When will the end come?

21 December 2012 was supposed to be... the end of the world.

At least, that's what some people who had spent too much time studying Mayan mythology thought.

Not everyone agreed on how the end of the world would happen.  

That didn't stop a small group from gathering at the top of a mountain in the Pyrenees, near the small village of Bugarach, which they believed to be the only safe place on earth.

They woke up on 22 December to find that the world was still there, and that they too were still there... still surrounded by a few goats.

The Jehovah's Witnesses first announced that the end of the world would come in 1878, then in 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975 and 1994.

That's a lot of mistakes!

As a result, it's easy to get the impression that anyone who talks about the end of the world must be delusional. That no reasonable person can accept this idea.  

Perhaps what gives us this impression is the fact that the world around us seems so stable and solid.

Our routine, the commute, work, sleep, everything we see with our own eyes: everything seems so permanent that it is difficult to take seriously the idea that it could come to an end.

...

This impression of permanence must have been what Jesus' disciples felt when they looked at the temple in Jerusalem.

Look at Mark 13:1

As they were leaving the temple, one of the disciples said to Jesus, 'Teacher, look at these stones and these buildings!

The temple in question was a gigantic building made of large cut stones. The temple esplanade could hold 200,000 people. Its construction had taken several decades.

Perhaps like certain Parisian monuments—the Louvre, Notre Dame—the temple exuded permanence.  

But Jesus replied, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another; everything will be destroyed."

In recent weeks in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has spoken a great deal about the temple in Jerusalem.

In Mark 11, we saw that the temple and its religion were to be judged.

In Mark 12, we saw why... the temple and its religion had to be judged.

In Mark 13, we ask ourselves the same question as the disciples: when?

"When... will this happen... and what will be the sign that it is near?"

We will see that in his answer, Jesus speaks... not of one event but of two.  

The judgement of the temple... but also... the judgement of the world.

And if Jesus speaks of these two events, it is because even though they are distinct, they are also linked.  

Jesus' purpose in this text is to show us that not everything that seems stable and solid is permanent.

This passage is not without its difficulties. I do not claim to understand everything. I would be happy to hear your thoughts. Next Sunday, we will have a question and answer session at the end of the service. Write down any questions you would like to ask!

But in fact, I feel that the message of this text is quite simple: Jesus is coming back.

We don't know when, it could happen at any time, and there is no more important event to prepare for.

Four points  

1.    Life before the end

2.    The end of the temple has passed

3.    The end of the world is near

4.    The hour of the end is unknown

1.    Life before the end

Before getting to the heart of the matter concerning the circumstances of the end, the first thing Jesus warns us about is what life will be like while we wait for the end.

He wants us to have the right expectations.

Some of you here are keen runners.

When preparing for a race, it is important to know not only how many kilometres there are to the finish line, but also what to expect along the way.

Cramps, dehydration, when it goes uphill, when it goes downhill.

You need to know what to expect so that you don't get discouraged and give up.

The same is true here.

Verse 4.  

The disciples ask: when will the end come? And what will be the sign that it is near? They want to know the timing.

But in verse 5, before talking about timing, Jesus says: be careful! Do not be led astray!

He warns them of several dangers.

First, do not be terrified by world news!

Verse 7 

"When you hear of wars and threats of wars, do not be frightened, for these things must happen. However, this will not yet be the end."

One factor that led Jehovah's Witnesses to predict the end of the world in 1914 was the outbreak of the First World War.

Throughout history, the outbreak of wars has often given rise to all kinds of speculation and hysteria that the end is near.

The danger of this type of speculation is that it creates panic, and then when the end does not come, one no longer knows what to believe.

Jesus says that these events, as terrible as they are, will surely happen, but... 

"it will not yet be the end."

In verse 8, he describes them rather as "the beginning of birth pains", and the word he uses refers to the pains of childbirth. 

Just as a pregnant woman may experience pain at any time during her pregnancy without it being time to give birth...

... wars, natural disasters and famines do not mean that the end is here.

They remind us that there will be an end. God will intervene to heal our world, but they do not tell us when.

Jesus says this so that we do not believe that God has lost control when these things happen.

Be careful... do not be terrified by world news!

Then... do not be seduced by fanatics.

Verse 5 

"Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name and say, 'I am he,' and they will deceive many."

While the first warning concerned events that could trouble us, the second concerns people who could deceive us.

Either by claiming outright to be Jesus, or by falsely claiming to speak in his name.

One could cite the denial in certain traditional Protestant churches that Jesus was truly God or truly resurrected or that he will truly return.

Be careful, says Jesus. Do not be deceived.

We could cite the idea in some evangelical churches that we can receive new revelations from God that have the same value as the teachings of the Bible.

"The Lord told me this!"

Jesus says: be careful!

Anyone who claims to represent him is not to be taken at his word.

Do not be seduced by fanatics!

Do not be surprised by hostility.

Verse 9 

"Be on your guard. You will be handed over to courts and beaten in synagogues; you will stand before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness to them."

Jesus warns us about persecution.

It has always existed. Not in the same form at all times and in all places.

But wherever we want to live for Jesus and speak about him, hostility will be present in one form or another.

You may be familiar with Open Doors, which publishes an annual list of countries where persecution is most severe. This helps us to know how to pray.

The risk, since France is not on the list, is that we think it does not concern us.

But Jesus says here that as soon as we start talking about him publicly, there will inevitably be hostility in one form or another.

I am thinking of a Christian physiotherapist who appeared in a recent report on evangelical churches... and who has just been summoned by the physiotherapists' association to explain his comments.

Personally, I would not have expressed myself in exactly the same way as he did in the news report. But it is still a case of hostility of the kind described by Jesus.

It can arise even within the same family.

Verse 12

"Brothers will betray brothers to death, and fathers will betray their children; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death."

I think of that friend with a Muslim background, disowned by his family and deprived of his inheritance because he follows Jesus.

Be careful. Do not be surprised by hostility.

When Jesus tells us these things, he is a bit like a coach at the start of a marathon who tells us: don't be surprised if at some point your legs hurt. Persevere 

He is not trying to make us anxious. He warns us out of love because he wants us to go all the way.

But perhaps you are wondering: does this mean that Jesus avoided the disciples' question? The question of timing? 

No

2. The end of the temple has passed

Let's read verse 14

"When you see the abomination of desolation [spoken of by the prophet Daniel] standing where it should not be... then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

Jesus is talking about a time of great distress... when it will be urgent to flee as quickly as possible.

Those who are on the roof of their house will not even have time to go down and get their belongings.

Those working in the fields will not have time to fetch their cloaks.

It is a frightening description, so much so that one might think Jesus is describing the end of the world.

But when we look at the text more closely, we discover that this is not the case. Jesus is rather talking about a specific historical event.

This event is geographically limited. It is those who live in Judea—the region around Jerusalem—who must flee to the mountains. Not everyone.

Nor is it the last event in history.

Jesus says that "the distress will be such as has not been since the beginning of the world... and never will be again," implying that history continues after that.

Jesus is not talking about the destruction of the world. Rather, he is describing the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

This took place in the year 70 when the Roman army besieged Jerusalem, killed its inhabitants, and burned the temple.

This building, which seemed so solid and permanent... was reduced to ruins... only a few decades after Jesus spoke these words.

And Jesus says that this event was preceded by a warning sign. Did you notice that?

He said, "When you see the abomination of desolation... that is when it is time to flee the region."

This enigmatic expression - the abomination of desolation - comes from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

It refers to an act of desecration or sacrilege committed in the temple that would be the precursor to its final abandonment.

We do not know exactly what this was.

Perhaps it was an act committed in the temple by the Romans before they destroyed it.

Perhaps something the Jews did.

We do not know, and we do not need to know.

Because it was a sign only for the people of that time – in the first century – that they should flee Jerusalem.

Because God's judgement was about to fall upon Israel.

All of this is the culmination of what we have been seeing for several weeks in the Gospel of Mark.

We have seen that the people of Israel and their leaders had largely rejected God. They would go so far as to kill his son.

And so Jesus had announced that God would judge them because of this rebellion.

The destruction of the temple – the place that symbolised the special relationship between God and Israel – would be proof that this special relationship was now over.

But this event is not the same thing as the end of the world... despite what one might think...

I am going to ask you to concentrate for a moment!

When the Old Testament spoke of God's judgement, it sometimes said that this judgement would begin with the temple.

If you're interested in the reference, Malachi chapter 3 says this.

So one might think that when the temple was judged, the world would be judged at the same time.

 The disciples probably thought so.

But Jesus said that this is not quite how things will happen.

There will be a period of time between the two.

But the two events are linked, because the end of the temple is there to teach us something about the end of the world.

It serves as a kind of trailer. Like a teaser.

The end of the temple shows us how terrible God's judgement is on human rebellion.

How urgent it is to act without delay if we are warned that this judgement is coming.

And above all, and this is our third point, the end of the temple teaches us that the end of the world is near.

3. The end of the world is near!

 Verse 24. Jesus continues...

"But in those days, after that time of distress—after the destruction of the temple—the sun will be darkened, the moon will no longer give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

Here Jesus quotes parts of the Old Testament that speak of God's judgement on the whole world.

The world seems stable and solid today (and still). But these images show that this world is not as solid as we might think.

Even if the falling stars and the darkening sun are poetic language—and there are reasons to think so—the message is clear.

In the face of God's judgement, our world is not as permanent as we think.

In verse 26, Jesus says that it is then that we will see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds... with great power and glory. He will send his angels and gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky."

This is another reference to the book of Daniel.

Daniel saw in a vision God sitting in judgment of the world, and someone described as 'the Son of Man' coming on the clouds.

And this Son of Man receives from God authority over all the peoples of the earth forever.

This vision is partly fulfilled when Jesus rises from the dead and returns to God.

Today Jesus reigns victorious at the right hand of God over the whole earth.

But as long as we still live in a broken and rebellious world, this vision is not yet fully realised.

We are still waiting.

But Jesus announces here in Mark that one day he will return in glory and be seen by all.

It will be then that this rebellious and disordered world will come to an end.

He will judge his enemies and save his people once and for all.

And the essential idea that he wants us to understand at all costs is that that day... is near.

Verses 28 - follow along with me 

Learn a lesson from the parable of the fig tree: as soon as its branches become tender and the leaves sprout, you know that summer is near. Likewise, when you see these things happening, know that the Son of Man is near, that he is at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

Some understood this last sentence, verse 30, as an announcement that Jesus would return during the disciples' lifetime.  

This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

And since Jesus did not return at that time... like many enlightened ones throughout history... he was wrong...

But... throughout this passage, the expression "all these things" refers to something very specific.

The destruction of the temple.

The disciples ask when "this" will happen... referring to the temple, for example. 

So it seems likely that when Jesus says that this generation will not pass away before all this happens, he is talking about the destruction of the temple... an event that did indeed occur during the disciples' lifetime.

But what Jesus is getting at in verse 29 is that when you see these things happening, it shows that the Son of Man is near, that he is at the door.

The end of the temple shows that the end of the world is near.

We may well ask ourselves, it has been 2000 years since the temple was destroyed. What did Jesus mean by "near"?

Obviously, he did not mean "right away," because we have been waiting for two millennia!

What does "near" mean?

When Jesus says that his return is near, it means that there are no other events that must happen first in God's calendar.

It is the next date on his agenda. Jesus is at the door, and he can come in whenever he wants.

Maybe in a long time, maybe this afternoon.

This is the meaning of the illustration of the fig tree.

When the leaves appear, it means that summer is coming. We don't know exactly when. It doesn't allow us to announce the precise date of the arrival of fine weather. But we know it is coming. It’s where we’re headed next.

The appearance of the leaves is like the destruction of the temple in the year 70. Once that has happened, Jesus can return at any moment.

If we are sceptical, we can go to Jerusalem and look at the ruins.

The temple was indeed destroyed... just as Jesus had foretold.

Now, the end of the temple and the end of the world are part of the same package.

Not everything that looks stable and solid is permanent.

But if the end of the world is 'near'... the hour of the end is also... unknown.

This is the final point:

4. The hour of the end is unknown!

Verse 32

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Sometimes we hear of Christians who think they can pinpoint the moment of the end.

Since such-and-such an event has happened in such-and-such a part of the world, the end will come on such-and-such a date. Mark it in your diary!

It is striking that these people claim to know more than Jesus himself.

No one knows the day or the hour... except the Father.

Jesus says it is like a man going on a journey.

He leaves his house to his servants.

He explains to them the work to be done, orders the gatekeeper to stay awake, and then leaves.

Verse 35

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come: in the evening, or in the middle of the night, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

In other words, we know that Jesus will return. We just don't know when.

His request is that we should not be 'asleep' when he returns.

Next Sunday we will have a whole sermon on what it means to be ready and not asleep when Jesus returns.

So I won't dwell on that now.

What I would like us to remember today is that Jesus' teaching on the end of the world, as we know it, is actually... very simple.

Jesus will certainly return to judge the world. x2

We do not know when he’ll return.

But we know that he’ll return.

There is nothing else on God's agenda that must come before it.

So there are two extremes to avoid.

There is a type of Christian who lives in what I would call a state of permanent 'eschatological anxiety'.

'Eschatological' simply means to do with the end.

People who live in a state of eschatological anxiety are obsessed with the question of when Jesus will return and spend their time fretting over the news to try to decipher how imminent the end is.

We saw people fall into this during the pandemic.

We see it every time there is conflict in the Middle East.

If you go on YouTube, you will always find people who live in this state of eschatological anxiety and who take advantage of situations of instability in the world to induce the same anxiety in others.

This week, I watched several rather far-fetched videos that fell into this trap.

If you recognise yourself in this profile, Jesus says: calm down.

There is a sign that his return is near. It happened 2,000 years ago: the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

But there is another extreme, which is undoubtedly more common. It is even more dangerous.
It is to ignore the fact that Jesus will return.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of us lean towards this tendency. 

If that is us, we need to heed Jesus' repeated warning in this passage.

Be careful, be on your guard, stay awake, stay alert.

The destruction of the temple in AD 70 really happened. It was a terrible event.

We have testimonies from Jewish historians who saw with their own eyes the devastation and misery of those who suffered it. When you read these testimonies you see that Jesus wasn’t exaggerating when he described it as the most awful tribulation ever.

But Jesus says that this was just the trailer.

If we know this, dear friends, it should make us tremble.

Not tremble because we are stressed out trying to figure out the date and wondering if it's time to start stocking up on tinned food and toilet rolls.

No, trembling because we understand that God is not messing around when it comes to evil in the world.

If you are like me, I imagine you have moments when you particularly want God to clean up this world.

Lord, why do you let these trials continue?

Why don't these injustices stop?

Why is there so much pain everywhere?

Lord, come and clean up!

Jesus has a word for the moment when God cleans up this world. It is the word 'judgement'.

That's what it means, God's judgement. It's when God cleans up! It's when he straightens out what is crooked, repairs what is broken, and removes from him everything that has no place in his kingdom.

A question that may trouble some of us is, "If God exists, why doesn't he put an end to evil?"

Good question!

Jesus does not dodge this question.

He answers... yes, I will put an end to evil!

The even more important question is: will we be ready for when he does that?

If Jesus is going to set right what is crooked and remove all that is evil, will I, who am stained by evil in all kinds of ways be ready?

If you cannot answer with great certainty, know that as Jesus utters these words, he is about to die so that we may be made ready, by receiving his forgiveness so that we don’t have to fear this judgement.

Have we accepted his offer of forgiveness?

This passage leaves us with a definite expectation: Jesus will return to judge.

We should tremble because we understand what is at stake

We should also tremble with joy...

The dream of a better world, free from everything that spoils it, where God has cleaned up, is not a fantasy!

God kept his promise concerning the temple – we can go and see the ruins that prove it.

We know that he will keep his promise about Jesus' return.

Talking about judgement and the end of the world as we know it can be frightening, and it should make us tremble, but it is also a way of saying that in the end, Jesus... wins!

This week I was reading an article about the increasing persecution of Christians in China.

If there is one thing these Christians pray for above all else, it is undoubtedly for Jesus to return.

Our life in this world, as difficult as it may be, as good as it may be, is not the end goal.

In the end, Jesus wins!

So, may I suggest something you can do? Take out your phone, and if you have a calendar app, create a recurring event that pops up every day: Jesus may return today! 

How should we live while we wait? We'll see next Sunday. So, if Jesus hasn't returned in the meantime, come back!