In The Word
Read: Mark 13:1-23
Things to Come
13 As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, look! What wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things come about, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and they will mislead many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 “But be on your guard; for they will hand you over to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 And when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
14 “Now when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—let the reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. 16 And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter.19 For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. 20 And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; 22 for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. 23 But beware; I have told you everything in advance.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
God knows everything. Most of us want to know what will happen in the future, what will happen tomorrow, next week, next year, and in the next generation. The good news is that the One True Living God knows exactly what will happen. The disciples, no different from the rest of us, wanted to know how they could know when the end time was near. So, they asked Jesus.
First, the Lord warned them about being misled, about listening to anyone other than His Word about these things. He told them about the signs that would signal the beginning of that time. Next, He admonished them to be on guard, to pay attention, because the end times would mean that His true followers would be hated and imprisoned for His name’s sake as a testimony to those who did not know Him.
We are to endure difficult times. When those times come, we are not to worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit will speak through us. His Word will be proclaimed to all the nations in order that all have the opportunity to know Him and follow Him and His teachings. He shortened those days so that we could endure them. Many want to argue about the end times, whether we will be caught up in the air with Him before tribulation, during tribulation or after tribulation. We don’t know those details, but we serve the One that does. Let’s live for Him today, ready to endure and go through whatever His will is for our lives, trusting in Him and His timing.