Olivet Discourse – Part II
TRANSLATION
(11) “And whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not be anxious ahead of time about what to say. Just say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks but the Holy Spirit. (12) And brother will betray brother to death and the father his child, and children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. (13) And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. Whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.
(14) “But when you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where he does not belong (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, (15) and let the one on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out. (16) And let the one who is out in the field not return to recover his cloak. (17) But woe to women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! (18) And pray that it may not happen in winter (19) because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning of God’s creation until now and never to be seen again.
(20) “Unless the Lord cuts short those days, no one will be saved. However, for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen, he will cut the days short. (21) And 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 perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. (23) But be on your guard! I have told you everything ahead of time.”
OBSERVATIONS
We find several important terms used only once in Jesus’ description of the terrifying “Day of the Lord:” “abomination of desolation” (vs. 14), “flee” (also in vs. 14), “such tribulation” (vs. 19), and “false prophets” (vs. 22). Repeated terms included “say” and “speak” (vs. 11), “those/the days” (vss. 19 & 20), “cut(s) short” (vs. 20), “the elect” (vss. 20 & 22), and “Christ/christs” (vss. 21 & 22). Two different, but related, periods of time were juxtaposed in this segment: a “before” time leading up to the climactic events of “those days” (vss. 11-13) and, following that, a time of unprecidented devastation (vss. 14-23).
OUTLINE
I. Before the Great Tribulation, do not be anxious about the increasingly chaotic events. (11-13)
II. During the Great Tribulation, flee from the unprecedented devastation that is coming. (14-23)
IDEA STATEMENT
While the days leading up to the Great Tribulation will be exceedingly difficult, the time of the Great Tribulation will be filled with unprecedented devastation.
APPLICATION
Many Christians hold the view that the Rapture of the Church will occur during or at the end of the Great Tribulation, requiring believers to endure a terrible time of suffering. To support their view, they reference this segment of Mark 13, asking why Jesus would give such warnings to his listeners if we were not destined to endure the Tribulation (vss. 14-23). What follows is a response to this position.
Whenever the Rapture occurs, and this author believes that it will take place at the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation, those remaining on the earth will realize that the sudden disappearance of all true believers fulfills Paul’s prophecy in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Many who remain will go on living, hardened in their unbelief. However, there is every reason to believe that some will decide to trust Christ in light of the events taking place around them. Although the Church, identified as “the restrainer” (2 Thes. 2:6), has been removed, the Holy Spirit will still be at work to draw some, perhaps many, to faith in Christ, those whom Jesus called “the elect” or chosen ones (vss. 20 & 22). If this be the case, Jesus’ warning in this passage could be understood as instructions for those who will be left behind to face the terrible events of the Great Tribulation, the period when God pours out his wrath on the entire earth. Whether the Church will be forced to undergo the trials of the Great Tribulation or not, those who love the Lord can rest assured that God has promised to give each of us the grace we need to endure whatever we must face in these coming days of distress that will come upon those who remain on earth.