Mark 13:24-31. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 11, 2020.
In our passage today, Jesus instructs us about one of the cardinal doctrines that he gave to the Church. He will come again, a Second Coming.
The idea of him leaving and then coming back had already been revealed to them. John 14:1-3 says this,
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (NKJV)
It is clear that Jesus has in mind a wedding analogy. The description of what he says completely fits a young man preparing a place for his bride on his father’s property. Jesus had warned them that he would be leaving them, but that it was for a purpose. He would eventually return for his bride so that they could be together.
In our passage today, he promises his disciples that this coming again would be in “power and great glory,” in order to reward the saints and remove the wicked. Of course, there is much more to it than that, but I do not want to stray from our focus on this passage.
So, in the setting of this passage, Jesus has told his disciples that there would be a period of time from his leaving until his coming back that would be a time of labor pains for the world, a time of sorrows. It would be a time of the Gentiles in which God would send the Gospel to the ends of the earth. This long period (almost 2,000 years now) would come to an end in a seven-year period of difficulty called the Great Tribulation, which we discussed over the last two weeks. Mark 13:24 begins the third stage of this prophecy, the Second Coming of the Son of Man, which basically happens on a single day, but will have repercussive events.
Let’s go through the passage.
Jesus actually refers to this event as the coming of “the Son of Man.” He is employing a phrase that can be a way of calling someone human, but when it is used in a prophetic passage about the end of the age, it is a clear reference to the Son of Man that is prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14.
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Jesus is connecting his leaving and coming back to a character of ancient prophecy, the Son of Man who would come on the clouds and receive the kingdoms of the world from the Ancient of Days. If you read the context of these verses from Daniel, you see that the Ancient of Days has overruled the attempt of multiple “beasts,” a metaphor for Gentile Empires, to rule the world. Instead, the God of Creation gives the kingdoms of this world to a particular human who can ride the clouds of heaven and will share his kingdom with the saints of God, rather than the powerful of this world. This is a strange and cryptic figure. He is clearly human, “son of man,” and yet rides the clouds, something a heavenly being would do.
Now let us look at the wording of verse 24. Jesus says that this coming would be “in those days,” and “after that tribulation.” He is very clear about connecting the Great Tribulation directly to his Second Coming. This is important because we do have to watch for the tendency of prophecy to conflate events separated by long periods of time. However, the terminology that Jesus uses states that the Great Tribulation will have come to an end (“after”) and yet, the Second Coming will be in “those” days. On top of this, Matthew 24 uses the word “immediately.”
In fact, the Second Coming of Jesus becomes the apex or capstone to the terrible days of the Great Tribulation. To the wicked who have chosen to worship the beast and his kingdom, it will be the final blow of the wrath of God. To the righteous who have chosen to wait for Jesus, it will be the beginning of the Utopian age of which mankind has often dreamed. This is the same thing as shown in Revelation 19. At the conclusion of the Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, and Seven Bowls of Wrath, Jesus comes riding on the clouds of heaven with an army in tow.
Even at the worst time of all human history, God has a plan and has not forgotten us. He will save humanity from itself, and from the fallen angels. He has not abandoned us! The Great Tribulation will be God’s last attempt to draw humans back from the abyss that we longingly push towards.
Jesus then describes some signs that would be seen in the heavens or sky. The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars of heaven will fall. This is then summarized as, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
I believe that there is a literal and metaphorical overlap happening here. The book of Revelation also mentions the sun becoming black as sackcloth, the moon becoming like blood, and the stars of heaven falling to the earth. Some of the devastation upon the earth is from things that are falling from the sky, whether they are asteroids, comets, or meteors is not specifically made clear. Such events would put enough particulate in the atmosphere to obscure the light of the celestial objects. Yet, there are cryptic references in the Old Testament to the day of the Lord’s coming that also seem to imply a supernatural reason for the lights to go out during what should be day time (Zechariah 14:6-7). We can say that this is only metaphor, but then must deal with all the other places in the Old Testament that connects the darkening sun and blood-like moon to the Day of the Lord. There will most likely be both natural and supernatural things going on. Luke 21 tells us that men’s hearts will fail them for fear of the things coming upon the earth, when these things happen.
Yet, the stars and falling stars is used metaphorically to refer to angels and rebel angels respectively. Thus, Revelation 12:12 says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” That book pictures the rebel spiritual forces being pushed out of the heavens down onto the earth, as well as the Abyss (a prison for fallen angels) opening up to release others. The earth becomes the ground for the Day of the Lord’s great judgment against Satan and his forces, and those who join in league with them. The things happening in the natural become a symbol, or picture, of those things that are happening in the spirit realm.
It is interesting that all three Gospels use the phrase, “they will see” at the Second Coming of Jesus. At the least, it implies that the disciples in front of him will not be on the earth at his Second Coming. It may even imply that the Church has been raptured before this point. However, those points are tenuous from this text. The point is that following the celestial signs will be a celestial event in which the world sees the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and great glory (described in Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19). This is one of the main points of contrast that we looked at last week. The false christs and false prophets of the Great Tribulation will do powerful things in order to wow humanity. However, their coming will be nothing compared to the coming of the Son of Man, the one who rides the clouds and vanquishes his foes. Nevertheless, the deceptive character of Satan would lead us to believe that the Antichrist will appear to put down a group of diabolical leaders as an attempt to mimic this. Satan’s empire always has innumerable groups of diabolical leaders from which to pit one against another by means of deception.
In contrast, what a day that will be when Jesus splits the sky! Whether you have already passed from this life, have been raptured, or are still barely surviving here on the earth in that moment, what a glorious moment that will be! After all the turmoil and rage of the Antichrist kingdom, decreeing and executing those who do not take its mark, God sends His Son, His Savior, from the heavens to save mankind. He is faithful to the end, even when we are faithless.
Part of the appearing of the Son of Man will be the gathering of all of his elect. The word “elect” can also be translated as “chosen.” Just as we will soon turn in our ballots depicting who we are choosing in November’s election, so Jesus has chosen some to be his. Our choosing will be important, but it pales in comparison to the real question, “Has Jesus chosen me?”
He has chosen those who would turn their back on their life of sin, pick up their cross, and follow him. He has chosen those who would continue to live in faith of his coming, and his resurrection, even in the face of a world that ridicules and persecutes them for it. He has chosen those who are not seduced by the antichrist spirit of this age, that powerful beastly spirit, that only seduces those who choose to follow their flesh over the top of the Holy Spirit.
We are told that the angels gather the elect, the chosen, from heaven and earth. The righteous who have physically died throughout the ages will be gathered from the heavens to come back with Christ, and those on the earth who have refused the beast kingdom, and survived the Great Tribulation, will also be gathered to Jesus. They are to share in his reward of taking hold of the kingdoms of this world. Amen; even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!
Following his description of the Second Coming, Jesus gives a parable to emphasize how closely connected the Second Coming is to the Great Tribulation. Whether a fig tree or any other tree, the sprouting of green leaves in the spring testifies to the nearness of summer. This lesson in the natural is intended to encourage us in the spiritual.
Some make a big deal regarding the fig tree representing Israel. Though the nation of Israel is an important prophetic sign, it is not exactly what Jesus is meaning here. He makes it clear by saying “when you see these things happening, know that it is near” (Matthew says “all these things”). It is not seeing the beginning of these things (The Time of Sorrows, which we now know lasts almost 2,000 years), but the seeing of all of these things. Clearly, this means everything mentioned up to the Second Coming. The events of the Great Tribulation will make it clear that his coming is near. Jesus wanted us to know that, when it all goes down, it will happen quickly and people should not despair. Neither should believers give up their hope in his coming, and begin to follow after the temptations of sin, especially joining the beast-kingdom via the mark.
Verse 30 is often pointed to by critics of Jesus and the Bible as proof that Jesus was a false prophet. They assume that Jesus is pointing to his disciples and telling them that they and their generation will not pass away until all of these things happen. Even some who claim to be Christians will waffle on this point, saying that Jesus thought it would happen in a generation, but was mistaken (i.e. everything he said is true, but he was mistaken on the timing). I do not believe Jesus was talking about his generation. The context is about those who see all of these things. It is that generation that will not pass away before all things he spoke would be fulfilled, not the generation that sees some of them. The nearness is to those who see them all, which is, more than likely, less than 3 ½ years.
Jesus finishes this section with a statement about how dependable and trustworthy these prophecies are. They are more dependable than the continued existence of the earth and the heavens. In light of God’s revealed intent to recreate the heavens and the earth in the future, this makes perfect sense.
It is not the amount of hydrogen fuel in our sun that is the clock on how long humanity has on this earth. It is the end of the times of the Gentiles, the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and the Second Coming of Jesus that helps us to know how much time we have left.
However, there is a more excellent way. Don’t tell yourself that you can get ready if it appears that it is getting worse, or closer. You only deceive yourself and harden your flesh against the Spirit of God. Put your faith in Jesus today, and live with the Blessed Hope of His return in your heart every day. That way, you no longer have to worry about how much time is left because you are always ready; semper paratus!