus literally told them pieces of their specific future. And while we don’t have specific details like they did, we know pieces of our future, right? We know that all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted? We know that the Lord disciplines the ones he loves? We know that man was born for trouble as sparks fly upward?

Church, life will be harder and harder for us. Are you praying for strength? For endurance? Are you locking arms with brothers and sisters to help you through the pain?

The beauty of it all is that even though there will be pain, there will be death, there will be suffering - verse 10 makes it clear that the gospel will march forward unstoppably to the ends of the earth. Through their witness, the gospel train will leave the station and begin its trek to all nations - something we’re doing this very morning.

A Sign for the Disciples (14-18). Now those things are birth pains, they’re not the sign. Keep in mind: Jesus is telling his disciples when the temple will be destroyed and what signs. But first he tells them what is not signs, and warns them of persecution.

Now he gives them the sign. The thing to look out for: “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.”

What is the abomination of desolation? That’s the sign. But what is it? An abomination is something that causes disgust, and desolation refers to a barrenness, an emptiness. What he’s referring to is some kind of uniquely repugnant sin that results in desolation.

The abomination is mentioned in Daniel, and I’ll try to sum up what it is. Basically, it describes a leader doing something sacrilegious in the holy temple that disgusts people and makes the holy place unclean. And what actually happened about a couple hundred years before Christ was that a Greek leader called Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrate the temple by calling himself its God, making an altar for Zeus in it, and then sacrificing an unclean animal - a pig - and then went on to slaughter thousands of Jews and attempted to force them to worship pagan gods.

Now that happened about 200 years before this moment in Jesus' life, and Jesus is still seeing Daniel’s prophecy about this abomination as future. Jesus says, “let the reader understand) - he’s not talking about us, Jesus saying readers of the prophecy of Daniel need to pause and understand what is being said. Jesus is saying there is another abomination of desolation that will happen, and that will be the sign that Jerusalem is about to be destroyed.

What does this mean? I think the best thing to do is to take a look at Luke’s parallel passage. Luke 21:20 puts it this way: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies.” Jesus is saying, here’s the sign. Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and then, just as Daniel’s prophecy indicated, the people will desecrate the temple. The surrounding of Jerusalem and the desecration of the temple - those are the signs that the temple’s about to come down. Because when that happens, a period of tribulation begins.

Look what they are to do when they see this sign: “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, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter.”

When they saw the sign, get out of dodge. Jesus is saying it will be safer in the mountains than in the city of Jerusalem. If you’re pregnant - go. If you’re nursing, go. If it’s cold and wet - go. Even if it’s the worst journey you ever have to take, go, because what’s about to happen in Jerusalem will be worse.

Now, historically, Jesus was spot on. In 70 AD Roman Commander (soon to be emperor) Titus led Roman troops into the Temple Mount, and Titus entered the temple and as Josephus puts it: ‘carried their standards into the Temple court and, setting them up opposite the eastern gate, there sacrificed to them, and with rousing acclamations hailed Titus as imperator’

The coming armies and their desecration of the temple appears to be the sign. And knowing historically what happened next helps you understand why Jesus told his disciples to flee as fast as they could. They began slaughtering Jews. Josephus the early Jewish historian records that they were crucifying 500 Jews a day. So many, in fact, that they were running out of wood for crosses. The estimates of deaths of Jews were over 1,000,000 people, which, back then a monstrous number.

Jesus says of this time: “19 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” which I believe is to be taken as a hyperbolic figure of speech, meant to indicate how bad it was. DA Carson makes the point that if you count the deaths per capita, even considering Stalin and Hitler and others - there has never been such a high death rate. In many places where Jews were oppressed, some were spared. When Titus marched on Jerusalem, none were spared.

What’s interesting about that is this: do you know how many Jewish Christians were killed in this massacre? Hardly any. Why? Because the early church had the gospel of Mark, and they were ready. They read the signs and got out on time.

Here, we see where paying close attention to Scripture is a matter of life and death. If you forgot to do your devotions in Mark 13, and 70 AD comes around, you’re in trouble. God has made us to be utterly dependent upon his word. Do you read the Bible? Do you study it?

Now. It’s here that we get a little tricky. Verse 19 uses the word “tribulation.” Take a look at that. And to get the feel for what’s happening, put yourself in the disciples’ shoes. Jesus is speaking of the future. And in verse 19 he speaks of “those days there will be such a tribulation as has not been from the beginning until now.”

I believe Jesus is speaking of a time of tribulation that begins with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but continues all the way up to the present day, and continues with heightening intensity until the return of Christ. He is speaking of the events of 70AD, but he’s speaking beyond that as well.

Now verse 20 indicates that the Lord will not allow this tribulation to go on forever. He will “cut short” the days for the sake of the elect. For his children, he will bring the suffering to an end.

A Savior for the Disciples (24-27). 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation” he’s talking about the age-long tribulation that begins with the temple’s destruction and continues on until the coming of Christ, with increasingly intense birth pains - there will be something else that happens. What is it?

“the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” Now here’s what we’d call the Great Tribulation. Cosmic signs, disorder in the heavens, sun no longer shining. More of this is described in the book of Revelation. What’s going on? Verse 26: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

“They will see.” Though the night will be black, suddenly there will appear Jesus Christ. Glorious, powerful, magnificent, unmistakable. These puny false Christ’s will be seen for whom are. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 says he will be revealed with his mighty angels in flames of fire. He won’t be visible because of daylight, but because of the blazing glory from heaven and the heavenly hosts with him. Every eye will see him.

Can you imagine the sight? Is it too fantastical for you? Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

He comes, he judges, he strikes down the nations, he rules, and he pours out his righteous wrath upon his enemies.

His first coming as a baby was quiet. Only a small number of shepherds were made aware of it. It happened in obscurity. But Jesus’ second coming will be loud, unmistakable, and global. The entire world will see Jesus Christ. His first coming was to die in the place of sinners, and rescue them from the coming judgment; his second coming is to enact judgment upon those who reject him. His first coming has been ignored by so many; his second coming cannot be ignored.

What will he do? 27 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.”

All his children will be saved. Every last one. The angels will gather them from every corner of the globe, wherever they are, and bring them home.

There is a coming day when Jesus reveals himself to the whole world, in judgment upon his enemies and in salvation upon his children.

Some application:

For the unbeliever: Jesus was exactly right about the destruction of Jerusalem. He predicted it 40 years before it happened. He knows the future because he is God. His words are true. And right now, he invites you to repent and believe in the gospel. He went to the cross to die as a payment for sin, rose from the dead, and invites you to trust him. Ask for forgiveness, and he will grant it. Repent, and he will receive you.

For the believer - worship Jesus Christ, and fix your heart and mind on his return. There is a day he will return. It seems crazy. It feels weird. But I’ve said it before: life is more like a fairy tale than you realize. The king will return. He will establish his throne. He will rule forever. Let’s live like it. Be awake. Be alert. Be ready.