Mark 13

This is probably the most misused text in the entire Bible. A very common interpretation is that Mark (as well as Matthew 24 and Luke 21) are speaking about the end of the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mark, as well as Matthew and Luke record Jesus telling the Jews of his day that in 70 A.D. the temple will be destroyed by the Roman army (Titus). I will attempt to make that case. The main problem people have when reading this text, at least it seems to me, is that they throw reason, logic and grammar out the window and usually skip a few thousand years to make an application. Just a reminder, Jesus was speaking to his disciples, not us. I urge those who read this to drop their preconceptions and let the text speak for itself. Here is the context.

First, it is important to know that immediately preceding Jesus' watching the widow's offering He uttered the following two statements.

1. He condemned the Pharisees, denouncing them as "sons of hell" (Mt. 23:15) and pronouncing upon them "all the blood" of the righteous shed on earth (Mt. 23:31-35). These were the "keepers" of the Hebrew system. Most Jews would consider their fall the end of the Jewish world.

2. He declared the house of Judaism "desolate" and "forsaken" (Mt. 23:36-39) This is the terminology Jeremiah and Ezekiel used to warn their contemporaries of the Babylonian captivity and destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 19:8; Lam. 1:4; Ezek. chapter 8-11).

After observing the widow's offering, Jesus preached the alarming sermon of Death and Life (Jn. 12:20-50). He agonized over his own impending death (Jn. 12:27). "Now is judgment of the world (cosmos)," He said that the ruler of the world would be cast out (John 12:31). The word cosmos in Greek can mean the order, system, the establishment and very often does. Is this what his disciples understood? It was very plain to the apostles that Jesus was predicting the end of the current Jewish establishment. Matthew records that as Jesus left the temple his disciples came "to point out the buildings of the temple," (Mt. 24:1). Mark and Luke tell us that they spoke to Jesus about how beautiful they were. I won't go into a description of the temple during the time of Jesus for lack of time but it was a magnificent structure built by Herod. When Jesus predicted that "not one stone will be left on top of another" it is not surprising that his apostles asked "Tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign of your coming at the closing of the age?"(Mt. 24:3; Mk.13:4).

Just a note on this. The New American Standard Version again has a bad translation on this. They have it "the end of the world." That is incorrect. The KJV and the ESV are correct. It is the "end of the age." That is, the end of the Jewish age. Not the end of the world. Notice:

3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately,saying, Tell us,when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming,and of the end of the world? NASV

They have it translated the "end of the word" which is incorrect.

Now examine the New English Standard and King James Versions.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" Mt. 24:3 English Standard Version

Now the King James Version

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" KJV Mt. 24:3

Jesus plainly stated that the end of the Jewish age (as in the Old Testament) was upon them and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem will be the sign the Apostles were seeking.

Jesus was leaving the temple. Listen to what Jesus has to say.

  1As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"2And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.

Jesus said that the temple was going to be destroyed. Keep on reading and Jesus will tell His disciples when that was going to happen.

30"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place___V. 30

Everything between v.1 and v.30 was going to happen before the people he was speaking to passed away. The absolute of verse 30 is inescapable in any interpretation. In verse 5 Jesus told his disciples that they would see all of these things (i.e. “take heed” look for yourselves).

The Disciples Two Fold Question 13:3-4

 "3As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately,4"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?

Verses 3-4__They have now changed their location to the Mount of Olives. They want to know when "these things" (i.e. the destruction of the temple Jesus just spoke of in v.2) will happen. They also want to know "what the sign will be" that they are about to be fulfilled. What the disciples wanted was a sign, sure sure way to know when the events were to take place.

Warnings against deceivers and false signs at the end

13:5-8

(This is a terrible translation in my view, i.e. that "See to it" should be translated "you all will see." See comments on verse 5.

 "5And 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 will mislead many.7"When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; 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 merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Five tokens are here given, to which the

Lord directs the attention of his disciples and they were to personally see these things. (1) The rise of false prophets;

(2) wars and rumors of wars; (3) the rising of nation against nation;

( 4 ) earthquakes; (5) famines

Verse 5___ It is hard to see this in English but Jesus tells the disciples in this discourse when the things spoken of are going to happen.

5ο δε ιησους αποκριθεις αυτοις ηρξατο λεγειν βλεπετε μη τις υμας πλανηση

βλέπω (blepō 991)
1. see -est, -eth, -ing; seen; saw, -est
to use the eyes; to see, look; used of the act of seeing, even though nothing is seen; to observe accurately with desire; hence, of mental vision, implying more contemplation than ὁράω 

Anything under discussion in this chapter the disciples were going to be able to "see" ( You all will see, βλεπετε).

Verse 6___There will be many who will come claiming they have the authority of Jesus (in his name) but the disciples are not to be mislead. This is a theme repeated over and over in the New Testament. We can name many examples. Simon Sorcerer of Acts the 8th chapter was doing miracles in the name of Jesus. In Acts 20:28 ff. Apostle Paul warns of false teachers invading the flock. There were those wolves in sheep's clothing. John says these false teachers had invaded the church during his life time (1st John 2:19ff). The disciples are to watch for these false teachers.

Josephus says that in the reign of
Claudius (who died A,D. 54), the land was overwhelmed with deceivers
who pretended to be the Christ, The names and abortive efforts of several
of these deceivers are given by Josephus and other historians.

Verse 7___There have been wars and rumors of wars as long as there has been a planet earth. But these Hebrew Christians were hearing things. There were three threats of war against the Jews by Caligula, Claudius, and Nero; of the first which Josephus says, “that it would have brought extermination to the Jewish nation had it not been for Caligula’s death.

Jesus is telling his disciples because they hear these things that does not mean the end is near.

Nation rising against nation___ Bear in mind the massacres of

Caesarea, between Syrians and Jews, in which 20,000 of the latter fell,

while in Syria almost every city was divided into two armies, which stood

opposed to one another as deadly enemies; the quick succession of the

five emperors in Rome within a few years, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius,

Vespasian, and the tumults connected therewith in wider and narrower

circles. Wars were in Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and throughout

the whole Roman empire.

Verse 8___ Every word of this verse was fulfilled in the 1st century before the temple was destroyed.

The principal earthquakes occurring between
this prophecy and the destruction of Jerusalem were, ( 1 ) a great earthquakein Crete, A.D. 46 or 47; ( 2 ) one at Rome on the day when Nero assumed the manly toga, A.D. 51; (3) one at Apamaea in Phrygia, mentioned by Tacitus, A.D. 53; ( 4 ) one at Laodicea in Phrygia, A.D. 60;
( 5 ) one in Campania.-

The Bible mentions the famines of the 1st Century.

One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. Acts 11:28

The above text (the prophecy of Agabus) is confirmed by Josephus and others confirm this famine did happen.

Agabus prophesied a great famine in Acts 11:28. "And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth [a severe famine] throughout the whole world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar."
The first important thing to note about this prophecy is that the Bible itself confirms that the prophesied famine did occur just as Agabus prophesied "...which came to pass..."
Tacitus writing in AD 109 and Eusebius (AD 260–340) also confirm this famine taking place during the reign of Claudius Caesar.
Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, Chapter 2, Paragraph 1, Line 1, Paragraph 3, Line 37, and Paragraph 5, Lines 51–53, states the following with regard to this prophecy by Agabus:
"...Helena, queen of Adiabene [who was queen during the period of AD 66–70]...[during the time of] Claudius Caesar...Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cypress, to bring a cargo of dried figs; and as soon as they were come back, and brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it...and when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to the principal men in Jerusalem..."
In the footnotes of Josephus, the following additional supportive information is given.
"...but of this terrible famine itself in Judea...Dr. Hudson's note here:–This (says he) is that famine foretold by Agabus, Acts 11:28; which happened when Claudius was consul the fourth time..."
also,
"...Scaliger says upon Eusebius...there happened a great famine in Judea. Whence it is plain that this famine continued for many years...this famine fortold by Agabus, happened upon the 5th, 6th, and 7th years of Claudius, as says Valesius on Eusib.2.12.

When the disciples see these things, it is only the beginning of suffering that is about to come (birth pangs).

Warnings of Persecution and Strife and a call to Steadfastness

13:9-13


 9"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you 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"The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.11"When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
  12"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"You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.14"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.

This is a direct warning to the disciples. In the Acts of the Apostles we have the best commentary on this announcement (Matt. 10:17, 18). The martyrdoms and persecutions have ever called attention to the religion of Christ, and opened ways for its promulgation.

A Hard Road before Them
  16"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.17"But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. Matthew 10:16-18

Most Bible students realize the eventual fate of the disciples (Apostles) so it is not necessary to spend a lot of time on this.

Verse 10___"The gospel must be preached to all the nations." According to the book of Colossians it was preached to all the world.

  5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.  6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
Colossians 1:5-6

The gospel came to all the world in the life time of Paul.

Verse 11__In John 14:16 Jesus promised the disciples that after he left he would send them a helper.

16"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; John 14:16

In our verse (11) Jesus promises that helper again (the Holy Spirit). In this promise Jesus says that when they are led before a court the Holy Spirit will help defend them. That is exactly what happened in the case of Stephen (Acts 6:10). That promise was fulfilled many times in the NT.

Verse 12___ . As there is nothing that excites such love as the gospel when intelligently received, so there is nothing that occasions such hate as this same gospel when passionately rejected. In that reception or rejection the heart of the heart is concerned. In missionary lands this is literally fulfilled today, as we all know.

Verse 13___ The disciples were hated because of Jesus. Stephen was stoned to death. Paul was taken before many courts. The text says that they must endure to be saved.

Verse 14___ When they see Titus and the Roman army they are to flee (Jewish Christians) to the mountains of Judea. The Abomination and Desolation Jesus speaks of here is the fulfillment of Daniel 9:26-27.

The abomination is:

The Jews will use the Romans to kill the Christ.

The desolation is:

Jesus will use the Romans to destroy the temple and the Jews__thus fulfilling Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13.




15"The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house;16and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.17"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
  18"But pray that it may not happen in the winter.
19"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.

Verse 15-17___Jesus warns the disciples as to how it will be when Jerusalem is under siege. It will come on them fast and there will not be time to prepare. Josephus records as to how the people in Jerusalem had no food and many starved to death. Not a good time for a mother carrying child.

Verse 19___It will be bad enough if the siege takes place in decent weather but even worse if it happens in the winter. Because of the above statement, many readers say that this cannot be a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem (i.e. 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). The "tribulation" spoken of must be interpreted in light of the term "such as." There have been many tribulations since this text was written. Two world wars, eight million Jews killed in Nazi Germany compared to the one and a half million killed in 70 A.D. But as mentioned, Jesus uses the term "such as" meaning he isn't referring to numbers but rather to the "kind" of tribulation or stated another way, "in like manner."


a. The tribulation involved the final destruction of what once had been God's holy nation. This had never happened before. God rescued a remnant from captivity and restored their nationality when the first temple was destroyed. It will never happen again since the church of Christ is now God's holy nation (1st Peter 2:9) and it will never be destroyed (Mat. 16:18; Dan. 2:44).

b. The circumstances of the Jews trapped in Jerusalem was unique in all of history. God had withdrawn his presence. They were abandoned to their own evil. The residents turned on each other in hatred and panic, and inflicted on themselves atrocities more so than the Romans.

c. It was a tribulation suffered only by Jews who had rejected Christ. Those who believed in Jesus and this prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem were saved.

 20"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

Verse 20___Titus first thought to build a siege wall and starve the Jews to death or let them all die of disease. But then, pressing business back in Rome beckoned. He stormed the city, killed, burned, and took thousands of Jews captive. Thus, many thousands of Jews (the elect) were saved who would have other wise died (Josephus, Wars, 1:12:1).


21"And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ'; or, 'Behold, He is there'; do not believe him; 22for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.23"But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

Verses 21-22___ Mark's statement on apostasy is brief but Matthew expands on the subject. Jesus predicted apostasy (Mt. 24:10), false teaching (Mt.24:11), lawlessness and indifference (Mt. 24:12). The rise of the apostasy in Judaism and well as in Christianity is well documented in the New Testament. Jesus tells the disciples to beware, they have been warned.

The End Has Come

13:24-37


  24"But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT,
  25AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.26"Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.27"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.28"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.29"Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.30"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.31"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.32"But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.33"Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.34"It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.35"Therefore, be on the alert--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--36in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37"What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'

Verse 24___It is always a good idea to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. That is what we do. Remember verse 30.

"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place

That means the things spoken about in verses 24-29 had to happen before that generation passed away. Now I want to call attention to Isaiah chapter 13 and the destruction of Babylon.


1The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 

I don't think that anyone can doubt that Isaiah 13 is about the destruction of Babylon. Now lets look at some of the language used to describe this destruction.

  6Wail, for the day of the LORD is near!
         It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 
    7Therefore all hands will fall limp,
         And every man's heart will melt. 
    8They will be terrified,
         Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
         They will writhe like a woman in labor,
         They will look at one another in astonishment,
         Their faces aflame. 
    9Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
         Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
         To make the land a desolation;
         And He will exterminate its sinners from it. 
    10For the stars of heaven and their constellations
         Will not flash forth their light;
         The sun will be dark when it rises
         And the moon will not shed its light. 

Did you notice the language of Mark 13, Matthew 24 and Luke 21 being used to speak of the destruction of Babylon (i.e. verse 10ff.).

Luke says," And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars....ect. "Matthew says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days...." (Mt.24:29 and Marks says, "But in those days, after that tribulation...." (Mk. 13:24). The very strong indication (lk. 21:25-28 parallels Mt. 24:29-31; Mk. 13:24-27) that this text is a continuation of the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and Judaism may be seen from:


a. "Immediately" does not usually make room for much of a time gap.....certainly not a gap of over 2000 years as the millennialism teaches.


b. "When these things take place....."(Lk. 21:28) is not referring to the 2nd coming for there will no signs to point to its nearness (i.e. if the destruction of Jerusalem was sign, and it was).


c. And the further statement."....this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Lk. 21:32; Mt. 24:34; Mk. 13:30).

This section of text is difficult for the Occidental mind, but not for the Oriental or those who are good students of the Old Testament.


a. Sun and Moon and stars darkened falling from heaven (Isa. 13:10; 14:12ff; 24:23; 34:1-3; Jer. 4:23-28 and many more).


b. "The powers of heaven being shaken" means in a general sense that God is about to change forms of government (Heb.8:13; 12:25-29; 13:13-14 and Isa. 14:12ff).


c. The will "appear the sings of the Son of Man....." or as Luke put it, "And they they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory. This is a judgment figure. Those listening to Jesus would recognize that when the Romans came to destroy Jerusalem, they were acting on behalf of Jesus. Even Josephus recognized that the destruction was from God.


d. Matthew and Mark adds the words: "And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Mt. 24:31; Mk.13:37). Luke s says it this way, " When these things (the signs that could be determined about the fall of Jerusalem and the release of the Jewish strangle-hold on the kingdom) begin to take place, no that your salvation is near..."

In the twinkling of an eye when the fall of Judaism is accomplished the fruitless fig tree (v.28) will have been withered and a great obstacle to the preaching of the gospel to the entire world will be removed. When the tree puts on leaves the summer is near and so will be the signs that judgment is also near (vv.28-29).

Verses 33-37___Warnings that one ought to be on the lookout. Be alert for judgment is coming.