Mark 13:4–30

They are sitting on the Mount of Olives — that place of judgment, departure, and return — looking out over the loved but stubborn and rejected city. What had been the centre of all their thoughts is being destroyed and left empty, and it moves them. So they ask, "When will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" Here the Holy Spirit presents the question to us in a much simpler form. It concerns the setting aside of the Jewish resting place.

This statement would sound so strange to those who looked on the temple as the house of God and the glorious centre of their religion.

In the short account Mark gives us of our Lord's prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives, and of the questions that led to it, he names the favoured hearers more exactly than anywhere else: Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Mark pays this kind of attention to detail, though his is much the shortest of the Gospels.

Just as in Matthew 24:3, the Lord's outline of prophetic events is meant for disciples, not for the crowd. Here in Mark it is for disciples who are deeply concerned. No one sees prophecy rightly without serious spiritual exercise.

In Mark 13 the only question asked is, "What will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" — that is, the destruction.

The Spirit led Matthew to concentrate on what the Lord said in His reply about the end of the age (Matthew 24, 25). Mark, as he usually does, makes a special feature of the Lord's remarks about the trials of His servants in that critical time (Mark 13). Luke dwells almost entirely on the Lord's reply to the first of Peter's questions, the one about the coming Roman desolation (Luke 21).

First, He fixed no dates. Any answer He gave about timing was indirect. Second, He went beyond what they asked, to the larger issues of the last days and His own coming in glory. The same feature appears in many Old Testament prophecies. God gave them with some coming event of history in view, and they really did apply to that event. Yet their wording applies with even greater fullness to events still to happen in the last days.

They were thinking of events. The Lord had before Him His own sufferings and dangers, and theirs, in the middle of those events.

Here we will find that the Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view... Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God, the Prophet on earth preaching the gospel and doing works in the spirit of it. So even in His prophecy He is still the Servant. He gives them what would matter so much, not only for their souls but in their work. This is not only a prediction of coming judgments. He is warning them beforehand and counselling them about their testimony.

First, He fixed no dates. Any answer He gave about the time was indirect. Second, He went beyond what they actually asked, out to the larger issues of the last days and His own coming in glory. The same feature marks many Old Testament prophecies. They were given with some coming event of history in view, and they did apply to that event. Yet they were worded so that they apply even more fully to events still to come in the last days.

Their question may have come largely from curiosity. He lifted the whole matter to a far higher level by His opening words, "See that no one leads you astray." The course of events that prophecy reveals runs against everything men would naturally expect. False prophets are attractive because they always predict things that fit men's desires and sound entirely reasonable.

Sitting on the Mount of Olives, the Lord Jesus is asked in private by Peter, James, John and Andrew when all these things would happen, and what sign they should look for. As in Matthew 24:3, the Lord's outline of coming events is meant not for the crowd but for disciples — and here in Mark, for disciples who deeply care. No one sees prophecy rightly without serious concern of heart before God.

All three Gospel writers who record this discourse include this warning. But here we find that the Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view... So even in His prophecy He is the Servant still, giving them what would matter so much, not only for their souls but in their work. This is not only prediction of coming judgments. It is warning and counsel for them in their testimony. They were to watch out for deceivers.

In Mark 13 the Lord takes up much more the service of the apostles in the circumstances that would surround them, than the development of the dispensations and the ways of God with respect to the kingdom — a point of view more presented in Matthew, who treats of this subject.

This warning shows how clearly the Lord has the godly remnant of the Jewish nation in view. Christians, taught in Christian truth, would not be fooled by a man claiming to be the Christ. They know that the next time they see Christ, it will be in the clouds. The godly remnant will rightly be watching for Christ to appear on the earth, so a report that He had come could easily deceive them.

History has proved how badly this warning was needed, for there are almost countless prophetic deceptions today... Many have already come claiming to be Christ. Some do not use that exact title, yet they lift themselves into the place that belongs to the Lord Jesus alone. They have deceived many.

In verse 33 we get the words "take heed" for the fourth time. The Lord opened His discourse with these words and closed with them, and He spoke them twice in between, in verses 9 and 23. Everything He revealed about the future is meant to press on our consciences and our lives. He forewarns us so that we may be forearmed.

The first warning, in verse 6, concerns those who come impersonating the Christ. The central point of the conflict is always here. The devil knows that if he can deceive men about Him, he can deceive them in everything else. If we are wrong about the centre, we are bound to be wrong out to the farthest edge. If we are rooted in our knowledge of the true Christ, we are proof against the pull of the false ones.

The words "I am" (ego eimi) occur three times in John 8. This expression has to be made definite, I judge, according to the force of the context. It may therefore point to different glories or characters in Christ. It is used in Mark 13:6. But in this place it is properly defined by the italic word "Christ," and the context shows this very clearly.

The first point the Lord noticed was the use Satan made of the nation's rejection of Christ. Many would arise saying "I am," and would lead many astray. They were to be aware of deception.

The Lord opens His discourse with five warnings. First, the disciples are warned against false Christs. Many will come in the Name of Christ. Some will even dare to say "I am Christ," and the Lord adds that such will "deceive many." This warning proves how clearly the Lord has in view the godly remnant in the middle of the Jewish nation. Christians, taught in Christian truth, would not be deceived by a man claiming to be the Christ. They know that the next time they see Christ, it will be in the clouds. The godly remnant will rightly be looking for Christ to appear on the earth, and so could easily be deceived by a report that He had come.

Here we find that the Lord gives His warnings and instructions with their service in view. This has been the character of Mark all through. Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God. He is the Prophet on earth, preaching the Gospel and doing works that match its spirit. So even in His prophecy, He is the Servant still. He gives them what would be of the highest importance, not only for their souls but in their work. This is not only prediction of coming judgments. He is forewarning them and putting them on guard in their testimony. They were to beware of deceivers.

History has proved how necessary such a warning was. There are almost countless prophetic deceptions today, and they have multiplied especially since the 1800s. Many have already come claiming to be Christ. Some of them do not use that exact title, yet they lift themselves into the place that belongs only to the Lord Jesus. Many have been deceived by them. These first words of the Lord's prophecy have already been abundantly fulfilled.

"Be troubled" is used in Matthew 24:6 and Mark 13:7 just as it is used here: present troubles should not make them think the end is near, or that the day of the Lord has come. In neither case is the problem a wrong expectation. It is trouble from present circumstances, which alarms the mind and takes away its security, so that it fears as if the day of the Lord were already here. "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed." The trouble clearly came from disturbing causes that were really and visibly at work.

The Lord also warns the disciples not to conclude that the end is near because of "wars and rumors of wars." Such things must happen in a world that has rejected Christ. Wars, earthquakes, famines and troubles are the beginning of sorrows, not the end.

Moral improvement, truth winning the day, peace for mankind — these were still misleading dreams, and they were to be on their guard against them. They would hear of wars and rumors of wars. Only when He takes His great power and reigns could it be otherwise, as Isaiah predicts. His disciples were not to let this disturb or deceive them. Such evil things must be because the King was rejected, and the end is not yet.

So the Lord is providing what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. The end was not yet. He gives instruction that would keep them calm in service, not stirred up by circumstances or by false hopes, not saying, Look! here, or Look! there, and not shaken by what shook the world. They might still serve quietly on.

Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God, the Prophet here on earth preaching the Gospel and doing works in the spirit of it. So even in His prophecy He is still the Servant, giving them what would matter so much, not only for their souls but for their work. It is not only a prediction of coming judgments. It also warns and instructs them in their testimony.

When Scripture addresses the Church, it presses the opposite attitude: for the Church, the end is at hand... These judgments fall as payment for the Jews' rejection of the true Christ. The Church has received the true Christ, and so does not come under them. So the word of God always presses on the Christian the assurance that the end of all things is at hand. "The night is far gone; the day is at hand" (Rom. 13:12). The point for the disciples on the Mount of Olives — for they stood not for Christians, but for the remnant of Jewish disciples in the last days — is that these distresses and troubles come before the disaster that ends this age, but the end is not yet. The Lord was providing for them twice over. His instruction would hold true then and up to the fall of Jerusalem, and it would fit the last days too, when Jerusalem is besieged a second time.

Judging from Scripture, my own feeling is that this war is certainly not one of those spoken of... Those wars are after the church is gone — when the Jewish remnant has been developed, and false Christs are presenting themselves to the Jews... so that if this were one of the wars and rumors of wars of Matthew 24, it would rather be a proof that the end is not yet.

The Greek words kopos, ponos, mochthos, and odin have similar meanings, but they carry different ideas. Odin occurs only four times in the New Testament. In its literal sense it refers to the pangs of a woman in childbirth. It has that sense in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Twice it refers to the pangs that will seize the wicked when God pours out His judgements on the earth: Matthew 24:8 and Mark 13:8. Once it refers to the pains of death endured by the Lord, in Acts 2:24.

For nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there were to be earthquakes, famines, and troubles in different places; these were the beginnings of this world's throes for the bringing forth of judgment.

The Lord warns the disciples not to conclude that the end is near because of "wars and rumors of wars." Such things must take place in a world that has rejected Christ. Wars, earthquakes, famines and troubles are the beginning of sorrows, not the end.

But the disciples were not to be troubled. All this would come to pass. These were no signs of His coming; the end was not yet. So the Lord is caring for what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. The end was not yet. He gives them instruction that would make them calm in service, not stirred up by circumstances or by false hopes. They were not to say, Look here, or Look there, or to be stirred by what stirred the world. They might still serve quietly on.

But here we find that the Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view. This has been the character of Mark all through. Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God, the Prophet here below preaching the Gospel and doing works in its spirit. So even in His prophecy He is the Servant, still giving them what would be of such high importance, not only for their souls, but in their work.

When Scripture addresses the Church, it presses the opposite attitude: for the Church the end is at hand… These troubled times of the end fall on the Jewish people, not on the Church. They repay the nation for rejecting the true Christ. The Church has received the true Christ, and so does not come under these judgments. That is why the word of God always presses on the Christian the assurance that the end of all things is at hand… But the disciples on the Mount of Olives stood for the faithful remnant of Jewish disciples in the last days, not for Christians. So the point for them is this: these distresses and troubles come before the disaster that ends this age, yet the end is not yet.

Almost 2000 years have now passed, and in them God is gathering out the Church. This prophecy does not take that long gap into account, apart from the mention of general troubles such as wars, earthquakes and famines. The disciples would certainly not have expected so many centuries to pass before the Lord's words were fulfilled. But God has lengthened the time of His grace far beyond what anyone would expect. How great is His patience and grace!

The Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view. This has been the character of Mark all through. Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God. He is the Prophet here on earth, preaching the gospel and doing works in its spirit. So even in His prophecy He is still the Servant. He gives them what would matter so much, not only for their souls, but for their work. This is not only a prediction of coming judgments. It also warns and counsels them in their testimony.

The Lord warns the disciples that their testimony will bring them into conflict with the authorities of the world. But God would use this persecution to bring the gospel before the great ones of the earth — a "testimony to" rulers and kings.

For the disciples, the result of this testimony would be persecution. They would be beaten in the synagogues and accused before kings and governors, and this would be a testimony to them. This is the means which the Lord uses to carry the gospel to kings and to the great of the earth. The preachers are not the great of the earth. His disciples would always have to keep their true character. In keeping it, they would appear before kings and rulers as prisoners, to give an account of their faith.

All this would become a testimony to them. It was God's way of bringing the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes, without changing its character, without adapting it to the world, and without mixing the Lord's people up with the world's customs and its false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than friendship with the great ones of the earth would have done.

The disciples would be imprisoned and brought before Gentile kings and rulers for the sake of the name of Christ. This became true very soon after the Lord Jesus returned to Glory. But the Lord used this persecution in a way men did not expect. He made it a testimony to Himself and to the gospel of His grace... We see this in Peter and John (Acts 4:13-14); in Stephen (Acts 6:8-10; 7:1-60); and in Paul on various occasions (Acts 22:1-21; 24:24-25; 26:1-31).

Verse 9 was true of the disciples in the book of Acts. It will clearly be true too of the godly remnant of Israel who bear a testimony for God after the Church is taken up to heaven. Jewish councils will then oppose them just as fiercely as they opposed the early apostles. We know that almost 2000 years has come in between, while God gathers out the Church. This prophecy does not take that in-between period into account, apart from mentioning general troubles such as wars, earthquakes and famines.

Here we find that the Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view. This has been the character of Mark all through. Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God, the Prophet on earth preaching the Gospel and doing works in its spirit. So even in His prophecy He is still the Servant. He gives them what would matter so much, not only for their souls, but for their work. This is not only a prediction of coming judgments. It is a warning and an instruction for their testimony.

For the disciples, this testimony would bring persecution. Men would beat them in the synagogues and accuse them before kings and governors, and this would be a testimony to those rulers. This is the means the Lord uses to carry the gospel to kings and to the great of the earth. The preachers are not the great of the earth. His disciples would always have to keep their true character. So they would stand before kings and rulers as prisoners, giving an account of their faith.

This testimony brings persecution with it. In view of that, the Lord tells His disciples not to worry ahead of time about what to say when they stand as prisoners before the great ones of the earth. They are not to prepare their defence. In that hour they would be given what to say. They would not be the speakers, but only the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.

Note that in this chapter the marking out of the different periods is not nearly as defined and precise as in Matthew. So it does not say, "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed… to all nations, and then the end will come." The end of the age is not in question here. Instead we have the general statement that the Gospel must first be preached (compare chapter 16:15, 20).

Some read verse 10 together with Matthew 24:14 and conclude that the Lord cannot come for His saints until the Gospel has reached all the nations of today. But we have to remember two things. The disciples He was addressing were at that moment the God-fearing remnant in Israel, and they had not yet been baptised into one body, the church. Also, the "Gospel" in this verse is a general term. It covers not only the Message preached today, but also that "Gospel of the kingdom" which Matthew speaks of.

After His death and resurrection He gave His disciples a different gospel to preach — the gospel of the grace of God, which still goes out (Luke 24:46-47). The gospel of the kingdom is set aside for now. It will be heard again, but only after the Church has left the earth. The end cannot come until that gospel comes back and is preached to all nations.

Where and when would you expect this good news to be spread? Surely everywhere and at all times. I am deeply thankful for all who have gone out at great personal risk, with real devotion of heart to the Lord. They have gone to tell weary souls in the darkness of the nations about the glory of the Person and the value of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is easy for others less devoted to stay at home and criticise their work.

Here we will find that the Lord's warnings and instructions clearly have their service in view. This has been the character of Mark all through. Christ Himself is the perfect Servant of God, the Prophet on earth preaching the Gospel and doing works in its spirit. So even in His prophecy He is still the Servant. He gives them what would matter so much, not only for their souls, but in their work. This is not only a prediction of coming judgments. It is forewarning and counsel for them in their testimony.

The Lord warns the disciples that their testimony will bring them into conflict with the authorities of the world. But God would use this persecution to bring the gospel before the great ones of the earth — a "testimony to" rulers and kings. And this gospel must first be preached among all nations before the end, when Christ comes.

But there is more. God would be with them along the way. When the disciples stood in front of the magistrates, they were not to think over what they ought to say. They did not need to prepare speeches. The Holy Spirit would be with them, and they would be given what to say at that very moment.

In that hour they would be given what to say. They would not be the speakers, but simply the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not only put so solemn a seal on the testimony. He is also a positive power for the one who is giving that testimony… Here we see the spirit of complete dependence on God. "The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what should be said."

When these things happened, they would need no speech-writer. They would not even need to study first what would be the wisest or most fitting answer when accused. Instead, they were to depend entirely on God to give them the words just when they needed them. In this they would allow the Spirit of their Father the freedom to speak without hindrance. We see this beautifully carried out in the cases of Peter and John in Acts 4:8-12 and 5:27-32; Stephen in Acts 7; and Paul in Acts 24:10-21 and 26:1-29.

We say plainly that wherever possible, one should think over and study the subject he expects to speak on. Taking no thought about how or what we will speak is no mark of spirituality. We do not believe it is a correct use of the Scripture either… Here, the Lord is assuring His disciples that He will never desert them when they are brought before kings and rulers for His name's sake. They need not think out in advance any line of defence, or any elaborate statement of what they hold.

It speaks of the work the disciples would do among Israel, and of their witness against the authorities who persecuted them. The gospel would be preached in all nations before the end came. As preachers they were to fill the place Jesus had held among the people, only their testimony would reach much farther. All this would be done in the face of every possible suffering and the hardest persecutions.

The disciples are warned that truth presented in the power of the Holy Spirit stirs such hatred in the human heart that persecution will come from their own families. The closer the relationship, the more bitter the hatred. Brother will rise against brother, father against son, and children against parents, even having them put to death.

God revealed in the person of Christ, or in the preached word, stirs up the hatred of the human heart. As long as God is not made known, people put up with everything. But once He is made known, man's will rises up against His authority, and against the pressure this revelation puts on a conscience that is not at rest.

Even the closest family ties will count for nothing, because the hatred toward the name of Christ, the true Messiah, is so strong. Brothers will betray brothers, fathers their children, children their parents, handing them over to death. How terribly unnatural! Yet this will expose the real character of the unbelieving heart of men.

The hatred of the human heart against the testimony of God would show itself by driving men to break the ties God formed at creation. The natural affections of the human heart would turn into open hostility. These relationships carry rights; but now they would be the rights of hatred, and brother would hand over brother to death.

Mark, like Luke, gives special weight to the persecutions the disciples would have to endure... These are persecutions of the earliest Christian days. Acts shows us that they started as soon as the new message of salvation was preached... The spirit of hostility to Christ would destroy even the natural love of family.

The hatred of all men will grow more marked after the Church is gone, and the remnant of Israel will suffer badly. Anyone who bears the suffering of the tribulation and endures to the end would be saved for blessing on earth in the coming thousand-year kingdom.

The Lord warns His disciples about the persecution. It would not only come from those in authority and from their closest relatives. All men would hate them because they confess the Name of Christ. But the one who endures to the end will be saved — whatever the end may be, whether a martyr's death or the coming of Christ to the earth. As always, the test of reality is continuance. There may indeed be failure, and even the love of many growing cold, but those who are real will endure. Peter broke down, but his faith did not fail; he continued to the end.

Because of the hostility of governments toward the name of Jesus, one would betray his own brother to be killed, a father betray his son, and children their parents.

These words do not tell us how sinful people receive the salvation of their souls. The Lord was not addressing sinners but men He had already brought into relationship with Himself — His disciples. At that moment they were representative of the chosen remnant of Israel, who will be found on earth at the time of the end.

Salvation in its fullest sense looks on to the final deliverance from the very presence of sin — the consummation in heaven. There is also a governmental and outward salvation. Our Lord speaks of it in His prophetic discourse: "He who endures to the end will be saved." This, we hardly need to say, does not refer to the salvation of the soul, but to deliverance from the Great Tribulation through which the Jewish remnant will be called to pass, with an indirect application to us also.

The hatred of all men will grow and be more marked after the Church is gone, and the remnant of Israel will suffer badly. That is why we are told, "the one who endures to the end will be saved." Anyone who bears the suffering of the tribulation and endures it to the end would be saved for earthly blessing in the millennium.

"The end" here is not the end of one person's life. It is the end of the whole time of persecution, trial and sorrow, and the second coming of Christ will bring that end. Endurance is the supreme virtue that is to mark these saints, for their salvation is sure when Christ appears.

Ephesians 2:8-9 views the Christian as saved already. Elsewhere he is looked at as on the road to heaven, not yet there, and therefore exposed to the trials of the way. So his "enduring to the end" makes sense. It is the proof that his faith is genuine, and that the grace of God is sustaining him. Enduring to the end, he is saved.

After the glorious appearing of the Son of Man comes the gathering together of "His elect." Verse 20 mentioned them, and they are those who "endure to the end" (verse 13). Christ's appearing will save them. These elect are the God-fearing remnant of Israel in the last days. Angels will gather them from every part of the earth, and they will become the redeemed Israel who enter the millennial reign. All this must be kept separate from the coming of the Lord for His saints in 1 Thessalonians 4, when the Lord Himself will come down from heaven and our gathering will be to Him.

We must look at Daniel's prophecy, which speaks of this abomination. We find it in chapter 12. The word "abomination" simply means idol. It is called the abomination of desolation because it causes the desolation of Jerusalem and of the Jewish people.

There is an interesting though doubtful reading in the same verse: "standing where [he] ought not"… If the masculine form is right, it points to the Antichrist, the lawless one of 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

Clearly many who read it might not understand. At the least our Lord warns those who read to make sure they enter into His thought: "Let the reader understand." He never discourages reading; He wants understanding. He foresaw the confusion that would come over the minds of men, even of His own disciples. He knew there would be all sorts of ideas floating about, especially about prophecy, so that many children of God get it wrong, and many more dread the subject.

The destruction of Jerusalem, with all its horrors, may have foreshadowed the future, but it in no way fulfils the prophecy of this time of trouble. This passage teaches that the Lord will come to earth right after the great tribulation. Clearly the Lord did not come after the destruction of Jerusalem. And there cannot be two times of tribulation "such as has not been from the beginning." Daniel tells us that this time of trial for the Jewish nation will happen during the reign of Antichrist, who will be welcomed by the nation that rejected their own Messiah (John 5:43). During his reign the most terrible form of idolatry will be set up, and the Lord calls it "the abomination of desolation."

"Where it ought not" is, I believe, purposely left open. It gives instruction for ministry for what might happen to them, and also, in its stricter and fuller application, for when the abomination is set up in the last days.

Having given directions for their patient ministry… the Lord then turns to what concerns their position in the land — the immediate question. When they see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not stand — a matter for the reader to consider — then those in Judea were to flee to the mountains. There might be many busy in testimony in far countries, but those in Judea were to flee. They were to escape at once, without the least delay. The door was now closing (in judgment) on unhappy Israel; it was no time for testimony then.

An idol will be publicly set up in the sanctuary in Jerusalem — as predicted in Revelation 13:14-15 — an insult to God of the most flagrant kind. That sign will show two things: first, that the time of special affliction spoken of in Daniel 12:1 has begun; second, that the end of the age, and Christ's intervention in His glory, is very near.

The setting up of this abomination will be the culmination of man's hostility to God. It will be the sign that the godly remnant's testimony is over, and that they must flee from Judea to the mountains. There has been nothing in the past, nor will there be in the future, to equal the terrible afflictions of these days.

Flight has to be instant. There is not a moment to lose. The man on the housetop must not stop to pick up anything in the house, however precious. The man working in the fields must not go home for his clothes. Instant flight is the urgent need of the moment. Besides that, everything must give place.

The point here is escape, because it is not safe to remain. Trouble is coming like nothing before it. Those who refuse to worship the idol will be put to death, and many who worship it will be besieged and carried off as captives. So the Lord warns His disciples to flee, so that this trouble may not reach them. All this has nothing to do with the Christian's hope of going up to heaven to meet the Lord "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." What would be the sense in telling a Christian not to come down from the housetop at that moment? Would it matter whether he was at the top or the bottom of the house? So it is clear that the Lord speaks here only of the Jew who sees this most startling sign of Satan's power. The Lord orders him to escape, at the risk of his life. It is much more like Lot and his family going out of Sodom than Abraham watching from a distance with the Lord.

All this instruction is clearly for people living in Judea. Readers who insist on seeing the Church of God in this chapter run into difficulties in every detail of the prophecy. Is the Church of God shut up in one land, that such signs should be of use? Is not the Church found in every quarter of the earth? Once it is seen that the godly in Judea are in view, everything is simple and clear.

As always, the Lord thinks of His own in the middle of trials and afflictions. He warns them, He instructs them, and He cares for them. He thinks of the workmen in the field and the women in the home, and He is not unmindful of the weather.

Luke prophesies the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans eighteen centuries ago. There the Lord gives the same command to flee to the mountains, but the sign is different — "Jerusalem surrounded by armies." Luke also leaves out these later directions; they would be plainly out of place. Escaping the destroying armies needed no such rapid and instant flight as we have here.

The setting up of this abomination will be the culmination of man's hostility to God. It will be the sign that the testimony of the godly remnant is over. They must then flee from Judea to the mountains. There has been nothing in the past, nor will there be in the future, to equal the terrible afflictions of these days.

We see that it is not a question of the world at large. The winter would not affect all the earth at the same time; what is winter in one place is summer in another. It is not a universal picture.

The Jewish disciples in view here are told to pray that the time for their sudden flight should not be in the winter nor on a sabbath day. Winter would be a serious obstacle because of the harsh weather. On a sabbath they could not go farther than a sabbath-day's journey. But how could this affect us as Christians? Even if once Jews, we are no longer under such restrictions. The Lord is not speaking of a Christian here, but of future Jewish disciples, who are under the law and its ritual and moved by Jewish hopes.

The Lord tells them to pray that they may not have to flee in the winter, or on the Sabbath day. How gracious that is! He always keeps in mind what His beloved saints are facing, however small it may seem. He thought of the suffering involved in a winter flight, with no time to go into the house for an overcoat!

So when they see this coming, they will pray that it may not be in winter. In that season the ravines run with rushing torrents, and escape becomes dangerous.

The Lord's goodness here is very remarkable. We find Him thinking even of the weather in the middle of this terrible judgment. It is so terrible that the world has never known anything like it. He tells them to pray that their flight will not be in winter. Here He does not mention the sabbath, as He does in Matthew, because Jewish things are not so much in view here as in that Gospel.

The Lord, foreseeing all, tells them to pray that nothing will hinder their flight. Oh, how He cares! This prayer will be prayed beforehand. In Daniel 12 we see there will be wise ones who instruct others in righteousness, for "those who are wise shall understand." ... Here the Lord prepares them, and we can profit from it too.

So the Lord encourages His people to pray that their flight will not be in winter. The reason is simple: travel in that season would be harder and more uncomfortable. This shows His care about the most ordinary comforts of His saints, as well as about their troubles and worries.

This is not a question of the soul but of the salvation of the body. They will then live, and they will be the subjects of the blessed reign and glory when the Lord comes. It is earthly glory here, not in heaven.

The Son of Man will appear in glory, and then "His elect" will be gathered together. They were mentioned in verse 20. They are the ones who "endure to the end" (verse 13), and the appearing of Christ will save them. These elect are the God-fearing remnant of Israel in the last days. The Lord was speaking to His disciples, who at that moment were the God-fearing remnant inside Israel.

The words the Lord speaks about those who will be on the earth then show clearly that they are not church saints. They are in Judea, and He tells them to flee to the mountains. An early picture of this was seen when Jerusalem was destroyed under Titus. He tells them to pray that their flight will not happen on the Sabbath. They are called the "elect." In this chapter, and all through the Gospels, that word always means His earthly people. In the Epistles the word "elect" always means the church.

If the Lord had not shortened those terrible days, no human being would have been saved. This is a remarkable statement, and it applies even to the evil of their own hearts. The spirit of death and evil is among them, and they would destroy themselves. This has been seen in Jerusalem, and even elsewhere. It comes from within and from without. But for the sake of the elect, who were to be spared in the flesh, He shortened these days.

I take the shortening of the days to mean that they are held firmly to the 1260. Man's will and passions would otherwise carry them on with no end. But the Lord would come as a thief in the night and close it all.

Today God is giving out mercy through the Gospel, and He has made a very long work of it, stretching over nineteen centuries. When He gives out wrath He will make swift work of it, cutting it short in righteousness. A brief three and a half years will cover it, as other scriptures show. So the goodness of God will be shown both in mercy and in wrath.

If those days ran on past the twelve hundred and sixty days, no saints of God would be left to enter the millennial earth. All would be destroyed. But the Ancient of Days will come. Judgment will be given to the saints of the high places, the appointed time will arrive, and the saints will take possession of the kingdom. That will put an end to the reign of this terrible trinity of evil.

Then comes a burst of warning, not just as before, but even more forceful... Clearly there is a final appearance, a fresh cloud of these deceivers in the last days, just as there was when this prophecy first applied. Their aim is to seduce even the elect, if that were possible.

The Lord warns the disciples against false hopes of rescue, against false reports of false Christs, against false prophets, false signs, and apparent wonders. Their safety will be in remembering His words: "I have told you all things beforehand."

Through the tribulation the devil will try to crush and wipe out the elect. But that is not all, as verses 21 and 22 show. At that time a special number of false Christs and prophets will appear, and through them he hopes to seduce the elect. He would do it, "if it were possible." Thank God, it is not possible. True saints will know that the real Christ is not going to hide Himself in some corner, so that people have to say, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "Look, there He is!" He will shine out in His glory when He comes, and every eye will see Him.

But clearly the Lord Jesus assumes real danger for the disciples here. Being Jewish and not Christian, the cry that He was here or there on earth might well deceive them. No Christian could be in such danger, but the Jewish disciples were open to it. They were looking for the Lord to come to the earth. They knew that in that day His feet would stand on the Mount of Olives.

I do not say that such words about them must mean they are an earthly people. No. From Revelation 13, I believe many heavenly men will face deceits in that day, and will be kept from being deceived in the same way.

The clause "if it were possible" clearly implies that they would be deceived, if it were not for the protection of God's grace and power. God has decreed that the elect will not be swept away, despite coming so close to it... Believers, however, have no excuse for accepting such deception. The Lord has warned them beforehand how subtle it is, and their protection is in His Word.

"But," says the Lord, "be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand." For here the Lord speaks as the Prophet of the Jewish remnant, and must be received in that character — not as the glorified Son of God, nor as the "Son of man who is in heaven." With those titles the setting would have to be heavenly, not a warning to flee and to save your life.

Clearly there is a final appearance, a fresh cloud of these deceivers in the last days, just as there was when this prophecy first applied. Their aim is to seduce even the elect, if that were possible. But the Lord warned them: "Take heed: behold, I have told you all things beforehand."

Nothing of the kind happened before the siege of Jerusalem, so it formed no part of the prophecy as Luke reports it. But other Scriptures show us this is exactly the state of things that will come before Christ appears in power and glory to set up His world-kingdom.

God gives safeguards so that His people may not be deceived. Miracles must be for the truth, or we are not to receive them. If they are for what is not the truth, we must utterly reject the man who works them; Deuteronomy 13. I add that Scripture reveals this: Satan will work amazing signs, to deceive the elect if possible. And in the last days, Scripture speaks of signs and miracles only on Satan's side. Then they will happen. They are the sign that the man of sin is coming. So a miracle by itself cannot be the test of truth.

At that time the devil will know very well that the coming of Christ is about to happen. So he will try to confuse the issue by raising up imposters and giving them supernatural powers, hoping to deceive the elect who are looking for Christ. Verse 24 shows plainly that not all miraculous signs come from God. There are two kinds — the divine and the devilish. The divine kind displays God's character in grace and power. The devilish kind is often flashier, more startling, and more attractive to people who are not converted. People today who crave the miraculous should take great care. They can be deceived.

The clause "if it were possible" plainly implies that they would be deceived, if the grace and power of God did not protect them. God has decreed that the elect will not be carried away, though they come so close to it. At that time the chief of all false christs, the Antichrist, will lure great numbers away by power and lying signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9). But believers have no excuse for accepting such deception. The Lord has warned them in advance how subtle it is, and their protection is in His Word.

True believers will know that the real Christ is not going to hide Himself in some corner. Men will not have to say, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "Look, there!" He will shine out in His glory at His coming, and every eye will see Him.

The human heart has no power at all to resist "great signs and wonders" put forward in support of the deadliest error. Only one thing can strengthen the soul to resist the devil and all his deadly delusions: the word of God. Storing up the precious truth of God in the heart is God's secret for keeping us from every error, even error backed by the most astonishing miracles.

They would have to walk a road full of dangers, and here the Lord warns them how to escape the judgment about to fall on the beloved people for their sins. He would no longer be present to guide them. But His heart could not leave them in the dark about the path or about the difficulties they would meet. And the testimony Jesus gave about it would turn those difficulties and dangers into proof that His words were true, and into encouragement for their hearts when they found themselves in the trouble.

In verse 33 the words "Take … heed" come for the fourth time. The Lord opened His discourse with these words and closed with them, and He spoke them twice in between (verses 9 and 23). Every prophetic revelation He gave is meant to touch our consciences and our lives. He forewarns us so that we may be forearmed.

Then comes a burst of warning, not just as before, but even stronger. Clearly there is a final appearance, a fresh crowd of these deceivers in the last days, as there was when this prophecy first applied. Their aim is to lead astray, if it were possible, even the elect.

The words "if it were possible" show that they would be deceived if it were not for the protection of God's grace and power. God has decreed that the elect will not be swept away, even though they come so close to it. But believers have no excuse for accepting such deception. The Lord has warned them in advance how subtle it is, and their protection is in His Word.

The Lord warns the disciples against false hopes of deliverance; against false reports, of false Christs; against false prophets, false signs, and apparent wonders. Their safety will be in remembering the words of the Lord, "I have told you all things beforehand."

In the future crisis only "those in Judea" are concerned. The question here is of "flesh" being saved and of "this generation," not of resurrection and of being caught up on high. Jewish disciples only are in view, and deliverance comes down to the earth in displayed power and glory.

In tender concern for our weakness, the Lord, through His servants, has warned us in advance of what to expect among His professing people. Two important things follow. First, only in the light of the Scriptures can we read the state of professing Christianity correctly. Second, if we do not know the teaching of the Word of God, we are open to disappointments and deceptions of every kind.

The Jews must pass through a tribulation like no other (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24). Only then does their deliverance come.

Could that be called "immediately after the tribulation"? It was rather the crowning of Jewish sorrow, not the glorious reversal of their sufferings by a divine deliverance. Whatever wonders Josephus reports happened during the tribulation he records. The signs spoken of here, literal or figurative, are to follow "the tribulation of those days."

Then the power of God comes in to cut short the wickedness of man and the tribulation as well. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light." These may be figures of speech. But it is clear that God is the One who steps in with power. Man cannot do all that is meant, and neither can Satan. God alone can change or deal with the sources of power.

Supreme power, pictured by the sun, goes dark. Derived authority, pictured by the moon, loses all influence. Lesser authorities, pictured by the stars, lose their place and power. This present age, despite all the progress men boast about, will end in tribulation, confusion and anarchy like no other.

The sun, the supreme source of light, goes dark. This shows that men's atheistic folly darkens the light of God. The moon giving no light pictures Israel sinking into such darkness that it bears no witness at all to the light of God. The moon's light is of course a reflection of the light of the sun, just as Israel ought to reflect God's glory in some measure.

Still, this speech of the Lord does not use symbols as freely as the book of Revelation does. So we should not rule out real upheavals among the heavenly bodies. We know, after all, that the sun really went dark when Jesus died. The darkness of that day will only make the brightness of His appearing stand out more, when He comes in the clouds with great power and glory.

I have little doubt that the scene will be as mixed as the language. There will be real and terrible signs. Besides that, all existing powers will break up, and terror will fill every heart... But there will be more than a revolution. Every visible and organised power will be overturned and upset.

"And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory; and then He will send His angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven." It is still the Jewish people, or rather the remnant of the nation, the elect of Israel.

The Lisbon earthquake, they said, was the fulfilment of Revelation 6:12. A darkening of the sun and moon twenty-five years later was the fulfilment of Mark 13:24. And a great meteor shower on 13 November 1833 was, as Mrs. White casually tells us, "the last of the signs... which were promised by the Saviour as tokens of His second advent."

Then the power of God steps in to cut short both the wickedness of man and the tribulation… The language may be figurative, but one thing is clear: God is the One who steps in with power. Man cannot do all that is meant here, and neither can Satan. God alone can change or deal with the sources of power… The sense is plain, even though the words are pictures. They show a total revolution and overthrow of governing powers.

"In those days", after the great tribulation among the Jews, all settled authority among the nations will be overthrown. The order God set up for governing the world will fall into confusion. The sun pictures supreme power, and it is darkened. The moon pictures borrowed authority, and it loses all influence. The stars picture lesser authorities, and they lose their place and power. This age, for all the progress men boast of, will end in tribulation, confusion and anarchy such as the world has never seen.

Still, the Lord does not use symbols here as freely as the book of Revelation does. So we think we should not rule out real upheavals in the heavenly bodies. We know that the sun was truly darkened when Jesus died. The darkness of that coming day will make the brightness of His appearing stand out all the more, when He comes in the clouds with great power and glory.

The moon giving no light pictures Israel brought into such darkness that it gives no witness at all to the light of God. The moon's light is only a reflection of the sun's light, and Israel ought to reflect God's glory in some measure. The stars of heaven falling means that people who once claimed to recognise the authority of heaven turn away and give it up for a mind set on earthly things.

The answer to that question is this: the heavens are the seat of Satan's power. He is called "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2), and under him are "the rulers," "the authorities," "the cosmic powers over this present darkness" and "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). From that seat of power in the heavens he directs much of the evil that fills the earth. God is going to judge not only the sin and the evil that fill the earth below, but also the satanic powers above, which direct it all.

In Revelation 12 Satan is thrown down before the last great tribulation, in great rage, because he knows he has only a short time… In the Gospels, where the timing is stated exactly (Matthew 24, Mark 13), the shaking of the powers of the heavens comes after the tribulation.

The powers of heaven being shaken reminds us of Daniel's words, "Heaven rules" (Dan. 4:26). This may involve some striking physical signs. But does it not point to a deeper lesson — that man's rebellion has grown so hard and settled that heaven's authority is shaken? It is not removed. It is shaken only in men's eyes, for very soon the Lord Himself will be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on the ungodly (2 Thess. 1:7-8).

Now, should the Christian be alarmed and downhearted? Certainly not! He receives "a kingdom that cannot be shaken"… By faith we have already come to a place of blessed realities.

The wickedness of Jew and Gentile having come to a head, God publicly intervenes by the coming of Christ as the Son of Man to take possession of the earth. His first coming was in circumstances of weakness and humiliation; His second coming will be in great power and glory.

The Lord appears to take possession of the earth, which He not only has created, but which He has acquired as His own as Son of man by His death.

Men rejected Him, but Stephen saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. There was the One whom God delighted to honour — Man in the highest place in heaven — the Son of Man glorified! Soon God will bring Him out from there in public, as Daniel 7:13 foretells, "with the clouds of heaven." He will receive dominion and glory over the earth — the very place where men treated Him so shamefully.

When this happens, men will see Him. It will be no "secret coming," as some false teachers like to imagine. The Lord Jesus Himself will appear, to judge the living nations in righteousness… Just the sight of the once meek and lowly Son of Man appearing in great glory will strike terror into the hearts of His enemies.

Scoffers sometimes say, How is this possible? But every eye on earth every twenty-four hours sees the sun in the heavens. So in that day when He descends in the cloud every eye will behold Him.

Several passages in Luke also show that the Son of man will literally return and be revealed. The last of them, Luke 21:27-36, matters most. It shows the mistake of those who suppose that Matthew 24:30 and Mark 13:26 were fulfilled in the siege of Jerusalem under Titus. Luke 21:20-24 already describes past and present disasters in full, "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Then comes the closing scene… In short, death, the outpouring of the Spirit, and the destruction of Jerusalem are all distinct from the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Christ is nowhere said to come with the clouds to gather His own. On the contrary, they go up in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). These are the royal carriages provided to carry us from earth to meet the Lord. The cloud of old was the well-known symbol of the Lord's presence with His people (Exodus 13:21; 40:34-38; Luke 9:35). But notice: Christ is not only said to come in the clouds (Mark 13:26), but with them (Revelation 1:7), and on them (Matthew 24:30). The clouds that attend His coming are symbols of His majesty (Psalm 18:9-12). He sits on them as on His throne (Matthew 24:30).

Our place is a far higher one. When Christ appears, we will appear with Him (Colossians 3:4). The Lord will have already gathered us to Himself in the air. He will have glorified us and made us like Himself, according to His boundless grace… but here He speaks of the elect within Israel, scattered among the Gentiles.

When the Son of Man appears in glory, the gathering together of "His elect" will follow. They were mentioned in verse 20. They are those who "endure to the end" (verse 13), and the appearing of Christ will save them. These elect are the God-fearing remnant of Israel in the last days. The Lord was speaking to His disciples, and at that moment they were the God-fearing remnant inside Israel. They would certainly have understood His words in that sense.

All through this passage the Lord is speaking about Israel and their hopes. So we must take "His elect" in keeping with the object in view. These elect ones will be gathered "from one end of heaven to the other," yet not for heaven but on earth. (Compare Isaiah 27, Isaiah 65, Romans 11:5-7, 28.)

But there is more. Deliverance is not only for those in Palestine who are written in the book of God (Dan. 12:1). The Son of Man will also send His angels to gather all the elect of Israel from the four corners of the earth, from one end of heaven to the other. For the angels have now become the servants of the One who inherits all the rights of man, according to the counsels of God.

Israel must now be re-gathered. This is the mission of the angels: to gather His elect from the four winds. It might seem as if the winds had scattered them. How little they think that angel hands will bring them back! The words used are brief, but how divine love breathes in them! What joy there will be when these are gathered home from the far-off country!

These elect ones will be found in all parts of the earth, and angels will be the ones who gather them together. Once gathered, they will become the redeemed Israel who enter the millennial reign. All this must be kept separate from the coming of the Lord for His saints, foretold in 1 Thessalonians 4, when the Lord Himself will descend from heaven and our gathering together will be to Him.

What He announces here in particular is that He will send His angels to gather His elect from all parts of the world. The subject here is always the land and Israel. The Gentiles and the whole world will be blessed too, but that is not the subject here. Our place is far higher: when Christ appears, we shall appear with Him (Col. 3:4). The Lord will have already gathered us to Himself in the air... but here He speaks of the elect within Israel, scattered among the Gentiles.

It is clear that the Lord treats this tree as symbolic of the Jews. He had done so shortly before... Seeing a fig tree and being hungry, He came and found nothing but leaves. This was decisive. It was the season of figs, though too soon for gathering. So if none were there, the tree must have borne none... The fruitless Jews were responsible under the first covenant. They have lost their religious position, and they are no longer a power. They are scattered and swallowed up among the nations.

The fig tree is no longer barren, for the Son of Man being received, and the new covenant with Him, will change everything. These are early days, and we hear no more than the branch becoming tender and putting out leaves. The time of fruit will come, but for now they only know that summer is near... Grace will not fail to produce its proper results.

So the appearance of the godly remnant within the apostate nation of Israel will signal the near approach of the time of blessing for the nation.

The reference to the fig tree in verse 28 is a parable, and so we must expect a meaning deeper than what belongs to a simile or an illustration. ... The "summer" represents the age of millennial blessedness for the earth. When real national revival sets in for Israel, then indeed the appearing of Christ and the millennial age is very near.

The fig tree is once more chosen as a figure of Israel: "as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near." The fruit is there as soon as the leaves. The development is sudden indeed. Summer in this way seems to set in at once. Israel's hopes come to sudden fruitage.

These signs do not interfere with the church's constant waiting for the Lord from heaven. They are signs for a remnant in special relation with Judea, who will be awaiting the coming of the Son of Man. No signs of any kind were ever set before the church to measure how near Christ is to take her to Himself... she was to be expecting always, because she did not know the moment of His coming... For the Bride the one heavenly sign is the presence of the Bridegroom Himself.

Keep in mind that Scripture shows no complete return of Israel. There is no proper restoration until the Lord Himself restores, and that comes after His coming. Their return before that is only partial, and in unbelief. That state will be the cause of their last and worst trouble. But the budding again of the fig tree is the Lord's own special sign that He is at the door... No more significant sign can we have than this.

The reference to the fig tree in verse 28 is a parable. So we must expect a deeper meaning in it than we would find in a comparison or an illustration. The fig tree surely stands for Israel, as we saw when reading Mark 11. Its budding branches therefore show the start of national revival among that people. The "summer" stands for the age of millennial blessing for the earth.

So here the fig tree falls under no curse. It does not wither away from the roots. Israel, who knew nothing but misery and ruin while trusting her own righteousness, now leans on the Messiah in repentance and faith. From that point on, mercy flows like a river.

When the fig tree puts out its tender leaves, we know that summer is near. In the same way, the appearance of the godly remnant inside the nation of Israel that has turned from God will signal that the time of blessing for the nation is close.

"These things" were to be the signs not only that "redemption" was near, but that "the kingdom of God" was at hand. … Now in what sense could the kingdom of God be near when Jerusalem was destroyed? The kingdom of God, in the hidden form it has at present, had already come long before Jerusalem fell. In that sense no one could call it near then. But in the sense of its open display in millennial glory, it will be near when these first signs of Christ's second coming begin to happen.

Here the Lord graciously gives them signs in a way He never did for us of the church, who are called to walk by faith, not by sight. … Right after the tribulation, upheavals follow above and below. Then the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven. All the tribes mourn, and they see Him coming to the earth. And His angels gather His chosen ones… for He will reign over them in the promised land. The heavenly saints have their own place. Here our Lord is speaking about saints of Israel.

When all these things happen in these last seven years, and above all in the last 1,260 days, they will know that everything promised to Israel is at hand. There is another application: that we now see Israel like a budding fig tree, with signs of new national life, and in this a sign of the times. That reading is surely not wrong. It tells us the end is near.

For Israel has once again become a nation holding her own land. Other nations around her, for years almost unheard of and of little weight, have become aggressive and are pushing to the front for recognition. This great surge of national ambition tells us that the kingdom of God is near. If the millennial kingdom is near, the coming of the Lord for the Church (the Rapture) is at least seven years nearer.

Strauss and De Wette took "generation" in the sense of a period of time, and so presented the Lord as fallible. Others, such as Meyer, A. Wright and Swete, keep their "orthodoxy" while still explaining the word as a period of some thirty to thirty-three years. They ignore a real difficulty: when would such a generation begin? The Lord's contemporaries belonged to different generations according to their age. These writers also have to assume that such a generation began with His ministry, without anything in the Gospels to support it. Origen and Chrysostom long ago took "generation" in its moral meaning, and later commentators have followed them. That is how it must be taken. Scripture uses it that way in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32:5, Psalm 24:6, Psalm 73:14, Jeremiah 8:3), in the Gospels (Mark 9:19, Matthew 17:17, Luke 16:8), and elsewhere in Acts 2:40 and Galatians 1:4.

The word "generation" in verse 30 has a moral sense, not a literal one. It means people of a certain type and character, just as the Lord used the word in Mark 9:19 and in Luke 11:29. The unbelieving generation will not pass until the second coming, nor indeed will the generation of those who seek the Lord. The coming of the Lord will mean the passing away of the evil generation.

Notice the phrase "all these things." It runs from the first troubles down to the last, and on to the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So "this generation" here cannot mean a mere period of thirty years, or a man's lifetime. The phrase means what it often means in Scripture: a line of people marked by certain moral features, quite independent of any short limit of time. So the same generation that crucified the Lord of glory is going on still, and will go on until He comes again in the clouds of heaven.

The perverse and unbelieving generation of the Jews will not pass away until all these things are done. They may indeed live scattered among the nations, with no land of their own, but as we know no nation has ever absorbed them.

The force of the word is moral. It marks out not the nation of Israel as such, but that Christ-rejecting race which refused their Messiah then, as they do still. This will go on until all these solemn threats of judgment come true. The Lord does not say that this generation will last only until the temple falls or the city is taken. He says it will not pass away until all is fulfilled. He had already spoken of the later trampling of Jerusalem, right down to the end of Israel's trials at His appearing. He says this generation will not pass away until then. Only then will grace form a new generation, the generation to come.