Scripture reading – Mark 13; Matthew 24
We continue our parallel study of the Synoptic Gospels with today’s Scripture reading. Remember, the timeline for Mark 13 and Matthew 24 is amid the final week of Christ’s earthly ministry, and the Cross is imminent. Mark 13, Matthew 24, and the prior Scripture reading in Luke 21 are accounts of the same conversation between Jesus and His disciples.
Mark identified Peter, James, John, and Andrew as the disciples who came to Jesus privately and asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” (Mark 13:3-4; Matthew 24:3)
Mark 13
“Eschatology: The Doctrine of the Last Things”
Jesus was preparing His disciples for events that would upset their expectations of an earthly kingdom over which He would reign. He foretold two catastrophic events in Mark 13. The first was the destruction of the Temple (Mark 13:2). In answer to the disciples’ question, “When shall these things be?” Jesus warned, “Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done” (Mark 13:30). Many of that generation did live to 70 A.D. when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
The second calamitous event will be preceded by the sufferings and betrayals of the Great Tribulation and described by the prophet Daniel as “the abomination of desolation” (Mark 13:14-23). Those things are yet to be and will culminate with the end of the world as we know it (Mark 13:24-31).
Closing thoughts for Mark 13 –
Returning to the disciples’ question, “When shall these things be?” (Mark 13:2), we learn that believers are not to be concerned with “When?” for the date and hour are known only to God the Father. Jesus taught, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32).
Our role is not to predict the day or the hour the Lord will return. Instead, we are to “take heed lest any man deceive [us]” (Mark 13:5). In other words, be anticipating and prepared for His coming. How are we to prepare?
Mark 13:33 exhorts believers to: “Take ye heed,” keep your eyes fixed, for you cannot know when Christ will return. “Watch,” stay awake, be vigilant, and be busy with tasks God has given you. Finally, we are to “Pray”in anticipation of the LORD’s return. He has admonished His followers: “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:35-37).
Paul warned that Christ’s return would be sudden, unexpected, “as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3).
Believer, are you ready for Christ’s sudden coming?
Matthew 24 – The Tribulation and the Signs of Christ’s Coming
As stated in today’s introduction, Matthew 24 parallels Mark 13 and our earlier devotional commentary from Luke 21. I’ll not repeat my earlier meditations; however, I invite you to consider eight signs and events identified as “the beginning [i.e., the birth pangs] of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8) and will precede Christ’s Second Coming.
Eight Signs of the Tribulation and Second Coming of Christ (Matthew 24:5-14)
1) A great deception led by a proliferation of “false Christs” who will deceive many (Matthew 24:5)
2) International conflicts, described as “wars and rumors of wars [and] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdoms against kingdom.” (Matthew 24:6-7a)
3) Universal natural disasters such as “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers [diverse] places” (Matthew 24:7b)
4) An increase in persecution, martyrdom, and hatred for Bible believers (Matthew 24:9-10)
5) A great apostasy and falling away of pseudo-believers (Matthew 24:10)
6) An increase in false prophets who “shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11)
7) An allure of sin that will diminish a love for righteousness and Truth (Matthew 24:12)
8) The universal declaration and proliferation of the “Gospel of the kingdom” to all nations and people (Matthew 24:14)
Yet, with all the signs the coming of Christ is near, the worst is to be. There will follow a period of Tribulation the prophet Daniel described as the “abomination that maketh desolate” (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Jesus warned, “For then shall be [shall come to pass] great [prolonged] tribulation [affliction; distress; trouble], such as was not since [from] the beginning of the world to this [until] time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
The world will witness unparalleled sorrows as the end draws near (Matthew 24:21). Believers who live in the tribulation are urged to be cautious, for “there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible [which it is not, because God will protect His people], they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23-24).
Though many “false Christs will arise” (24:24) when He returns, His coming will be unmistakable. He will come “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27).
Signs in the heavens will precede Christ’s coming. (Matthew 24:29-30)
The world will be shadowed with the terror of darkness, for “the sun [shall] be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” (Matthew 24:29a). The solar system will fail, for “the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matthew 24:29b). In that day, as the earth is shrouded in terrifying darkness, Jesus Christ, the “Son of man in heaven,” will be seen “coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). His coming will strike terror in the hearts of men as “all the tribes of the earth mourn” (Matthew 24:30).
Closing thoughts –
To the saints who will come to believe in Christ during the Tribulation, His coming will be glorious. Christ will “send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). What a glorious day that will be!
Are you ready for His coming?
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