SPEAKER_01: One of the sad realities of living in New England is watching beautiful old church buildings get turned into residential housing or businesses.
SPEAKER_01: It's no surprise that after decades of faithlessness, many churches throughout our region have closed down and sold off their buildings.
SPEAKER_01: And while some are still clinging on today, we're seeing a simple truth.
SPEAKER_01: When a church goes woke, it goes broke.
SPEAKER_01: And it's only a matter of time before those buildings end up on the market as well.
SPEAKER_01: Many of these church buildings were once filled with gospel preaching, spiritual life, and generations of believers.
SPEAKER_01: If you could go back and ask those congregations whether they ever imagined that their church building would one day become an apartment or a storefront, they would have been shocked, even heartbroken.
SPEAKER_01: This drift isn't just in our churches, it's in our nation too.
SPEAKER_01: We've turned away from the principles and values our founding fathers stood for.
SPEAKER_01: And the country we live in today would be unrecognizable to them.
SPEAKER_01: Even entire college campuses, schools once built to train ministers, and shape Christian civilization have been sold off or repurposed.
SPEAKER_01: No one starts an institution dreaming of the day it will close.
SPEAKER_01: Or worse, be handed over to the very ideologies it once stood against.
SPEAKER_01: Time has a way of proving that nothing man builds lasts forever.
SPEAKER_01: Buildings don't last, nations don't last, even the strongest-looking institutions eventually crumble.
SPEAKER_01: The things we think will stand forever often don't.
SPEAKER_01: Now imagine standing with Jesus outside the most magnificent building his disciples had ever seen, the temple in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_01: For them, this wasn't just a landmark, it was the center of their world, solid, permanent, unshakable.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus points to it and he says, Not one stone will be left upon another.
SPEAKER_01: These words would have been shocking.
SPEAKER_01: Like the news of the unsinkable Titanic sinking in 1912.
SPEAKER_01: Naturally, the disciples responded the same way that we would.
SPEAKER_01: In Mark 13, Jesus answers those questions.
SPEAKER_01: Not to stir up fear, not to give us charts, and not to satisfy curiosity, but to assure his people that he is Lord over history.
SPEAKER_01: His word is trustworthy, and his kingdom will outlast everything else.
SPEAKER_01: What he foretold came to pass within that very generation, exactly as he said.
SPEAKER_01: And because he kept his word then, you can trust him now.
SPEAKER_01: This morning we're going to walk through Jesus' prophecy, not as a puzzle about the end of the world, but as a promise of his faithfulness and as a call for us to live watchfully and fruitfully as his people.
SPEAKER_00: But first, let's go to the Lord in prayer.
SPEAKER_01: We come to you this morning humble, seeking your Holy Spirit to open our eyes, open our hearts, to see your words, understand, and be transformed by it.
SPEAKER_01: We ask for your help this morning in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to continue with Mark chapter 13, and we'll be covering the whole chapter this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Mark 13.
SPEAKER_01: And as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings?
SPEAKER_01: Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.
SPEAKER_01: And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately.
SPEAKER_01: Tell us, when will these things be?
SPEAKER_01: And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus began to say to them, See to it that no one deceives you.
SPEAKER_01: Many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and will mislead many.
SPEAKER_01: And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.
SPEAKER_01: Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
SPEAKER_01: For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there will be earthquakes in various places, there will also be famines.
SPEAKER_01: These things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
SPEAKER_01: But see to yourselves, for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, as a witness to them.
SPEAKER_01: And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations, and when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour.
SPEAKER_01: For it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit, 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, and you will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: But 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, and the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house, and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment.
SPEAKER_01: But woe to those who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days, but pray that it may not happen in the winter.
SPEAKER_01: For those days will be a time of tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.
SPEAKER_01: And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
SPEAKER_01: And then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or behold, he is there, do not believe him, for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
SPEAKER_01: But as for you, see, I have told you everything in advance.
SPEAKER_01: 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 that are 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 forth the angels, and will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Now learn the parable from the fig tree.
SPEAKER_01: When its branch has already become tender, it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
SPEAKER_01: Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
SPEAKER_01: Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
SPEAKER_01: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
SPEAKER_01: But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
SPEAKER_01: See to it, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
SPEAKER_01: It is like a man away on a journey, who leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves, each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping.
SPEAKER_01: And what I say to you, I say to all, stay awake.
SPEAKER_01: Let me begin by acknowledging something important.
SPEAKER_01: Christians throughout history have faithfully disagreed on the interpretation of Mark thirteen.
SPEAKER_01: I realize that much of what I'll be presenting today might not fit the way you've been personally approaching this passage.
SPEAKER_01: My hope is that you'll allow me to walk you through an interpretation that I believe is consistent with what the earliest church understood and believed.
SPEAKER_01: Our goal is simple, to read scripture as the original hearers would.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, the safest approach is the one that takes Jesus' words in their original context and at their plain meaning.
SPEAKER_01: All too often, we approach Scripture through the lens of a particular theological system.
SPEAKER_01: Because of those commitments, it's easy, sometimes even unconscious, to read things into the text that aren't actually there.
SPEAKER_01: I make no claim that what I present today is indisputable truth.
SPEAKER_01: But this is the fruit of careful study, prayer, and consideration of multiple perspectives.
SPEAKER_01: And even as Christians, we can disagree on the interpretation of this passage and still maintain fellowship and unity in the body of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So as we dive into Mark 13, let's first consider its immediate context.
SPEAKER_01: Over the past couple of weeks, we've been walking through Mark chapters 11 and 12.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen Jesus enter the temple, curse the fruitless fig tree, expose hypocrisy, pronounce judgment on faithless Israel through the parable of the vineyard, and introduce the coming end of the old order.
SPEAKER_01: He begins pointing to a new temple, a spiritual temple made up of the living stones of his church, with himself as the cornerstone.
SPEAKER_01: The original manuscripts of Scripture had no chapter or verse divisions.
SPEAKER_01: These were added much later for reference.
SPEAKER_01: So Mark 13 is not a new disconnected section.
SPEAKER_01: It's a direct continuation of everything happening in chapters 11 and 12.
SPEAKER_01: To understand it rightly, we must read it in light of Jesus' teaching and judgment in those chapters.
SPEAKER_01: Immediately, in the first verses of Mark 13, the temple is the central focus.
SPEAKER_01: One of the disciples says to Jesus, Behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
SPEAKER_01: Seems like a reasonable thing to say.
SPEAKER_01: After all, the temple was magnificent, truly awe-inspiring.
SPEAKER_01: When we see such an impressive structure, we can't help but to marvel at it.
SPEAKER_01: I know I get that same giddy feeling every time I go to Gillette Stadium.
SPEAKER_01: But notice Jesus' response Do you see these great buildings?
SPEAKER_01: Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.
SPEAKER_01: The disciples marvel at the temple's grandeur, but Jesus delivers a shocking prophecy of its destruction, a buzzkill of monumental proportions.
SPEAKER_01: Naturally, the disciples cut straight to the heart of the matter, asking in verse four, tell us when will these things be?
SPEAKER_01: And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?
SPEAKER_01: This question frames the rest of the chapter.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus' prophecy of the temple's destruction sets the interpretive lens for everything that follows in Mark 13.
SPEAKER_01: He is answering their burning question.
SPEAKER_01: When will this happen?
SPEAKER_01: Make no mistake, Jesus' declaration about the temple was devastating.
SPEAKER_01: It would have been world-changing for them to hear that the center of their religious and national life would be torn down.
SPEAKER_01: And his answer is meant to prepare them for what's coming, to ground them in truth, and to give them assurance of God's sovereign plan even in the midst of upheaval.
SPEAKER_01: Notice carefully that this conversation takes place outside the temple grounds, on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple.
SPEAKER_01: One could argue that symbolically, this signals a departure from the old covenant structure.
SPEAKER_01: Everything they thought was permanent, the temple, the sacrificial system, even the institution of Israel itself was about to be overturned.
SPEAKER_01: Their world, the very foundation of their faith and identity, would be shaken.
SPEAKER_01: But here is the comforting and eternal truth.
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus' prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction was fulfilled exactly as he said, we can trust him completely, stand firm in every trial, and live fruitfully as citizens of his unshakable kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus kept his word in the first century, so you can trust his word in the 21st.
SPEAKER_01: This is why Mark 13 is not a puzzle for the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: It's a testimony to Jesus' faithfulness, a reminder that his promises are sure, and a call for us to live wisely and fruitfully as his people, no matter what shakes the world around us.
SPEAKER_01: Hearing Jesus' shocking words about the temple naturally led the disciples to ask the question that drives the rest of this chapter: a question about timing and the signs that would accompany what he had just foretold.
SPEAKER_01: Specifically, they ask two things in one breath.
SPEAKER_01: When will these things be?
SPEAKER_01: And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?
SPEAKER_01: Notice this isn't a question about the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Their focus is squarely on the temple and its coming destruction.
SPEAKER_01: The particular end mentioned by Jesus is completed before this generation passed away.
SPEAKER_01: That is, the generation to whom Jesus was speaking.
SPEAKER_01: What follows throughout the rest of Mark 13 is Jesus answering the very question they asked.
SPEAKER_01: Reading the text straightforwardly means keeping our eyes on the temple's destruction as we encounter some of the more mysterious language in the chapter.
SPEAKER_01: When we read phrases like, one who endures to the end will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: A time of tribulation such as not occurred since the beginning of the creation, or never will.
SPEAKER_01: Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved.
SPEAKER_01: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.
SPEAKER_01: And they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, sending angels, gathering his elect from the four winds.
SPEAKER_01: It's understandable why some readers think Jesus is speaking about the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Phrases like this stand out to us, especially because we Christians naturally focus on the end times.
SPEAKER_01: Some become obsessed with charts, timelines, and speculating about the second coming.
SPEAKER_01: Others may adopt a passive attitude toward the decay and moral collapse around them, reasoning Jesus is coming soon, so why bother?
SPEAKER_01: It's like rearranging chairs on the deck of the sinking Titanic.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not how God calls us to live.
SPEAKER_01: If there's one thing Mark has made abundantly clear, it's that Jesus cares deeply about faithfulness in the present moment.
SPEAKER_01: He calls his people to remain faithful, fruitful, and to steward what God has entrusted to them, and to stand firm in their obedience, even amid trials.
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to figure out the timing of the future.
SPEAKER_01: We simply trust the one who holds it.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus isn't asking you to decode prophecy charts.
SPEAKER_01: Whether you're young, aging, or approaching the end of your days.
SPEAKER_01: So as we read Mark 13, encountering phrases that seem mysterious or dramatic, we must anchor ourselves in what Scripture clearly teaches and approach the less clear elements with humility.
SPEAKER_01: And in this chapter, there is one verse that serves as the linchpin, the key to interpreting everything else.
SPEAKER_01: Verse thirty.
SPEAKER_01: Is speaking about these things, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
SPEAKER_01: And he assures us that his word is true.
SPEAKER_01: Keep that verse in mind as we unpack the historical significance of these prophecies and see God's faithfulness in action.
SPEAKER_01: In verses five through eight, Jesus describes false messiahs, wars, earthquakes, and famines, but not as signs of the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: They are signs of the end of an era, the closing of the old covenant age, and the imminent destruction of the temple.
SPEAKER_01: The disciples had asked when the temple would fall, and Jesus begins his answer by warning, see to it that no one deceives you.
SPEAKER_01: When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, he is speaking directly to his first century disciples.
SPEAKER_01: These warnings are for the very generation that asked the question.
SPEAKER_01: These signs, Jesus says, are the beginning of birth pains, not the end of history, but the beginning of the end of Jerusalem as they knew it.
SPEAKER_01: Many modern Christians read these verses and assume they refer to our future.
SPEAKER_01: As one commentator wisely notes, much of today's prophetic hysteria is driven by generational provincialism, that is, the belief that nothing has prophetic significance unless it happens to our generation.
SPEAKER_01: Yet when we look at the historical record, it becomes clear that the signs Jesus described were fulfilled precisely in the decades leading up to seventy AD.
SPEAKER_01: The Jewish historian Josephus records that during Nero's reign, impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them, performing supposed signs in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_01: The Roman historian Tacitus describes the same era as filled with disturbances, insurrections, and revolts throughout the empire, from Germany to Africa to Armenia.
SPEAKER_01: Judea itself was a powder keg of rebellion.
SPEAKER_01: These were exactly the kinds of wars and rumors of wars Jesus said would occur within that generation.
SPEAKER_01: Famines also marked that period.
SPEAKER_01: Acts eleven mentions a famine over all the world.
SPEAKER_01: And Josephus describes starvation in Jerusalem during Roman's siege.
SPEAKER_01: And earthquakes were also frequent.
SPEAKER_01: Scripture records several, and historians such as Seneca testified to widespread seismic activity, including the massive quake in Pompeii in sixty two AD.
SPEAKER_01: Even astrological phenomena such as Halley's Comet in sixty six AD were interpreted as ominous signs.
SPEAKER_01: In short, every sign Jesus gave leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled in the lifetime of his hearers.
SPEAKER_01: So what does that mean for us?
SPEAKER_01: It means we shouldn't panic when we see wars, disasters, or social upheaval today.
SPEAKER_01: The news thrives on fear, but Christians are anchored in the sovereignty of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Our peace doesn't depend on the stability of nations or institutions, but on the faithfulness of the one who keeps his promises.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus then tells his disciples that persecution will come, their persecution.
SPEAKER_01: They will deliver you, you will be beaten, you will stand before governors, you will be hated.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a prophecy to a distant future generation, but to the apostles and the early church.
SPEAKER_01: And indeed, from Acts onward, tribulation came swiftly.
SPEAKER_01: Acts eight speaks of a great persecution in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_01: Believers were scattered, arrested, flogged, imprisoned, even killed.
SPEAKER_01: Paul and John both describe themselves as sharers in this tribulation.
SPEAKER_01: Yet Jesus also promised, the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations.
SPEAKER_01: This does not mean the entire globe in our modern sense, but the known world of the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_01: And that is exactly what happened.
SPEAKER_01: Paul could say in Colossians that the gospel had been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and in Romans that its voice had gone out to the ends of the world.
SPEAKER_01: This early fulfillment in no way replaces the Great Commission.
SPEAKER_01: Rather, it shows that Jesus' words in Mark 13 were already being fulfilled in the apostolic era.
SPEAKER_01: In verse 14, Jesus references the abomination of desolation and adds, let the reader understand.
SPEAKER_01: A clear pointer to Daniel's prophecy about the judgment coming upon Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_01: Luke makes this explicit.
SPEAKER_01: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Jerusalem was surrounded by armies before seventy AD.
SPEAKER_01: And early Christians did flee, likely to Pella, as church historian Eusebius notes.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus' instructions to flee to the mountains only make sense in a local first century context.
SPEAKER_01: If this were a global end-of-the-world event, there would be nowhere to run.
SPEAKER_01: But for first century Judeans, it was a command that literally saved lives.
SPEAKER_01: We see other similar examples of this in other parts of scripture, such as when Lot and his family escaped to the mountains in Genesis 19, or Rahab warning the two spies to go to the hill country in Joshua II.
SPEAKER_01: This is a testament to how God cares for his people by warning them ahead of time.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' words here in Mark thirteen, he doesn't call his followers to heroically die on the temple steps.
SPEAKER_01: He tells them to flee.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes faith looks like staying.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes faith looks like wisely leaving, unhealthy, sinful, or dangerous situations.
SPEAKER_01: It's not cowardice to seek safety or help.
SPEAKER_00: In this particular case, it was obedience to Christ's wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: Regarding the abomination itself, theories vary, but all fit the context of the temple's corruption and judgment.
SPEAKER_01: One theory has to do with the zealots' desecration of the temple during the siege, turning the holy place into a fortress, installing an illegitimate high priest and committing atrocities inside the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_01: Another theory has to do with the Roman legions displaying pagan worship and offering sacrifices in the temple courts.
SPEAKER_01: Another alternative theory has to do with the corrupt priesthood itself, whose rejection of Christ rendered their sacrifices abominable.
SPEAKER_01: Whichever precise moment fulfilled it, the point remains.
SPEAKER_01: God judged the temple because it had become defiled, just as he judged Solomon's temple before.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus, as the true high priest, pronounced his verdict.
SPEAKER_01: Do you see these great buildings?
SPEAKER_01: Not one stone will be left upon another.
SPEAKER_01: History confirmed his words exactly.
SPEAKER_01: All this detail matters because it shows that Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled down to the very stone.
SPEAKER_01: This wasn't about some rebuilt temple.
SPEAKER_01: Wasn't about some rebuilt temple in some future generation.
SPEAKER_01: It was about the defilement of the existing one in Jesus' day.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is warning his disciples of what's to come.
SPEAKER_01: As he says in verse 23, but as for you, see, I have told you everything in advance.
SPEAKER_01: This warning was to preserve the lives of God's people during a catastrophic event in history.
SPEAKER_01: And all of these things came to pass in this generation, just as Jesus said it would in verse 30.
SPEAKER_01: Everything unfolded exactly as he said.
SPEAKER_01: That means you can trust him today.
SPEAKER_01: You can trust him in trial.
SPEAKER_01: You can trust him in hardship.
SPEAKER_01: You can trust him in uncertainty.
SPEAKER_01: You can trust him in suffering.
SPEAKER_01: Fulfilled prophecy is God's way of saying, My word is sure.
SPEAKER_01: My promises never fail.
SPEAKER_01: My kingdom cannot be shaken.
SPEAKER_01: So while the events of 70 AD are behind us, the call of this passage remains very present.
SPEAKER_01: Be discerning.
SPEAKER_00: Remain faithful.
SPEAKER_01: Guard the gospel for future generations.
SPEAKER_01: Stand firm, because the king who kept his word then will keep his word now.
SPEAKER_01: In verses twenty four through twenty-seven, we encounter dramatic cosmic imagery, darkened suns, falling stars, shaking heavens, and the Son of Man coming on the clouds.
SPEAKER_01: To modern readers, this sounds like astrophysics and the end of the universe.
SPEAKER_01: But to Jesus' original audience, it was familiar prophetic language.
SPEAKER_01: They would not have taken it as the sky literally collapsing.
SPEAKER_01: They would have recognized it as covenant judgment imagery, the same symbolic language the prophets used repeatedly.
SPEAKER_01: Throughout the Old Testament, Isaiah thirteen, Ezekiel thirty two, Joel two, Amos five, all these are examples in which cosmic signs represent the downfall of nations, the collapse of political powers, and God's judgment upon his covenant.
SPEAKER_01: When Babylon fell, the prophet said its stars went dark.
SPEAKER_01: When Egypt was judged, the heavens were shaken, yet the world did not end.
SPEAKER_01: Prophetic language used heaven and earth to describe rulers and kingdoms, not the physical universe.
SPEAKER_01: Even in Genesis, when Joseph dreams of the sun, moon, and stars bowing to him, Jacob, his father, immediately interprets the symbols.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed bow down?
SPEAKER_01: Not once does he think astronomical bodies will literally obey Joseph.
SPEAKER_01: The imagery signified people, power, and authority.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus uses the same prophetic vocabulary.
SPEAKER_01: He isn't describing the destruction of the cosmos, but the collapse of Israel's old covenant world, centered on the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system.
SPEAKER_01: When that system fell in 70 AD, the sun, moon, and stars of Israel's national life were extinguished.
SPEAKER_01: The phrase coming in the clouds sounds to many like the second coming.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus is echoing Daniel 713, where the Son of Man comes to the ancient of days, not from heaven to earth.
SPEAKER_01: The direction matters.
SPEAKER_01: It describes enthronement, not descent.
SPEAKER_01: In Daniel, the coming with the clouds is royal judicial language.
SPEAKER_01: God exalted his Messiah and gave him dominion and glory.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is saying that through the judgment on Jerusalem, his kingship would be publicly vindicated.
SPEAKER_01: The destruction of the temple was a visible historical confirmation that Jesus, not the priesthood, not the Sanhedrin, was the true and final authority over God's people.
SPEAKER_01: Scripture often speaks of God coming in judgment even when no physical descent occurs.
SPEAKER_01: God came down at Babel, at Sinai, and in the prophets, all without literal bodily appearances.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus himself says he is present where two or three gather, though he remains bodily at the Father's right hand.
SPEAKER_01: Likewise, we affirm Christ's real presence in the Lord's Supper, though not physically.
SPEAKER_01: In the same way, Jesus coming in the clouds in seventy AD was a real act of judgment and vindication without being his final bodily return.
SPEAKER_01: Verse twenty-seven describes the Son of Man sending out his angels to gather his elect from the four winds.
SPEAKER_01: This too sounds global and final, but the word for angels simply means messengers.
SPEAKER_01: The New Testament frequently uses it for human messengers of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: After Jesus' enthronement, how did he gather his elect?
SPEAKER_01: Through the preaching of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: This is exactly what we see in Acts and in Paul's letters, a worldwide gathering of God's people from every corner of the Roman world.
SPEAKER_01: The four winds is prophetic shorthand for the ends of the known world.
SPEAKER_01: The same phrase used in Daniel 7 and Zechariah 2.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul could already say before 70 AD that the gospel had gone into all the world, into every creature under heaven.
SPEAKER_01: This gathering was already well underway as the old covenant world collapsed and the new covenant church expanded.
SPEAKER_01: This cosmic imagery isn't about the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: It's the start of something new, a new era, a new temple, not a temple of stones built with human hands, but of living stones, God's people built on Christ, the cornerstone.
SPEAKER_01: If Jesus' words about Jerusalem came true exactly as he said, down to the last stone, then we can trust every promise he makes.
SPEAKER_01: That's the point of this passage for us today.
SPEAKER_01: When the powers of the earth are shaken, God strengthens his people.
SPEAKER_01: When the world feels unstable, his kingdom remains unshakable.
SPEAKER_01: When earthly structures fail, temples, institutions, systems, Christ remains our sure foundation.
SPEAKER_01: So for Christians who feel the shaking of life, declining health, the loss of dear friends, cultural anxiety, this passage is meant to build your confidence.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus isn't predicting the end of hope.
SPEAKER_01: He's proving the reliability of his word.
SPEAKER_01: He does exactly what he says he will do.
SPEAKER_01: For those who belong to Christ, that is a message of deep comfort.
SPEAKER_01: For those who do not, it's a sober warning.
SPEAKER_01: You do not want to stand against the living God.
SPEAKER_01: The judgment that fell on Jerusalem in 70 AD is only a glimpse, a small foretaste of the final judgment that awaits all who reject Christ.
SPEAKER_01: If you do not have peace with God today, turn to Christ in faith.
SPEAKER_01: Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: None of us is righteous, not even one.
SPEAKER_00: And the wages of sin is death, eternal separation, and eternal judgment.
SPEAKER_00: But the good news is this.
SPEAKER_01: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_01: His blood alone can wash away sin.
SPEAKER_01: His resurrection alone can give life.
SPEAKER_00: Believe in him, trust in him, and you will be forgiven and saved.
SPEAKER_01: And for those who are already in Christ, we do not stand on fragile structures that crumble.
SPEAKER_01: We stand on Christ, the rock of ages, unchanging, unmovable, and eternal.
SPEAKER_01: The one who kept his word in the first century will keep his word in every century.
SPEAKER_01: And because his kingdom cannot be shaken, you can live faithfully, fruitfully, and fearlessly today.
SPEAKER_01: In verses 28 through 31, Jesus brings us back to the fig tree, back to the very symbol he used in chapter 11 to represent fruitless Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Just as the budding fig tree tells you summer is near, these signs told the disciples that judgment was near.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus gives the key statement that holds the whole chapter together.
SPEAKER_01: Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
SPEAKER_01: Every time Mark uses the phrase this generation, it refers to the people standing in front of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: If Jesus didn't mean that generation, then his prophecy failed.
SPEAKER_01: And he can't be trusted.
SPEAKER_01: But the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD shows the opposite.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus' words came true, every single one of them.
SPEAKER_01: This chapter is one of the greatest apologetics for the reliability of Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: It shuts the mouth of every skeptic who says Jesus was wrong about the future.
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't wrong.
SPEAKER_00: He was right, right down to the letter.
SPEAKER_01: And because he kept the hard promises, you can trust him to keep the tender promises.
SPEAKER_01: He keeps his promise to forgive you.
SPEAKER_01: He keeps his promise to raise your body from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: He keeps his promise never to leave you nor forsake you.
SPEAKER_01: The Jesus who proved himself in the first century can be trusted with your final breath.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus says no one knows the day or the hour, he's not suddenly switching topics to the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: He's still talking about the same event: the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
SPEAKER_01: The early believers knew it was coming, but they didn't know the exact moment Rome's armies would strike.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus gives the only command that matters.
SPEAKER_00: Stay awake, not make charts, not scan the skies, not panic at every headline, but rather stay awake, be faithful, live ready.
SPEAKER_01: And though this passage was fulfilled in 70 AD, that call to watchfulness is for every disciple in every generation.
SPEAKER_01: To stay awake means don't drift spiritually, don't grow indifferent even in your later years.
SPEAKER_01: And don't assume that your ministry is behind you.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you may feel that you are in the fourth watch of the night, the last stretch of the journey.
SPEAKER_01: But hear this clearly, Jesus still has work for you.
SPEAKER_01: Your prayers matter.
SPEAKER_01: Your encouragement matters.
SPEAKER_01: Your hospitality matters.
SPEAKER_01: Your wisdom matters.
SPEAKER_01: Your investment in younger believers matters.
SPEAKER_01: Faithfulness in the final chapters of life is one of the loudest testimonies to the power of Christ's kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: We can look to passages like Mark thirteen and be strengthened in our faith.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said it, it happened, therefore, every promise in the Bible is trustworthy.
SPEAKER_01: We belong to the risen king who rules history.
SPEAKER_01: With the old temple judged and removed, the new covenant temple, the church has taken its place, and this temple will never fall.
SPEAKER_01: Kingdoms shake, culture shift, denominations crumble, but Jesus' kingdom is unshakable.
SPEAKER_01: This should be an enormous encouragement to us all.
SPEAKER_01: Even if it seems like our numbers are small, Christ's kingdom is ever growing.
SPEAKER_01: He is still building his house, stone by living stone.
SPEAKER_01: Even though Mark thirteen was fulfilled in seventy AD, its moral weight remains.
SPEAKER_01: Be alert, guard your heart, steward your days wisely, serve the Lord until he calls you home.
SPEAKER_01: And remember, you are not done.
SPEAKER_01: If you are alive, you still have a mission to carry out.
SPEAKER_01: Mark thirteen isn't a puzzle about the end of the world.
SPEAKER_01: It's a public declaration of Jesus' authority and the vindication of his word.
SPEAKER_01: Jerusalem fell, the temple collapsed, the old age ended, exactly as Jesus said.
SPEAKER_01: And now the everlasting kingdom of Christ is advancing, quiet as a seed, sure as a sunrise, unstoppable as the king who reigns.
SPEAKER_00: So what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: We trust his word.
SPEAKER_00: If he kept his promise in 70 AD, he will keep every promise to you.
SPEAKER_00: Stand firm.
SPEAKER_00: The world may shake, but his kingdom never will.
SPEAKER_00: Stay awake.
SPEAKER_01: Your king has given you work to do until he calls you home.
SPEAKER_01: And here is your bedrock assurance as you leave today.
SPEAKER_01: The Jesus who proved his word in the first century will keep his word in the 21st.
SPEAKER_01: And he will keep his word to you in your final breath and forevermore.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: We praise you that you are a God who is reigning now, that you have given us a hope.
SPEAKER_01: You've given us assurance.
SPEAKER_01: You've given us your son Jesus, who has secured salvation for us to all who believe.
SPEAKER_01: Let us cling to that gospel and look to you, standing firm, being alert, and being faithful and fruitful in the days that you have given us.
SPEAKER_01: It's in Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.