Be Prepared

Be Prepared

Mark 13:28-37

Two parables conclude Chapter 13 with a little controversy to stir the religious pot.

With his circle of four apostles around him, Jesus has revealed warnings of destruction and suffering, as well as an eventual return by "the Son of Man coming in clouds" and the Jews to the Promised Land.

Yet it's verse 30 where skeptics, atheists and secularists hang their hats. "Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." Should his statement in verse 30 be taken literally? If so, was Jesus in error?

What did Jesus previously say about the end times? "This is but the beginning of the birth pangs." There is also a tie-in to verse 32, where Jesus states no one knows the day or hour when the Son of Man returns. Only God knows.

While on earth, Jesus was living into his humanity. Only God, our Creator, knows when the time will come. As God of flesh and bone, what Jesus "knows" is... there will be persecution, suffering beyond imagination, Jerusalem will fall and the Temple will be destroyed. Be prepared.

Adding into the mix,…

To whom was the Gospel of Mark being shared? With primarily gentile Greek-speaking residents of the Roman Empire. Did the author of this Gospel intentionally write these words to heighten the importance for making a life change? To make such a change would be extremely radical, with one's life on the line.

If Mark had instead written -- "Many generations will pass before all these things have taken place" -- how might the listening audience have reacted? Intention was behind that statement -- verse 30. There's no guarantee of tomorrow. Be prepared. When time is of the essence, significant choices will be made.

Then there's verse 31. "Heaven and earth will pass away,…" Heaven will pass away? Really?!? Does that make sense when taking "heaven" in a literal context?

Consider Leviticus 26:14-20. Notice verse 19 -- "I will make your sky (heaven) like iron and your earth like copper." God's view is personalized, as in Isaiah 1:1-2. God is describing and speaking to Israel. It's not about a literal heaven and earth.

Jesus brings forth a New Covenant. When given to the people, "heaven and earth" (life as it is known by the Law) will indeed pass away. The Old Covenant will be uprooted, and in its place, the New Covenant will be planted. Be prepared.

Jesus continues, speaking about the necessity for watchfulness. "Like a man going away,..." There's the master of the house/property who will be leaving on a journey. The servants have been entrusted with responsibilities.

When Jesus "leaves home," the apostles will be "in charge, each with his work." They have been empowered to do,… to be. Jesus has prepared them for this moment. And the apostles will help expand the community with the Good News, thereby empowering others to do,… to be.

In our own lives,… did a moment in time come when responsibility was placed upon you to be watchful? To care for something? As a child, did your parents say, "You're old enough now, so we're going to put you in charge while we're away"? What did that feel like?

Being on watch, being alert takes effort. It's much easier to sleepwalk through life. To just go through the paces so another day passes by. No effort required.

Incorporating the Boy Scouts motto -- "Be Prepared" -- one must be prepared to live a full and worthwhile life, to do whatever is necessary in any situation that arises.

To follow Christ, our lives will be radically changed. The world as we have known it will pass away. But it's not "the end."

Let us live life fully. Stay awake. Be watchful. Be prepared.

NEXT

The plot thickens; the anointing

Wars, Earthquakes and Famines -- Oh, My!

Mark 13:7-8, 24-27

"Beware!"

Notice had been provided about false messianic prophets. Jesus now tells his followers to be ready for what could be considered much worse.

Not only would they have to be on guard against those wishing to deceive and direct others astray with misleading and empty promises; there would be gruesome suffering beyond the pale because of disasters (wars, earthquakes and famine). "Oh, my!" is right.

With this latest warning, Jesus painted a picture which was part and parcel of Jewish heritage. What he added was emphasis and heightened impact. Everything they knew would change.

People of the land were aware of the language which echoed prophetically -- in this moment and well before it.

* Ezekiel 7:25-27 -- "When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor; they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are palsied by terror."

* 4 Ezra 13:31 -- "And they shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom."

* 2 Baruch 27:2-13 states there will be commotions, slaughtering, death, famine, withholding of rain, earthquakes and terrors, attacks of the Shedim (evil spirits), fire, rape, violence, oppression, injustice and unchastity. And… "In the twelfth part, confusion from the mingling of all those things aforesaid."

* 2 Baruch 70:8 -- "And it shall come to pass that whosoever comes safe out of war shall die in the earthquake; And whosoever gets safe out of the earthquake shall be burned by the fire; And whosoever gets safe out of the fire shall be destroyed by famine."

The last part of verse 14 from 2 Baruch 27 is certainly potent: "Hence, those who live on earth in those days will not understand that it is the end of times."

Interesting that "it's the end of times" versus what Jesus states as a caveat -- "this is but the beginning of the birth pangs."

Did You Know…?

After Jesus was crucified, the trifecta of doom as predicted by the Christ did occur, which was experienced by many of his disciples and followers.

* War -- The First Jewish-Roman War began in 66 AD (also known as The Great Revolt).

* Earthquakes -- Around 61 AD, the tri-city area of Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis was devastated by a massive earthquake. In 79 AD, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic rock and ash.

* Famine -- As stated by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews, in the days of Claudius Caesar, a famine oppressed the people of which many died.

However a question begs to be asked, "How long would the birth pangs last?" For the followers of Jesus (in that day), it was thought the birth pangs would begin in short order and be over sooner than later.

Norma * asked, "But what does this mean to me today? It's troubling. Do I have to personally experience this (what is intensely described in the apocalyptic texts)?" While we may not have to go through all that is mentioned in 2 Baruch 27:2-13, as Leah * stated, "Unfortunately, these things still exist. It's challenging and it's painful."

Case in point -- this recent article was published -- "Hunger consumes life in suburb of Damascus."  The devastation of wars, earthquakes and famine are still being experienced worldwide. We are an imperfect people who live on/in an imperfect world, which continues to evolve over time. We continue to evolve over time.

As Marc * shared, Jesus' underlying message to his followers was "The Sanhedrin are on a path of destruction." The religious establishment wanted to serve two masters, placing more emphasis on the Roman government as well as their own selfish desires than on God.

In essence, Jesus was saying, "For love, mercy and forgiveness to be in the hearts and minds of those in this world, you'll have heed these warnings. Be on guard, and keep your focus on God. Spread the Good News far and wide so it may be known by all."

What follows the trifecta of doom prediction? From Mark 13:24,25 -- "…after that suffering, 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."

The poetic language expressed in these terms of "darkened sun and moon" are written in Amos 8:9, Joel 2:10 and 3:15, Ezekiel 32:7-8, Isaiah 13:10. Unknown [to us] may be verse 5 from The Assumption of Moses -- "The horns of the sun shall be broken and he shall be turned into darkness, and the moon shall not give her light, and be turned wholly into blood, and the circle of the stars shall be disturbed."

And then…? Something prayed for, dreamed of, believed in -- the day when Jews return to Palestine, extending from the four corners of the earth. The prophets of old shared these words as well: Isaiah 27:13 and 35:8-10; Micah 7:12; Zechariah 10:6-11.

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing." [i] 

What a joyful moment! Imagine the intense emotion of such a return, the over-the-top celebration, the poignant rejoicing.

And this happens when? When they see "the Son of Man coming in clouds." Again these are not unfamiliar words: Psalm 68:4 and 104:3; Daniel 7:13; Isaiah 19:1. These "clouds" describe the supernatural "glory" representing God's presence.

Also, 4 Ezra 32 states "When these things come to pass and the signs occur which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed,…."

Prophetic passages, predictions without precise order, actual events occurring which mirror prophecy. A map of eternity was not laid out by Jesus with a timetable. Yet it is a promise of a return.

Jesus promises he will come again -- use of imagery or not. It is then when peace will be established among the nations. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." [ii]   

It is then the words from Isaiah 9:2 become even more meaningful:

"The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shined."

NEXT

How soon is "soon"? Familiar words are spoken.

---

[i] Isaiah 35:10a (RSV)

[ii] Isaiah 21:4 (RSV)

* Member of Study Group

The Sky is Falling, the Sky is Falling!!!

Mark 13:3-6, 21-23

'Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!"'

Numerous are those who have claimed the mantle of the messiah. The turn of the century, in Jesus' lifetime, brought about Simon of Peraea and Athronges the shepherd boy -- each who made that assertion -- and of whom the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote.

* A former Jewish slave, Simon of Peraea led a failed rebellion against Rome. His corpse was left to rot in the countryside, with many of his followers crucified.

* Athronges was a shepherd who fought against Herod Archelaus. He, too, failed to overthrow the Romans.

"Beware that no one leads you astray."

After Jesus' death, the messianic uprisings rose to a fevered pitch. The Kingdom of God was coming!

"In 36 CE, a messiah known only as the Samaritan gathered a group of followers atop Mount Gerizim, where he claimed he would reveal sacred vessels hidden there by Moses. Pilate responded with a detachment of Roman soldiers who climbed Gerizim and cut the Samaritan's faithful multitude to pieces." [i]  

Josephus wrote about a "prophet" named Theudas who in 44 CE promised to part the Jordan river. He misled hundreds of followers with his Moses-like prediction. His battle cry was the Promised Land would be reclaimed from Rome! Cuspius Fadus, procurator of Judea, wasn't enthralled by Theudas' promises so he sent troops to squash the charlatan. Theudas' head was cut off, carried into Jerusalem, and the movement was scattered.

Another "King Messiah" promised to lead the Jews to a Promised Land without enemies. A Jewish sorcerer called the Egyptian, "gathered thousands of followers on the Mount of Olives where he vowed that, like Joshua at Jericho, he would bring the walls of Jerusalem tumbling down at his command." [ii] Imagine how that went over. The crowd was massacred.

"What will be the sign?"

How often have we asked that same question? Or something along the lines of "If I only had a sign," "If I knew when it would happen," "If I could just get a hint into the future." Usually followed later by "If I had only known!"

Specific to verse 4, Peter, James, John and Andrew were expressing concern to what Jesus had declared earlier -- not one stone of the Temple would be left upon another. For them, Jesus' prediction would be considered "the end times." They wanted to be prepared.

"The end times." Seemingly, everyone has an opinion when it will be: now… and way back when.

Did You Know…?

Among the claimants who have predicted "the end":

* St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, believed the end of the world would happen before 400 CE;

* St. Gregory, Bishop of Tours, provided an end-time window to transpire between 799 and 806 CE;

* Pope Sylvester II believed the apocalypse would occur on January 1, 1000 (the end of the Christian Millennium);

* Pope Innocent III stated the world would end in 1284 CE -- 666 years after the rise of Islam;

* Martin Luther claimed no later than 1600 CE for the end-times;

* Christopher Columbus wrote in his Book of Prophecies for the end of the world to be 1656 CE;

* Cotton Mather prophesied the end for 1697 CE; when that didn't happen, the Puritan minister gave it two more tries: 1716 CE and 1736 CE;

* Charles and John Wesley each made end-of-the-world predictions: 1794 and 1836, respectively;

* Pat Robertson announced 1982 was the date for Christ's return, then after that date passed, he revised it for April 29, 2007;

* Nostradamus predicted July 1999 as the date for the world's destruction;

* Jerry Falwell (as did Isaac Newton, Jonathan Edwards, Edgar Cayce, Ed Dobson among others) stated 2000 CE would be "the end."

Remember December 21, 2012? The New Age interpretation of the Mayan calendar claimed this date for the end of the world.

What do all of these predictions have in common -- besides being forecasts when the world was to end?

They were all wrong!

Nevertheless, prophecies of the future and of the end sells. It's a HUGE money-maker. Consider how the public gravitates toward the doomsayers. In the 1970s, Hal Lindsey's book The Late Great Planet Earth sold over 20 million copies. What about the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins -- published from 1995 to 2007? A large segment of the "buyers" were Evangelical Christians.

What do you think Jesus would have to say about this?

"I have already told you everything."

Easier said than done (and accepted). As Joe * shared with the study group, "The search for God is difficult and ongoing." We want to know more, and we want to know more now!

What happens in our anxious lives is we yearn for answers; we desire guidance. With a God who is invisible, "We look for that person in the here and now who can lead us to the Promised Land," said Patrick *.

Yet as C.J. * mentioned, "It's difficult to sort out the truth from all of the lies. How do you find the truth?"

Jesus knew human nature extremely well. With his days on earth numbered, he warned his followers to be aware -- "beware" -- of being led astray; of being deceived. There would be con artists who would put on a dazzling, exceptional show. The Good News could be easily derailed because of the glitz and glamour of empty, false promises.

That was then but what about now? How simple is it to be distracted -- thinking three steps ahead, worrying about tomorrow or months/years in advance? Do we put our faith in others who aspire to lead us astray?

Instead of placing an inordinate amount of energy on what is to come, what if we shifted our efforts to live more in the present? To be in the moment? To put our trust and faith in the living God?

Our lives here on earth are fleeting (time-wise). Let's live into the Good News right now instead of thinking how wonderful it will be in Heaven and wishing that day would soon arrive.

But as Norma * stated, "Right now is the hard part."

NEXT

The trifecta of "doom," the map of eternity

---

[i] Zealot by Reza Aslan -- p. 49

[ii] Zealot by Aslan -- p 53

* Member of the study group