Thanks so much for joining us. This program is produced by Heralds of Hope, where our goal is to use media to make disciples. We hope everyone will be a disciple of Jesus, and if you already are, we hope you will be encouraged and grow in your relationship with Him.

Last time we had our first lesson from Mark 13, and today we continue this journey. Mark 13 is an incredible chapter in the Bible. No other book predicts the future as accurately as the Bible, and this chapter predicts many future events. That said, Jesus’ prophecies are not always immediately clear or obvious. It takes humility and wisdom to read, understand, and apply this teaching to our lives.

This will require effort on our part, but since He is our master, we are willing, and thankfully He helps us. Turn to Mark 13 as J Mark shares this lesson with us.

As Christ-followers, the details of the future are hidden from us. However, Scripture has many predictive prophecies that reveal how God will bring human history to its conclusion. Predictive prophecy makes up about one-quarter of Scripture; we ignore it to our peril.

The apostle Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:16-17.  ^“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness…” ALL Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. That should motivate us to study the Scriptures, including the prophetic portions.

One of our goals at Hope for Today is to promote biblical literacy, solid exegesis, and clear applications of Scripture to our lives. With that goal in mind, we continue our study in Mark’s Gospel. Today’s text is Mark 13:14-27, titled “The Coming of the Son of Man.”

¹⁴ “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 

¹⁵ Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 

¹⁶ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 

¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 

¹⁸ And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 

¹⁹ For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 

²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

²¹ “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 

²² For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

²³ But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 

²⁵ the 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 earth to the farthest part of heaven.

The details in this text alert us to specific signs that point to “The Coming of the Son of Man.”

The First DETAIL is,

The Abomination of Desolation

That sounds scary! Where should we go in Scripture to learn about this? Thankfully, Jesus tells us that the prophet Daniel spoke about this. So, Jesus, the Son of God, authenticates Daniel’s writings as the Word of God. Here are the last two verses of Daniel chapter 9.

“And after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war, desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

Without going into much detail on Daniel’s vision, a few observations are in order. The entire period is precisely specified as 70 weeks. Clearly, these are weeks of years. These 70 weeks are divided into three sections: seven weeks, a period of 62 weeks, and a final week.

The beginning of these 70 weeks is stated to be “from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem” (v.25). The end of the seven weeks, plus the sixty-two weeks, or sixty-nine weeks, will be marked by the appearance of Messiah, the Prince. At a later time, after the 69 weeks, Messiah, the Prince, will be ‘cut off’ and Jerusalem will again be destroyed by the people of another prince who is yet to come (v. 26).

After these events, the 70th week will come. The beginning of this final week is marked by the establishing of a firm covenant or treaty between the prince who is to come and the Jewish nation for one week (v. 27). In the middle of this final week, the prince will break the covenant causing the sacrifice to cease and ushering in a time of great wrath (v. 27). Finally, with the full completion of the seventy weeks, there will begin a time of tremendous and unparalleled blessings upon the nation of Israel (v.24). Between the 69^th and 70^th weeks there is an undetermined amount of time.

Jesus’ use of the phrase ” Abomination of Desolation ” means the detestable thing of desolation. It is a person, thing, or event that defiles a holy place and thus causes it to be abandoned, implying God detests this thing or action.

The Romans desecrated the Temple in 70 AD when they razed it to the ground. These facts remind us that many prophecies have a double reference. Supporting this concept, we know that early Christians in Jerusalem fled the city in 70 AD in response to Jesus’ warnings.

Just as in the past, so in the future, Jesus warned about the timing of this coming destruction. I conclude that the prophecy of Daniel’s 70th week is still in the future because Jesus said that this desecration of the Holy Place will be followed by a time of tribulation unlike any previous season and greater than any that will ever occur after it (verse 19).

The warnings of verses 15 through 18 seem to relate more specifically to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The predominant theme seems to be the need for haste. While we may not know or understand all the details of the future, we can be assured that Jesus didn’t speak these words in vain. 

The Next DETAIL is,

The Great Tribulation

In verse 19 of our text, Jesus predicted the severe persecution that will accompany this time of tribulation. “For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.” Daniel also speaks of this time in Daniel 12:1. The prophet Jeremiah calls this event “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:4-10).

This tribulation will follow the breaking of the covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27, which I mentioned earlier. The “prince who is to come” will break his covenant with the Jewish people during Daniel’s final 70^th week and set up an image of himself in the Temple as God. Paul refers to this character as “the man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians two. John calls him the Antichrist in his epistles and the Beast in the book of Revelation.

During this time of unparalleled suffering, false prophets and false messiahs will arise, offering a supposed way out of the troubles. Jesus warns, “Don’t believe them!” Hence, Paul’s warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12.

Just as there were Jewish false prophets between the time of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, they will also persist in the gap between Daniel’s 69^th and 70^th weeks, the time in which we live. False prophets create troubles, and false Christs offer a supposed way out of the troubles. The false message of these deceivers will be accompanied by signs and wonders, so that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. John describes them in Revelation 13.

Jesus warns His listeners, “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.” To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Deception is all around us today; some is subtle, and others are self-explanatory. We must take Jesus’ warning to heart, lest we too be deceived.

The Final DETAIL is,

Coming in the Clouds

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven.”

Mark equates these cosmic disturbances with a time of unprecedented worldwide persecution of God’s ancient, chosen, earthly people – the believing Jews. Jesus states that the powers of heaven will be shaken. The motion of the oceans will be dramatically affected by these disturbances. The normal processes of the universe will be out of balance.

Further, Jesus said the Son of Man will gather His elect “from the tip of the earth to the tip of heaven.” As I understand the Scriptures, these elect are Jewish people who embrace the Messiah. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the church has been removed before this time. This gathering is God’s purpose throughout the ages.

Scripture records Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven in many places. At Jesus’ ascension, a cloud received Him. The attending angels reminded the wondering disciples that He would return as they had seen Him leave. In Paul’s teaching from 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the Church is caught up into the air to meet the Lord in the clouds.

Yes, the Son of Man is coming! He has given us specific signs to look for, and while we may not fully understand all the events or their exact timing, we are repeatedly warned to watch and be prepared for His return. We must heed His warnings.

The Son of Man is coming. Amen. Thanks, J Mark, for sharing this lesson with us. Indeed, we may not understand exactly how the events and details of this chapter will work out, but we can understand enough to know how important it is to be ready. Our lives are not pointless; each person is valuable, and our choices matter. God help us take these things to heart and serve Him with ALL we have.

If you have any questions or would like to contact us for any reason, please do. Here is how you can reach us. Our email address is [email protected]. You can also contact us through our website. Go to Heraldsofhope.org. There, you will find “Contact Us” under the Partner tab at the top right. Click on that to message us directly. We would love to hear from you.

As J Mark shared, I thought about the last verse in Mark 13. While some of these verses are hard to understand, the last one is not. It’s clear and to the point, and it is a good reminder for you and me. Here it is: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”