Trials and Hope

Mark 13:1-12

¹ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ³ And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. ⁹But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Five years ago, we saw the death of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, self-proclaimed messiah. He claimed that he was here to “become the real Messiah.” When he died, he left behind a fortune of over 900 million dollars and has not returned from the dead. Jesus left behind not one single material item and was resurrected to glory on the third day. The Real Messiah came 2,000 years ago. We didn’t need another one.

As Jesus finishes up the training of The Twelve, He spends time discussing the Last Days. This conversation was for their ears only. This was not a topic for consideration by the Pharisees. The disciples actually began the discussion with an observation about the Temple.

The temple in Jerusalem was perhaps more spectacular than anything we have ever seen. Herod the Great started rebuilding it in about 20bc. The rebuilding, which included the courtyards and the surrounding walls, was still in progress at this time. The stones were massive. Some of them, as the ancient historian Josephus tells us, were 40 feet by 12 feet by 8 feet. Nor was the temple just one building, but a complex of buildings. The disciples thought that here surely was something built to stand as long as this world would.

Wicke, H. E. ©1988. Mark (p. 180). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

Jesus’ words of warning about that beautiful structure came to pass in 70ad as the Romans burned that building to the ground. Those words were just the beginning of a rather detailed and long teaching about what to expect during the Last Days. One need only read this passage to believe with certainty that we are in the Last Days right now, and that is a correct understanding.

I can barely stand to watch the news right now. There is nothing but violence and war on the horizon and it is indeed frightening. But we are in the exact same position as everyone else over the last 2,000 years. Even the disciples, upon watching Jesus ascend into heaven after His resurrection were pretty sure He was going to come back immediately. They stood gazing up into the clouds waiting for His return. (Acts 1) Angels had to come along and tell them, "go back to Jerusalem and do what Jesus told you to do – spread the Gospel." It wasn’t time for His return at that point. When John writes the Revelation, you get the impression that he is expecting the events which he was shown in visions to happen almost immediately. That was in 98ad. Jesus will indeed return at the perfect time, proscribed by the Father.

Our trials were prophesied by Jesus Himself. But He also promised to return and so far, all of God’s promises have been kept. We simply wait with hope, know that He will return just as He said.