Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is the World Falling Apart? | Mark | Mark 13

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. If this podcast has been helping you in your walk with God, would you take five seconds to help us? Hop onto Twitter and follow our new Twitter account at TMBT Podcast. If you go there, you can see our latest episodes. You can also follow Keith and I and send us messages. We'd love to follow you back and see what's happening in your life.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Right now we are asking, who is Jesus? Today we are doing something way different than we normally do. If you did not listen to our previous episode, episode 222, about Apocalypse, this episode probably won't make a ton of sense to you. Today we're going to be looking at Mark 13, which is called Jesus's Little Apocalypse. And in our previous episode, we talked about how to read ancient apocalypses. Why? Because ancient apocalypses work very differently than the present modern genre of post-

Starting point is 00:01:04 apocalyptic thriller. A quick recap of the last episode. First of all, apocalypses are rarely about the distant future. They're often about the present or the near future, which is exactly true of this passage we're about to read. They're also not about the end of the world. Again, they're talking about events that happen in real world, ordinary history, again, in this case, in the very near future. That's what Jesus is talking about. Next, apocalypses are designed to unveil the reality behind reality. Their way of saying, you might look at the physical world and think that one thing is happening, but behind that, there's something else happening in the spiritual realm, and the apocalypse unveils what's really happening in the spiritual realm. Next, they are non-literal.

Starting point is 00:01:47 There's lots of images used, but they aren't literal images. They aren't describing literal events. They're symbolic images. They're metaphorical images. Lastly, apocalypses are ethical. The main goal of an apocalypse isn't to tell you about the future. It's to tell you about the future. about how to act in the present and in the near future to give you an ethical point, a moral point about how to live. So we are going to go line by line through Mark 13. This is very different than what we normally do during 10-minute Bible talks. It's usually more of a mix, but we're just going to go line by line through this sucker. It's an interesting passage. I think that you will enjoy this episode. Let's hop in. Mark 13. 1. As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him,

Starting point is 00:02:28 look, teacher, what massive stones, what magnificent buildings. By the way, it always makes me think of a Goldilocks. Like, oh, Grandma, what nice teeth you have, what great belly you have. Anyways, he goes, look at that great building. It's massive. It's got magnificent stones, magnificent structures. Verse 2. Do you see all these great buildings?

Starting point is 00:02:46 replied Jesus. Not one stone here will be left on another. Everyone will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately. Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled? So let's pause for a second. Remember, apocalypses are rarely about the distant future, and this apocalypse is no exception. Right up front, Jesus tells his disciples that the temple is going to be destroyed, and then they ask for more details about that forthcoming destruction.

Starting point is 00:03:20 And this is Jesus's answer to that question. This means that Jesus isn't talking about the distant future. He's not talking about his future return. He's talking about a near future event, which is the destruction of the temple. It'll happen about 40 years after Jesus speaks in 70 AD. And he's going to use apocalyptic language to unveil the meaning of that event. He's telling you behind the scenes, when the temple is destroyed behind the scenes, this is what it means. This is what you need to know. Okay. So is Jesus talking about our future? No, he's not. He's talking about events that would take place in 40 years from the disciples. Verse 5. Jesus said to them, Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, I am he, and will deceive many.

Starting point is 00:04:06 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. Jesus is right. people claimed to be messiahs in 8070 around the time of the temple's destruction. In that exact same period, there were famines, there were earthquakes, and there were several wars. In fact, at that time, there's what was called the War of the Four Emperors. There was a period of time where there were four different Romans vying for the imperial thrones. This was a period of great social and political upheaval. When the temple falls in 8070, it wasn't the only thing happening. So Jesus' description here is actually

Starting point is 00:04:53 very on point. Verse 9, you must be on your guard. You, his disciples, will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them, and the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Again, Jesus is describing near future events and he's unveiling their meaning. He's saying, you'll be arrested and you're going to be tempted to think that you're losing, that this wasn't a part of God's plan, that everything's

Starting point is 00:05:32 falling apart, but that's not the case. God's actually winning. He's allowing you to be arrested so that you can proclaim the gospel to governors and to kings and to many people all over the world. This is all part of God's plan. Verse 12, Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing there where it does not belong, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in

Starting point is 00:06:21 those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers, pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning when God created the world until now and never to be equaled again. Here, Jesus is hearkening back to the time of Daniel and to the prophecies of Daniel. Daniel foretold a day when the temple would be desecrated by Gentile empires. Again, when Rome comes to Israel in 40 years, Jesus is unveiling the truth of what's happening Rome comes to Israel. Desecration is coming, and everyone's got to get out of the city. According to the church historian, Eusebius, Christians did exactly that. When the Romans came, they remembered Jesus' prophecy, and they fled to a little town called Pella. What about Jesus' language when he talks about

Starting point is 00:07:08 unparalleled distress? I mean, surely that's describing the end of the world. Well, not so quick. Remember, Apocalypse use non-literal language. They use symbolic language to make a point. The Bible describes many wars as being a war unparalleled, unlike any other war that had ever happened or would ever happen. And the point isn't to say that that's literally true. The point of it is to say that this is a terrible, and if you read the history of the wars, if you read Josephus, for example, you will come to see that the Jewish rebellion against Rome that took place between 66 and 70 AD was incredibly gruesome and violent. It truly was an awful war. Add to that, that in the middle of it, an emperor dies and causes a civil war and the entire empire of Rome. In that year,

Starting point is 00:07:52 four Caesars come into power in a single year, each one assassinated one after another. I mean, this was a period of unparalleled political turmoil. Let's pick up in verse 20. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time, if anyone looks to you and says, look, here's the Messiah, or look, there he is, don't believe it. For false messias and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So, be on your guard.

Starting point is 00:08:27 I have told you everything ahead of time. So again, Jesus is using non-literal language, like he won by a landslide. That's a phrase from modern speech. It's an idiom, and you know what it means if I say a politician wins by a landslide. He didn't literally win by a literal landslide. Well, Jesus is doing the same thing here. He's saying, look, it's going to get bad. But then he unveils the truth, and he says, this is from God.

Starting point is 00:08:53 Trust him throughout the entire time. Don't get taken in by charlatans. They'll tell you that they know the true way, but don't look to them. Only look to me. I am the true Messiah. Trust God. Mark 1324, and we're going to see this non-symbolic, very expressive language continue. But in those days, following that distress,

Starting point is 00:09:13 and then he's going to quote from the book of Isaiah, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, people will see the son of man, that's Jesus, coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. So here's where things go, super Old Testament on you. Jesus has mashed together several passages to describe the destruction of Jerusalem. And the passages that he's mashing together are passages which describe not just the destruction of

Starting point is 00:09:51 Jerusalem, but also the destruction of a different ancient city, Babylon. And he's making a point here. He's saying that the current city of Jerusalem has actually become Babylon. Babylon was the archetypal city that was set up against God. And he's saying right now the Jerusalem establishment has become Babylon. on. After that, he mashes up Daniel and Zechariah. In the book of Daniel, the son of man is not going down. The son of man is actually going up. And that's what Jesus is describing here. He's not describing his return. He's not talking about him coming back down to earth. Jesus is talking about

Starting point is 00:10:25 his own ascension that after his resurrection, he would ascend to heaven and that during the midst of this event, this turmoil that's happening, he would be ascended in heaven, which certainly he was in 80, 70, and he would be sending out his angels to the four corners of the earth. Now, you've got to know, the Greek word angels is Anglos, okay? That's where we actually get our English word angels. And it doesn't just mean angels. It also means messengers. In other words, Jesus, yet again, is unveiling reality. He's saying, when I ascend, I'm going to send out messengers, which may be angels, but may very well be you and me. We might be the messengers that he is talking about. He says, when I'm ascended, I will send out messengers to every part of the world to announce the gospel,

Starting point is 00:11:06 which is, of course, our calling. So he's saying, you're going to see Jerusalem fall, you're going to see all this political turmoil, and in the midst of it, know that I'm still in charge. I have still ascended on the throne, and I am calling you out with a mission and a purpose to announce the gospel. I can't help but think about our own cultural moment in the midst of this. We're living in a time of maybe unparalleled a political turmoil in America. maybe it is parallel though as you think about it. We've gone through a civil war in this nation. We went through the 60s, which was another time that was incredibly tumultuous. The point is that we can start to think as Christians, oh my gosh, everything is falling apart. And I wonder if Jesus would unveil similar realities to us today. He'd say, don't forget, I've ascended, I am sitting on the throne. It might look like you're losing. It might look like the battle is lost. It might look like you're being thrown into jail, like you're being persecuted, but my purposes are actually being fulfilled.

Starting point is 00:12:00 because I'm going to work through you. Whatever happens, I'm going to work through you as my messenger to announce the gospel to the nations. That's what he did with the disciples during the time of political turmoil, which happened in 8066 to 8070 when the temple fell. That's exactly what Jesus was doing then. And I wonder if that's what Jesus is going to do now in 2021, as we face a similar period of turmoil, a year of terrible disease which has stricken our nation, a year of terrible political turmoil around a very tumultuous election. I wonder if Jesus is doing something similar today with us, and he would say, don't forget,

Starting point is 00:12:38 the son of man has ascended, he is on the throne, though it might seem that the sun has lost its light, the moon has gone out, and everything is falling apart. It has not. I am in charge. So I'll tell you what to do today. Put your trust in him. Don't worry about what you have to say tomorrow or the next day

Starting point is 00:12:54 or who you might be brought in front of. Be faithful to him, trust him. He will give you the words, and he will be with you. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with? Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is the World Falling Apart? | Mark | Mark 13

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