Read: Mark 13:14-23.
Let us pray,
Heavenly Father, we have participated with our hearts and mind before you in praise and adoration. Now as we hear your Word through Jesus, I asked that you steady our minds and open our ears, encourage us by your Spirit to receive the Word today. Amen
Recap from last week.
These nine verses are a difficult passage and goes against our Christian duty of to go and do. The questions at the back of my mind, how do we see the work of Jesus and His atonement for us? Is there a change in our worship of God and a central place to worship God on Earth?
Also last week we briefly look at other cultures namely Australian Indigenous and Muslim in reference to End Time events and their beliefs. We look at the story of the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob with Jesus and they converse about the temple and worshiping God. We saw a transition from the Old Testament with what was regarded as law with Israel, a physical location to what Jesus is now purposing a spiritual location to worship God in spirit and truth.
We now come to a time, a period when the great offender to Jesus strike in the dead of night with no one looking makes an abomination that causes desolation in the temple. This will cause fear and shake the believers in Christ to run, to escape as we have seen recently with ISIS.
Read: Isaiah 55
Introduction
These nine verses cover two themes, the first is one of desolation and the second will be deception. What is this “abomination of the desolation” that Jesus reminds the Apostles from the book of Daniel? How will the Apostles going to be deceived? Hopefully it is my intention that I will show that there is hope in amongst the upheaval that will take place with Christ’s followers back then and for us today.
Get Ready for Desolation (14-20)
A. Daniel’s prophecy
Let us take a bird eye view of the Book of Daniel. The Apocalyptic writing found in the Old Testament and was written about 700 years before the time of Jesus. The term “Apocalyptic” refers “to reveal” and “it is normally a literature of dreams and visions, often centred on the heavenly throne-room, portraying a future salvation which transcends ordinary experience.” (New Concise Bible Dictionary)
The prophecy of Daniel were fulfilled in 167BCE, where the Israelites witness the “abomination that causes desolation” by Antiochus IV of the Seleucid dynasty which reign from 312 BCE to 63BCE who called himself “Epiphanies” meaning “God Manifest.” What happen? An idolatrous altar, an image of Zeus was placed in the temple. The Israelites found themselves under new masters who had their own religion, Hellenistic in nature, per-eminence of Greek customs, which prevented the exercise of Judaism and forcing the Levitical priest to sacrifice a pig on the altar. Because of the idolatry caused by Antiochus IV, it stirred up the Israelites in the form of Maccabees, the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea.
The Apostles would be aware of this history that had taken place by Jesus mentioning it because of the practices been established by Judaism and Hellenistic-Judaism clashed. The Maccabean re-established control of Judah and once again the temple in Jerusalem recommission. The Apostles would be aware of annual Feast of Lights as celebrations of the cleansing of the temple in 167 BCE know as Hanukkah.
Let us understand what was happening, Jesus in the two preceding chapters was focus on Jerusalem temple and this chapter in the first three verses mention the temple. The immediate context is Jerusalem temple where the “abomination that causes desolation” will take place.
Luke adds in his Gospel what Mark leaves out in the parallel account in Luke 21:20, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.” The city of Jerusalem is going to be encamping around by an army indicating that city is about to be desolate was at hand. The approaching Roman army would serve as a warning to flee Jerusalem because the Romans build walls around cities and escape would be impossible.
Now I want to remind you that early in the chapter, we came across the image, the beginning of birth pains and so these events that Jesus shared are the beginning of the end times. Jesus is preparing his disciples of a pending destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The Apostles knew it wasn’t the Babylonians as they had been conquered by Rome earlier.
In verse 14 commences with the “When you see…” is important to the conversation as Jesus is conveying something that will happen in the future and it will be similar to the prophecy of Daniel. In the Greek conveys the same thought of “when moreover you see” to be treated as in addition to what is being said. In this context Jesus is saying in addition to what was spoken by the prophet Daniel, take note. In 70 CE, Roman army led by Titus took control of Jerusalem by knocking down the three walls of protection and his army destroyed the temple by fire.
That is why last week I diverted to the story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus about worshiping God in spirit and truth because God is Spirit. We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit as the Apostles declared to us in their writings.
This part of scripture we are looking at, the Biblical scholars it is within that school of study known as Christian eschatology which looks at the study of ‘end things’ whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of the world and the nature of the Kingdom of God.
There are banquet of views regarding the interpretation of the verses in Mark 13:14-23. These views are:-
1. Historicism: an approach which sees prophecy as being fulfilled in the past, present and future. Historists consider the Great Tribulation as having occurred during the period of absolute papal supremacy from 538-1798 and also they consider the Book of Revelation to be a symbolic prophetic presentation of the struggle of Protestantism to survive the continuing persecutions of the Papacy.
2. Preterism: an approach which sees prophecy as chiefly being fulfilled in the past. Close association with Amillennialism, the belief that the Millennial reign of Christ began during the establishment of the Early Church. They believed that the Great Tribulation occurred during the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
3. Futurism: have not yet been fulfilled as in the Left Behind series and a close association with Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.
4. Idealism: also known as “spiritual” or “nonliteral” approach, the Book of Revelation and other eschatological materials are interpreted symbolically.
The reason I highlighted these approaches that within the Christian community, there are different views to prophetic interpretation and to ascertain which the correct one is a matter of prayer and the Preterism hold that their belief to the passage is this, “the Abomination that causes desolation was the pagan armies of Rome destroying the apostate system of worship at the Temple in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.”
B. Preparation – Practical Instruction
• v 14b Those in Judea, flee to the mountains (NRSV)
- A define location Judea
- A place of safety and refuge – the mountains
• v 15-16 Wherever you are, go
- At home via the outside stairs
- At work in the agriculture field
- Leave personal belongings behind, only go with what you have
• v 17-18 Expectant mothers and nursing infants – pray that it is not wintery storms or tempest weather
• V 19 A time of affliction and tribulation that has not been seen, a reminder of more intense than Daniel’s prophecy – the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and never has been rebuilt. The whole of the Old Covenant ended and behold something new in Jesus and the provision of the Holy Spirit has begun.
C. A Word of Encouragement
• v 20 Help for humanity
God's choice - cut short those days because of the elect to reduce the suffering affected humanity and we constantly hear stories of prophets pleading with God because of a few God-fearing people dwelt among humanity after the flood. The action of believers will save humanity from suffering but not judgement.
In the Greek the passage reads, “and if not had shortened the Lord the days, no anyhow there would have been any flesh but on account of the elect whom he chose he has shortened the days.” (Greek Lexicon, biblehub.com). The central keys in understanding are the words, “anyhow” and “ on account of”, 2 little Greek words “an” and “dia” carries a lot of power in God’s ears & eyes to allow His grace and mercy to intervene for humanity.
Get Ready for Deception (21-23)
• v 21-22 False Christ and prophets which are not actual but appeared to be the same
- Perform miracles and wonders or omens
- To lead astray, seduce or deceive if possible the followers who God has chosen or elect
• v 23 Take heed, beware, see, be on your guard, take care
- Jesus has told everything
A Prayer of Hope
Reference List
Manser, Martin H. The New Matthew Henry Commentary. 2010: P1745. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Missler. Chuck, ‘Prophecy 20/20: Profiling the Future through the Lens of Scripture’, 2006. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc (Kindle Ed)
Williams. Derek. 1989. New Concise Bible Dictionary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press
Christian eschatology. (2015, December 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:54, February 28, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.ph...
Creitz. Nathan (Podcast & Text) The Beginning of the End Part 2(Mark 13:14-23: http://citylifechurchnyc.com/the-be...
"The Romans Destroy the Temple at Jerusalem, 70 AD," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2005).
Englishman’s Greek Concordance: http://www.biblehub.com/greek/
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