History is going somewhere!

Mark 13:24-32

Jesus told his disciples: “During the days after this trouble comes, ‘The sun will grow dark. And the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky. And everything in the sky will be changed.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)

“Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth. “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come. I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed. “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows.

Food for thought!

The Gospel of Mark, chapter 13 is one of the most difficult chapters in the New Testament for a modern reader to understand. That is because it is one of the most Jewish chapters in the Bible. From beginning to end it is thinking in terms of Jewish history and Jewish ideas. All through it Jesus is using categories and pictures which were very familiar to the Jews of his day, but which are very strange, and indeed, unknown, to many of us today.

This said, it is not good to disregard this chapter because it is the source of many ideas about the second coming of Jesus. The difficulty about the doctrine of the second coming is that nowadays people are apt either completely to disregard it as irrelevant or to be so completely unbalanced about it that they get to the point of fixing dates for the end of the world.

In this passage the one thing that we must retain is the fact that Jesus did foretell that he would come again. The imagery we can disregard. What is important to note is that, as Jesus told us many times, history is going somewhere; one day we are going to leave this life; life as we know it will one day end; you and I will die some day. And our death is the end of our world; my end of the world will be my death; your death is the end of your world. For that reason, we do well to leave each day in light of death, by being our best and by doing the best we can. How? By carrying out our ordinary duties extraordinarily well.

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. Let us make David's prayer our prayer, “Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.” (Ps. 39:4)

Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You’re just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, “I am but a foreigner here on earth,” (Psalm 119:19) and Peter explained, “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth.” (1 Peter 1:17).

The Bible is clear: “Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.” (Psalm 119:147;5:3). God warns us to not get too attached to what’s around us because it is temporary. We’re told, “Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.” (Psalm 34:1)

But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father.

Jesus says that he does not know the day or the hour when he will come again. There were things which even Jesus left without questioning in the hand of his Father. There can be no greater warning and rebuke to those of us that work out dates and timetables as to when Jesus will come again, or when the world will end. Surely it is nothing less than blasphemy for us to inquire into that of which our Lord consented to be ignorant