February 10, 1999

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Christ's future return
affects Christians' present
___ Mark 13:1-37
___By Dillard Wilbanks
___Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___The doctrine of the Second Coming is subject to two extremes. One is to totally disregard it as too complicated to consider and the other is to become so completely unbalanced about it that it becomes the only doctrine of the Christian faith.
___The unquestionable truth of Mark 13 is that Jesus will return and his future affects our present.
___ Questions about the temple's fall (Mark 13:2-4). Jesus foresaw in this prophecy the destruction of the Holy City. The temple which they were now leaving was one of the wonders of the world. The stones to which the disciples referred were as large as 40 feet by 12 feet by 18 feet. This massive pinnacle of human achievement would seemingly stand forever.
___Jesus responds to their amazement by making an astonishing, prophetic statement that, in fact, it would crumble. In less than 50 years, that prophecy came true. He then moves to yet another prophetic discourse and warning.
___ Predictions of future troubles and his Second Coming (Mark 13:5-8, 24-27). In this most Jewish chapter in the Bible Jesus is speaking in terms and word pictures very familiar to the Jews of his day. "The Day of the Lord" was seen as the day of God's direct earthly intervention to win for his chosen people the place in the world they deserved. That "Day" would be a day of judgement, heaping destruction on the world. A new world, new age and new glory would follow (Amos 5; Isaiah 13; Joel 2-3).
___Verses 7-8 and 24-27 are written in the language associated with this "Day of the Lord." He depicts for them the greatness of that coming event when he, the "Son of Man," would return to usher it in (Daniel 7:13-14).
___That day would be preceded by a time of trouble. In these verses Jesus unmistakably speaks of his coming again. In these pictorial words associated with the then familiar "Day of the Lord," he is giving us neither a map of eternity nor timetable to the future.
___One thing is certain--he is foretelling his coming again with great power and glory. His one clear disassociation from the Jewish anticipation of that "Day" was the gathering of his "elect." These would be chosen because they had chosen him as the promised Messiah who would usher in a spiritual kingdom.
___ The time of his coming unknown (Mark 13:32,35-37). Heresy arises from an attempt to be completely knowledgeable about a time which Jesus himself was content not to know. There can be no greater rebuke to those who work out dates and time-tables than Jesus' statement in verse 32. To become immersed in such speculation is a distortion of his admonition to "be alert."
___We live in the shadow of eternity--with the continuous possibility that this could be the "Day."
___Do we so live that it really doesn't matter when?
___Is every day of our lives a day of preparation for the coming of the King?
___If today, could he say "well done good and faithful servant?"
___Is there a lost friend for whom our postponed witness would be one day too late?
___Today is the day to focus on what really matters eternally!

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