Jesus has just finished telling the disciples that the temple will be destroyed. This must have been terrifying news to them. The temple in their midst is a symbol of God's protective presence with them. If the temple is to be destroyed, this must mean God is going to allow something awful to happen in Jerusalem. As they take their rest on the Mount of Olives, where they have a beautiful view of the temple, four of the disciples want to know more about the coming tragedy.
"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, 'Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?'" (Mark 13:3-4) Naturally these men wonder if the temple will fall during their own lifetimes. They wish Jesus to tell them how they will know when the sad day is about to come to pass.
As we continue on with Chapter 13 we will need to keep in mind that Jesus blends two prophecies together: the fall of the temple that will take place in 70 AD, and the dark days of the end times before He returns to rule over the earth. The fall of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD is going to be a time of tribulation for the Jews, comparable only to the Great Tribulation of the end times. As with many Bible prophecies, the prophecies of these two events are blended together seamlessly with no clear line of demarcation between them, although nearly two thousand years have passed since the fall of the second temple and the Great Tribulation is still in the future.
"Jesus said to them: 'Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am He,' and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.'" (Mark 13:5-8) Several men arose in ancient Judea claiming to be somebody and gathering a following behind them. In the original Greek verse 6 is saying, "Many will come in My name, claiming, 'I Am'." This means there would be those who would take the title of God for themselves, (God called Himself 'I Am' to Moses in Exodus 3:14). Indeed there were such men, the Theudas mentioned by Gamaliel in Acts 5 being one of them. Theudas claimed to be God in the flesh and vowed to overthrow Rome and reclaim the Promised Land for the Jews. Jesus warns not to be deceived by such men, for their end will come, just as Theudas' end came, and their promises will lead to nothing.
Jesus was right when He said men claiming to be the Messiah would deceive many. During my own lifetime men who have claimed to be the Messiah have deceived many and led them to their deaths, such as Jim Jones who founded the People's Temple, Marshall Applewhite who founded Heaven's Gate, and David Koresh who founded the Branch Davidians. There is a satanic influence at work in those who make the false claims of being the Messiah, for we see the true intentions of Satan made manifest in the work of these cults. Satan is a liar. (John 8:44) Satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10) Satan's only purpose in interacting with mankind is to bring doom upon human beings whenever possible. This is why it's so vital that we know the Scriptures! The person who knows the Scriptures will be difficult to deceive because he will immediately notice when something doesn't line up with the word of God.
Jesus also says not to be alarmed every time a battle or a war breaks out somewhere in the world. Nation has always fought against nation. Nation will keep on fighting against nation until Christ comes and sets up His eternal kingdom. War itself is not a sign that the end times are upon us.
Jesus points out that natural disasters are not a sign that the end is near. Since the beginning there have been floods, famines, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis, and various other major catastrophes. The world will continue to experience such upheavals until Christ returns.
He says of false Messiahs, wars, and natural disasters, "These are the beginning of birth pains." When a woman first goes into labor, her pains are not as strong or as close together as they will be right before the baby emerges into the world. The same is true for the end times. Deceivers will multiply as we get closer to the end. Wars will break out more frequently. Natural disasters will occur more often. The Apostle Paul, in one of his letters to Timothy, prophesied, "There will be terrible times in the last days." (2 Timothy 3:1)
We, as believers, need not panic over any of these things. Our job is not to watch the news fearfully every morning for signs of the end. Our job is to "go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation". (Mark 16:15) Our job is to tell the good news of Christ to a world that desperately needs Him. Seeing that an end to the world as we know it is going to come, and a judgment is going to follow, we ought to have a burning desire to help as many people come to Christ as we can. We should want to see as many people as possible saved from the wrath of a holy God.
We have a choice to make. We can read the newspaper or watch the news and wring our hands in fear, or we can get on with the commission Christ gave us. He has made it clear which one is the right choice. Let's show the love of Christ to our fellow man. Let's tell the world He loves them and gave His life for them so that they can have hope even on the darkest days.
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