“Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is
coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the
morning – lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all:
‘Watch!’”
The talk that Jesus gives to His disciples in chapter 13 of the
Gospel of Mark is sobering. There are no
promises of prosperity, no promises of a peaceful life. Jesus told them the temple would be
destroyed. Their questions were “when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these
things will be fulfilled?” (Mark 13: 4)
Before Jesus answers them, He gives them a warning: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name,
saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.” (Mark 13:5-6)
Jesus does not give a day, month or year. He describes the troublesome times to come,
involving wars, earthquakes, famines, Christians being arrested and beaten,
brother betraying brother, children betraying parents, and much more. Yet these are only the beginnings of sorrows,
they are not yet the sign of all these things being fulfilled. Next, Jesus goes on to describe the Great
Tribulation, the beginning of which is identified by the ‘abomination of
desolation’ which will be ‘standing where it ought not’. Further, of the Great Tribulation, Jesus says
“such has not been since the beginning of
the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.” (Mark
13:19) During that Great Tribulation
false christs and prophets will show signs and wonders that deceive many people,
and if possible, even the elect. Jesus
warns that He has told them of this beforehand, so they will not be
deceived. Next, Jesus says after THAT
tribulation, the Great Tribulation, the
“sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of
heaven will fall, and the powers in the heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and
gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the
earth to the farthest part of heaven.” (Mark 13:24-27)
Jesus told them that no one knows the day and hour, but “when you see these things happening, know
that it is near – at the doors!” (Mark 13:29) He gives them the parable of the fig tree to
help understand the timing. The fig tree
is representative of Israel. As J.
Vernon McGee says “Israel is God’s timepiece.”
It is the clock we can observe for God’s timetable. Jesus admonishes His disciples (and us) to
“take heed, watch and pray.” Then He
gives the above parable where the doorkeeper is commanded to watch.
These are not words that help most people sleep at night. If you read or somehow relate the contents of
Mark 13 to others, most people will be anxious about the wars and rumors of
wars. Most people will have fear about
earthquakes and famines. Most people
will worry about protecting themselves during this Great Tribulation. Then again, most people have not surrendered
to Jesus Christ. Most people are not
sealed by the Holy Spirit. Hopefully,
you are not like most people.
Jesus says to “watch.”
He says it several times and He says it emphatically. My question for you is similar to a question
posed by J. Vernon McGee, and that is with what attitude do you ‘watch?’ Do you watch with fear and trepidation? Do you watch with dread over what is
coming? Or do you watch with
anticipation so that you are ready for the reign of our Righteous King?
According to scripture, we should watch and not be
deceived. If we watch, take heed, pray, and
know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, we will not be fooled
by a new or different gospel. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in the
latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits
and doctrine of demons.” (1 Timothy
4:1)
According to scripture, we should watch and take heed that
we are living a godly life. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up. Therefore, since
all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in
holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:10-12)
According to scripture, we should watch and abide in
Him. “And
now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have
confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28)
According to scripture, we should watch and increase in our
love toward one another. “And may the Lord make you increase and
abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may
establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
According to scripture, we should watch not only with
anticipation for the reign of our Righteous King, but all the more vigorously
persist in sharing the truth with others.
“For this they willingly forget:
that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of
water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being
flooded with water. But the heavens and
the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise, as some county slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (1
Peter 3:5-9) Jesus does not want us to
be surprised if sharing the truth with others is something that happens during
persecution, for His purposes with the persecutors. “You
will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.” (Mark 13:9b)
According to scripture, we should watch and endure.
“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
(Mark 13:13) Each of the letters to the
churches in chapters 2 and 3 of (The) Revelation (of Jesus Christ ) include a
promise of something from Jesus for “he who overcomes.” You may find a bit of doubt creeping in about
your ability to endure the future that Jesus has described. Keep in mind this scripture: “For
whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has
overcome the world – our faith. Who is
he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4)
Remember in Whom you believe!
Friends, consider the state of the world. Can you agree that we are in the beginnings
of sorrows? We have wars and rumors of
wars. There is an increase in the
frequency of earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. We are beginning to see new pestilence, and
the return of old diseases. There are
many countries that could claim their people are suffering from famine. We have seen brother betray brother and child
betray parent in the killing of Christians.
According to Jesus, none of this is going to get better for the
world.
We are still this side of Heaven so we are not at the end. But can you say it is ‘at the doors?’ If it is not at the doors, it is very close
indeed. And if Jesus should come
suddenly, how will He find you? Are you
sleeping? Time is short. We should pray, know the Word of God, and not
be deceived. We should take heed and
abide in Jesus and live a godly life. We
should show love toward each other, and love all people in the world so much
that we share the truth with them regardless of the repercussions to
ourselves. We should endure, and be
urgently witnessing to and praying for those who have not surrendered to Jesus
Christ, that they might be saved before Jesus does come like a thief in the
night. After all these things will be
fulfilled, it will be too late.
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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