Gospel of Mark: - Jesus is Coming Again

We start, when do you think the world is going to end?

Well, we're not short on suggestions.

The scientist predicts that in five billion years,

the sun will have burnt itself out, making it impossible for life to exist.

The conspiracy theorists tell us that, well, we better be on the lookout

because we're going to be invaded by aliens,

as shown on the Hollywood film, War of the Worlds.

The religious fundamentalist, as he wanders up and down the pathway with his sandwich board,

announces with every earthquake and disaster that the end is nigh.

Of course, if you followed the Mayan calendar,

then you will know that we were all due to be destroyed by a meteorite last December.

And in case you don't know, that actually never happened.

We're still here.

So, when will the world end?

Or are we just going to continue on for all eternity?

Well, Jesus also tells us something about the end.

He tells us that the world as we know it will end when he returns.

Look at verse 26.

At that time, that's the end.

Men will see the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus,

coming in clouds with great power and glory.

And when will that happen?

Well, look down at verse 32 for the answer.

No one knows about that day or hour.

Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

He's coming, but we don't know when.

And while we don't necessarily have all the details or all the answers that we want to our questions,

Jesus has told us what we do need to know.

And things that we can be absolutely certain about.

The first, the signs of the end.

Destruction.

Now, this is probably the most challenging for us mentally,

so keep with me on this.

The signs of the end.

Look at verse 1.

As he was leaving the temple, that's Jesus,

one of his disciples said to him,

Look, teacher, what massive stones!

What magnificent buildings!

Of course, he was referring to the temple.

Some of these foundation stones that they could see,

that supported the vast temple,

were 13 metres long and 3 metres high.

They were enormous.

A symbol of durability and permanence.

But look what Jesus said was going to happen.

Verse 2.

Do you see these great buildings?

Reply Jesus.

Not one stone will be left on another.

Every one will be thrown down.

This great, formidable temple,

which covered an area the size of 12 football pitches,

and all its grandeur and these great big stones,

is going to be destroyed.

But, quickly look at verse 29.

Even so, when you see these things happening,

when you see the temple being destroyed,

you know that it is near.

The end is right at the door.

You see, the destruction of the temple

is a sign for us today

that the world as we know it

will one day be destroyed.

Two things.

Signs of the temple's destruction.

So, as we look at this,

remember we're going back to

when the disciples were walking on this earth

and they were looking forward

towards the temple being destroyed.

So, they say to Jesus in verse 4,

they say to Jesus,

tell us when these things will happen.

When is the temple going to be destroyed?

What will be the sign

that they are all about to be fulfilled?

Now, we've got to remember that

as Jesus is speaking these words to them,

it's around 33 AD.

In 70 AD,

the temple was captured

and destroyed by the Roman general Titus.

You can read all about it

in any great big history book.

So, 37 years

before the temple was actually destroyed,

Jesus is here predicting

its destruction.

And now Jesus is telling his disciples

to watch out for the signs

before it actually happens.

So, what were the signs?

Well, he tells us, verse 7,

he says,

you'll hear of wars

and rumours of wars.

But do not be alarmed.

Such things must happen,

but the end

is still to come.

The destruction

is still to come.

Nation will rise

against nation

and kingdom

against kingdom.

There will be earthquakes

in various places

and famines.

But these are the beginning

of birth pains.

It's not the end.

They're only signs.

In fact,

there will be

persecution as well

in verse 9.

He says,

you're to be on your guard.

You will be handed over

to the local councils

and be flogged

in the synagogues.

There will also be

family division

as people decide

whether they follow Jesus

or whether they're

against Jesus.

In verse 12,

so,

brother will betray

brother to death

and the father his child.

Children will rebel

against their parents

and have them put to death.

So,

Jesus is saying,

look,

these are all signs.

These are all things

that are going to be happening

to confirm

with absolute certainty

that the temple

is going to be destroyed.

Let's hope this building

isn't going to be destroyed.

Now,

here's the connection.

Just as there were signs

pointing to the destruction

of the temple,

so the destruction

of the temple

becomes a sign

for us today

to confirm

the absolute certainty

that the world

as we know it

is going

to end.

Which brings us

to the second.

The temple destruction

is a sign

for us today.

Look at verse 14.

He says to them,

when you see

the abomination

that causes

desolation,

now that's a very strange

and confusing

phrase.

We haven't got time

to go into

all of what it means,

but basically

it is talking about

the destruction

of the temple.

So when you see

the abomination

that causes

desolation,

when you see

the temple

being destroyed,

standing where

it does not belong,

which refers

to the Romans

who came in

and destroyed it,

let the reader

understand.

So he's saying

just as there were

signs to confirm

the end of the temple,

we the readers

of the Gospel

of Mark today

must understand

that the temple

is our sign.

Secular history

records for us

in detail...

My word,

can you hear me?

No.

Okay.

I'm going to stop

and just wait

patiently.

Hi.

Hmm.

So,

let's start again

on that...

Gosh,

why didn't somebody

say if you

couldn't hear?

So,

just to go back

one step,

okay,

so we've got

signs of the temple

destruction.

Jesus is telling

his disciples

that all these

different things

will happen.

There'll be wars,

there'll be famines,

there'll be earthquakes,

there'll be persecution,

there'll be all kinds

of conflict

within families,

but these were all

signs leading up

to the destruction

of the temple.

Now,

for us,

let's read verse 14

again.

Okay?

When you see the

abomination that

causes desolation,

it's a difficult

phrase,

but it's really

referring to

the whole temple

destruction.

So he says,

when you see that,

standing where it

does not belong,

which refers to

the Romans who

came in and

invaded and

took over,

let the reader

understand.

So he's saying,

just as there were

signs to confirm

the end of the

temple,

we, the readers

today,

must understand

that the end

of the temple,

the temple's

destruction,

is our sign.

Secular history

records for us

in detail that

the temple was

completely destroyed

by the Romans

in 70 AD.

It's a historical

fact.

So if Jesus

predicts

that the temple

is going to be

destroyed,

if his predictions

were true,

then that means

we are to believe

his words

about the end

of the world.

If what Jesus

said was true

in the past,

that means we

can trust his

words for the

future.

Look at verse

31.

He says,

heaven and earth

will pass away,

but my words

will never

pass away.

The words of

Jesus in the

past were proven

to be true,

so why not

trust his word

about his return

and the end

that is to come?

It's a no-brainer.

Jesus is coming

back.

Look at the end

of verse 8.

There's this

phrase,

these are the

beginning of

birth pains.

Any mothers

who are here

this morning

will all know

that as you

come to give

birth,

labour pains

hit,

birth pains

come,

telling you

that the end

of the pregnancy

is close.

Something significant

is about to

happen.

Well,

for us,

we're to read

this,

that the temple

destruction

is like the

birth pains.

It's the signs

for us today

to tell us

that something

significant in

the future

is going to

happen.

But just as

birth pains

lead to new

life,

so the coming

of Jesus

is going to

bring about

new life.

So that's the

signs of the

end.

Second,

the promise

at the end

is restoration.

The coming of

Jesus into

this world

will bring

about a

complete

restoration

of this

world.

He will

restore it

to its

original

glory.

Look at

verse 24.

But in

those days,

the days

following the

destruction of

the temple,

following that

distress,

the sun

will be

darkened

and the

moon

will not

give its

light.

The stars

will fall

from the

sky and

the heavenly

bodies will

be shaken.

The world

as we know

it will

come to a

terrible end.

There will

be a cosmic

wipeout.

But,

verse 26,

at that

time,

men will

see the

Son of

Man,

that's

Jesus,

coming in

clouds with

great power

and glory.

now read

that carefully

again in

verse 26.

It doesn't

say Jesus

is going to

come on

the clouds.

He doesn't

say he

will come

with the

clouds,

but he

says he's

coming in

clouds.

In the

Bible,

clouds,

generally

speaking,

symbolise the

presence of

God.

So if God

was to show

that he was

with you,

if God

was to

show he

was present

among you,

then a

cloud appeared.

So we know

the story of

Moses going

up onto the

mountain,

and the

cloud came

down on

the mountain,

and God

spoke from

the cloud.

It was

God's way

of saying,

I am

here,

I am

present

with you,

I am

among you.

Now the

first time

we ever

read of

God being

present with

his people,

God dwelling

among his

people,

where's the

first time

we read

of that?

It's in

the Garden

of Eden,

the very

first few

verses of

the Bible,

and there

we see

God present,

living,

walking,

talking amongst

his people.

He's in the

Garden of

Eden,

the world

in all its

perfection,

in all its

beauty and

harmony.

It's a world

where there's

no death,

there's no

disease,

there are no

disasters,

there's no

sickness,

there's no

suffering.

It's peace

and perfection,

people living

in the

presence of

God.

Of course,

we don't

see that

anymore.

The world

has fallen

away from

God.

So when

Jesus comes,

verse 26,

in clouds,

he is

bringing the

presence of

God,

he is

bringing the

power and

the glory

of God

to us.

He is

coming to

restore the

world to

its beauty

and its

perfection.

Now the

purpose of

restoring the

world is

to gather

his people,

to share

in it,

so that

they may

enjoy it,

to be with

him, to be

part of his

new creation,

this new

world for

all eternity.

Look at

verse 27.

And when

he comes with

great power

and glory,

verse 27,

he will send

his angels

and gather

his elect

from the

four winds,

from the

ends of the

earth to

the ends

of the

heaven.

As we've

been reading

through Mark's

gospel,

we've seen

that the

invitation

from Jesus

to be part

of his

eternal

kingdom

with an

invitation

for all

people,

regardless

of their

race or

religion.

But look

closely.

Who is

going to be

part of

this gathering?

Look at

verse 27.

His elect.

Not everybody

is going to

be part of

it.

Only those

who belong

to him.

That means

all those

who have

turned to

Jesus Christ

and trusted

in him

as the

only means

of salvation.

The one

that they

recognise

as God's

chosen king,

the Messiah.

The one

who they

look to

for forgiveness

and place

all their

confidence

and trust.

And who

will be

there?

Well,

there will

be people

from the

four winds,

from the

north and

the south

and the

east and

the west,

people from

different

nations and

cultures.

others.

As I

said earlier,

I had the

privilege of

meeting with

people from

Albania and

Kosovo and

Macedonia and

Ukraine and

America and

Ireland and

England.

All people from

such a variety

of backgrounds

and different

languages.

But we were

gathered together

with one thing

in common,

that we were

people who

loved Jesus

and trusted

in him.

And these

are the

people that

God will

come to and

will gather

together to

bring them

to be with

him.

This promise,

this

anticipation of

restoration is

going to be

like moving

from the

winter months

into the

summer months.

Look at

verse 28.

Learn this

lesson from

the fig tree.

As soon as

its twigs get

tender and

its leaves

come out,

you know

that summer

is near,

it's coming,

we're moving

from winter

into summer.

And we know

that summertime

is that time

when all the

dead and the

bare things

begin to

flourish and

flower.

The dark,

rotting leaves

have all gone

and there's

new leaves

bursting into

vibrant

colours.

And this is

what it's

going to be

like when

Jesus returns,

summer with

all its

warmth and

life replacing

the cold and

dead of

winter.

No more

disease,

no more

sicknesses or

hospitals,

no more

disasters,

there'll never

be an item

on the news

about an

earthquake or

famine,

no more

death,

no more

sin,

and no more

evil,

and no more

violence,

and no more

crime,

and no more

destruction,

but God's

people,

in God's

presence,

for all

eternity.

Jesus is

coming.

So that is

the promise.

But third,

we've got the

command,

until the

end.

Preparation.

Because this

is all great,

we can all

look forward

to it,

but what

about now?

We don't

know when

he's coming

back.

It could be

tomorrow,

it could be

ten years,

it could be

a thousand

years.

we do

not know.

So how

does it

affect me

now?

What

difference is

all of

this going

to make

to my

life?

Well,

there's

two main

commands

that he

gives us.

First,

be on

our

guard.

Verse

32,

no one

knows about

that day

or hour,

not even

the angels

in heaven

nor the

sun,

but only

the Father.

Be on

guard.

be alert.

You do

not know

when that

time will

come.

As we

mentioned at

the beginning,

lots of

people make

all kinds

of predictions

about the

coming of

Jesus.

In fact,

we should

actually be

very wary

of teachings

about the

predictions,

trying to

work out

the times

and what's

going on

and who's

in charge

in this

nation

and who's

controlling

this

region

and what's

going on.

Be wary

of these

things.

Go back

to verse

21.

At that

time,

if anyone

says to

you,

look,

here's the

Christ,

or look,

there he

is,

do not

believe it.

For false

Christs and

false prophets

will appear

and they'll

even perform

signs and

miracles to

deceive the

elect God's

people,

if that

were possible.

Be on

your guard

against getting

taken up

by all

this mad

teaching.

We just

simply do

not know.

Instead,

go back

to verse

34.

We've got

to be on

our guard.

Verse

34,

it's like a

man going

away.

He leaves

his house

and he puts

his servants

in charge,

each with

his assigned

task.

and tells

the one

at the

door to

keep

watch.

I'm one

of three

siblings.

I'm the

youngest

one,

so my

brother and

sister had

all left

home.

And in

my teenage

years,

it was

quite normal

for my

mum and

dad.

They could

go away

for a day.

Sometimes

they were

away for

longer.

Not that

they'd

abandoned

me,

but they

felt I

was okay

at home.

And I'd

always ask

them,

when are

you coming

back?

And,

okay,

sometimes I'd

know the

day,

but I just

didn't know

when they

were coming

back on

that day.

Which meant,

and I think I

figured out why

they never told

me,

to make sure

that everything

was in order

and the parties

the night before

might have been

cleaned up in

time or

whatever.

I had to be

on guard,

watchful,

that everything

was in order

because I

didn't know

when they

were coming

back.

And in

the same

way,

we've got

to have

our life

in order

to make

sure that

we are

people who

are trusting

in Jesus,

walking

with Jesus,

living for

Jesus,

that our

lives are

being directed

and shaped

by his

plans and

his desires

and not

my own.

be on

our guard.

Don't

drift

into a

pattern of

living for

yourself and

going your

own way.

We do

not know.

We must

be ready.

We must

be about

the business

of the

king.

That's

why it

says earlier

that the

gospel must

be preached

to all

nations.

This is

our task.

This is

what we are

to be

about.

we are

to be

people who

are living

for his

kingdom

and for

his

things.

Make sure

that when

he returns

we are

on our

guard.

We are

busy

about

his

work.

Second,

be

watchful.

Verse

35,

therefore

keep

watch

because

you do

not know

when the

owner of

the house

will come

back.

Whether

it's in

the

evening

or at

midnight

or when

the

cock

crows

are at

dawn.

If he

comes

suddenly,

do not

let him

find you

sleeping.

Don't be

sleeping.

Not

physically,

but make

sure you're

not going,

oh,

Jesus

coming back?

Load of

nonsense.

Jesus

coming back?

Well,

he's

taken a

long time

already,

so I've

got a

good few

years left

yet.

Do my

own thing.

Live my

own way.

It's

too

serious

to be

putting it

off.

In

fact,

look back

to verse

18.

We get

a small

description

of what

it was

like when

the Romans

actually

invaded

and destroyed

Jerusalem

and the

temple and

captured and

burnt and

wrecked everything

that was

there.

Verse

18,

Jesus is

talking about,

he says,

pray that

this doesn't

take place

in winter.

In other

words,

it's going

to be so

bad,

but,

you know,

it's going

to be worse

if it was

in winter

time.

Because,

verse 19,

those will

be days

of distress,

unequaled

from the

beginning when

God created

the world

until now

and never

to be

equaled

again.

It was

terrifying

when they

came and

destroyed the

place.

And he's

saying if

that's what

it was

like when

the temple

was destroyed,

what will

it be like

when the

Son of

Man

comes in

clouds with

great power

and glory.

And God

comes in

his judgment

to bring

his people

to himself.

But if we

are found

sleeping,

what will

it be like?

This is a

serious warning

for us

all.

Whoever we

are,

whether we

are a

believer

or not

yet a

believer,

make sure

we are

ready

to meet

the Lord.

Make sure

we are

ready

to meet

Jesus

because he

is coming.

Look at

verse 37.

What I

say to you,

I say to

everyone

watch.

Watch.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

ch

that

him.