Watch out, stay alert!

Mark 13:14-37 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Now when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—let the reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Whoever is on the housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁷ But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; ²² for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But beware; I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ³² But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. ³⁴ It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵ Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— ³⁶ so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷ What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’”

As we see the physical destruction and devastation, as we witness the thousands of accounts of the human tragedy of mothers and their children leaving their country and their husbands and fathers because of the evil plans of one man, it is difficult to imagine anything could be worse.  In today’s text though, Jesus says:  “But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.” In yesterday’s text, in Mark 13:7-8, describing the difficult circumstances that will exist here on earth before His return, Jesus said: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.”  What we are witnessing now will pale in comparison to what will come. The coming tribulation will be greater than anything the world has ever known.  It will not be limited to one country or one region, but rather will impact the whole world. We are perhaps seeing the birth pains.

Human nature is a difficult thing to understand. You would think that if people were warned about coming devastation, they would prepare in advance and be ready. Yet, time after time when people are warned of the coming devastation of storms, floods or fires, many are unprepared and do not respond until it is too late.  In a similar way, Jesus says: “Beware; I have told you everything in advance. 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 that are 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 forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. So you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 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 about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”   We have been warned. Jesus has told us everything in advance.  No one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will come. So you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.

Jesus says: “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’” Spoiler alert: The end of the story has already been written. Jesus has told us everything. In Revelation 22 it says: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost… He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.