Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19970312.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part L: Understanding The Schedule Of Christ's End Time Event Predictions
(Mark 13:1-37)
  1. Introduction
    1. Serious theological questions have been raised by Christ's prediction of end time events in Mark 13 and its comparable witness in Matthew 24. Here is a list of two of the major ones: (1) Does Mark 13:10 mean that the Church's gospel must be proclaimed to all the nations before the rapture, meaning that we are holding up the rapture if we haven't gotten that gospel out? If so, where does the belief in the imminency of the Rapture fit in? (2) Since Mark 13:30 says this generation that sees all these things begin to occur will not pass away until Christ returns, how is it that Christ hasn't come back already since famines and earthquakes predicted in Mark 13:8 have been around for many generations of Church History?
    2. To answer these questions, we examine the theological setting of this prophetic section as follows:
  2. Understanding The Schedule Of Christ's End Time Event Predictions, Mark 13:1-37:
    1. This prophetic section of Christ's arose out of concern on the part of the disciples upon Christ's predicting that their beloved, beautiful, huge Herodian temple would be totally destroyed, Mark 13:1-2, 3.
    2. In this context, Peter, James, John and Andrew had three questions in response to this disturbing prophecy: (1) When shall these things be? (Mk. 13:4a; Mtt. 24:3a) (2) What shall be the sign of thy coming? (Mtt. 24:3b) and (3) When shall be the end of the world? (Mtt. 24:3c)
    3. Now, to answer all of these questions, Jesus had an Old Testament theological hurdle to face:
      1. The Old Testament viewpoint of prophecy omitted any idea of a Church age between the first coming of Messiah and His establishing His Messianic Kingdom, cf. Eph. 3:1-6.
      2. In fact, the first coming of Messiah with His being cut off without having His Kingdom is followed immediately by the coming of Antichrist in the Old Testament prediction of Daniel 9:25-27.
      3. With this same Old Testament timeline, these disciples wanted to know when the destruction of the temple with Messiah's ushering in the Messianic Kingdom would occur.
      4. Well, since it was not God's will to tell them YET the schedule of events as doing so would force Him to explain mystery things God wanted still hidden, Jesus could not answer their "when" question.
    4. Thus, to heed the plan of God in not revealing YET the schedule of all final events, Jesus omitted answering the question "When shall these things be?" to answer the questions, "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" and to elaborate on events at " the end of the world" as follows:
      1. In viewing events after the Church would have been raptured, Jesus displayed to these men what Israel would experience during the Tribulation Period leading up to the time of the man of sin in Mtt. 13:5-13.
      2. At Mtt. 13:14, Jesus made reference to the middle of the Daniel 9:27 prophetic week of seven years, the middle of the Tribulation Period when the "abomination of desolation" occurs in the temple.
      3. After than, Christ predicted events to occur in the latter half of the Tribulation Period in Mk. 13:15-25.
      4. Christ's Second Coming to earth is thus portrayed in Mtt. 13:26-37.
    5. Thus, we answer two questions raised in our introduction as follows:
      1. The gospel to be preached in all the world before Christ returns is not the Church's Gospel before the Rapture; rather, it is the Gospel of the Kingdom to be given to the world during the Tribulation Period before the Second Coming, Rev. 14:6-7. Thus, the Church's not getting the Christian Gospel out to every individual in no way inhibits the RAPTURE. The RAPTURE itself is imminent!
      2. The generation that will not pass away until all these Mark 13 events occur will be the Great Tribulation generation, for that whole Period will be only seven years! Thus, Jesus did not say that earthquakes and famines today mean the Second Coming is less than seven years away; rather, He taught then when the Tribulation trials start, and such famines and e arthquakes really get going, they will be over within a single generation!
Lesson: When we look at the historical and theological setting of Mark 13, and realize the plan of God did not allow for the disciples at that time to KNOW about the intervening CHURCH era, we see that Jesus had no choice BUT not to answer the "WHE N" questions, but only describe the EVENTS that they then could fit into their Old Testament time frame. Thus, Mark 13 makes sense to us!