Explore Mark chapter 13 as we delve into Jesus’s profound predictions about the end of the age. Through a thoughtful reading of the scriptures and personal reflections, this episode provides insights into how these ancient prophecies relate to modern times. Join us as we navigate the themes of faith, authenticity, and staying on guard against deceptive teachings.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today in Mark chapter 13, Jesus talks about the end of the age. Let’s listen in to the 37 verses of Mark 13, as read by faith comes by hearing.
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Mark 13. And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
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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.
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And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when will these things be?
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And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say to them, See that no one lead you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 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. But 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. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 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.” 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. And you will be hated by all for my namesake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand.” Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or look, there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard. I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” From the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that He is near, at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all, stay awake.
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In 1986, we were moving from Denver to Nashville. We stopped in Oklahoma City for the night, and that’s where I read Mark chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14, but I didn’t write any notes. In 1996, I split the reading of Mark 13 into two days. On the first day, I wrote, What looks solid is not. The Word of God is solid. Everything else will be torn down. Many will come in His name. How will we know? the word of God. I continued to write, and the gospel must first be preached to all nations. How? By the word of God. Speak, speak that, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. I may be hated by all for his namesake, but endure and be saved. The next day I finished Mark 13 and I wrote, The end of the age, watch for false prophets. Measure them against God’s word. Learn from spiritual signs and seasons. When no one knows, watch and know all things may pass away, but God’s word stands forever. In 2006, 10 years after that, I wrote about Mark 13 on two different days again, and I wrote, What are the signs of the end times? The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. Then the end will come. We may be seeing birth pangs, natural disasters coming more frequently and more intently. The next day I finished Mark 13 and I wrote, Tithe. Give to the poor. Treat people right. Honor religious celebrations. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just as in the days of Mark chapter 13, people still want to know when the end times will come. What are the signs of the ends of the age? First, Jesus warns us. He says, See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, I am he. and they will lead many astray. We have seen that over and over and over. Many come and say, this is the last day, or this is the end of the age, and it hasn’t happened yet. They have led some astray, though. Next, he says, be on your guard. He says, Christians may suffer persecution as we get close to the end times. And then he makes a great proclamation in verse 10. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Well, that hasn’t happened yet. It’s getting close, but it hasn’t happened yet. But as we get closer to that happening, Jesus tells us, And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. So far, Jesus has told us, Don’t be led astray, be on your guard, and you will be hated. In verse 19 he says, For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. So the end times, the last days are going to be very difficult. Finally, Jesus says, but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. In my early days as being a Christian, I always wanted to be there. I want to be there to see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of glory. But I didn’t realize what the condition of the world would be like. Mark 13 gives us a glimpse of what the world will be like, and it will not be a pretty sight. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. but be on guard. The end times may be so difficult that even us as strong believers will be led astray by the signs and wonders of the false prophets, the false Christ, the Antichrist. Jesus warns us once again, be on guard. And how do we be on guard? The Lord tells us. In verse 31, he says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. We stay on our guard by staying in his word. Lastly, Jesus says, but concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. My application to that verse is, therefore, when anyone decides or predicts that they think they know the day that Jesus is coming or the day that the world is going to end, I cannot believe it. Oh, they may be well-meaning. but they do not know. This verse tells me they do not know. Jesus himself says he does not know, only the Father. He finishes with, be on guard, keep awake, stay awake. Lord, we know the day will come. Heaven and earth will pass away. You will come riding on the clouds with your angels to gather your elect up into heaven. You said these things, Lord. These are your words, and you say your words will never pass away. So keep us in your word that we may be on guard, keep awake, and stay awake until you come. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You might wonder how I became a daily Bible reader. When I was 15 years old, a buddy and me stole his father’s car. We could steal his father’s car because his father was in Vietnam, serving in the war. So he was never home. So we took the car that day. Neither one of us with a driver’s license. And we took off out east of Colorado Springs on a dirt road. We were flying down this dirt road at 60 miles an hour. And he lost control of the car. We began to spin and we were going down the road, fishtailing, and he spun the wheel of the car, 60 miles an hour. The car tumbled, crushed the top, tucked the wheels under, totaled the car. I was on a dirt road. I don’t know if I was thrown out of the car or crawled out of the car, but I looked at that car and I thought, am I even alive? Am I broken? Am I bleeding everywhere? And I began to pat myself down, and I felt like I was okay. So I stood up, and I was uninjured, amazingly. The sheriff came to draw up the accident. He said, it’s a miracle you guys are alive. I got home that night, went down into my bedroom. My mother came to me and said, you ought to thank God you’re alive. I was laying on my bed, and I was thinking about the day’s activities, and I just thought, wow, I could have been dead today. I wasn’t a driver. I was the passenger. I wasn’t in control, but God was. At that moment, I figured out at 15 years old, God could take my life any time. He could have that day. So as I laid there, I thought, okay, you could take my life any day. So you saved my life today for a reason. For whatever reason that is, I’m going to live for you and that reason. As I said that, I heard a voice say to me, there’s a Bible on your bookshelf. Get it down and read it. I must have heard something, because I got up, I went over to the bookshelf, and I pulled down a Bible. I opened it to the first page, just like I would any other book, and I began to read God’s Word. I read Genesis chapter 1. The next day I read Genesis chapter 2. The next day I read Genesis chapter 3. And a chapter a day, I began to read God’s Word at 15 years old. If you do that, by the way, it’ll take you about three and a half years to finish reading the Bible a chapter a day. And that’s a good plan. So that’s how I became a daily Bible reader. And when I finished going through the Bible the first time, at 18 years or so, I just started over because I thought that’s what Christians did, was read their Bibles every day. So that’s how I became a daily Bible reader.
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