Tear It Open

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November 30, 2008 - Mark 13.24-27 (1-31)

Open It

  1. What have you read or been taught about the Second Coming of Christ?

  2. What do you find confusing or difficult to understand about what the Bible says about the future?

Explore It

  1. How did Jesus use the conversation of His disciples as an opportunity to teach? (13:1-2)

  2. What did Jesus mean when He said the temple stones will be "thrown down"? (13:2)

  3. What did Jesus' disciples ask Him privately on the Mount of Olives? (13:3-4)

  4. How did Jesus respond to His disciples' question? (13:5-8)

  5. What was Jesus' main reason for telling His disciples what signs would precede the end of the age? (13:5)

  6. How do we know Jesus was talking about a time still to come and not merely the fall of Jerusalem that took place in A.D. 70? (13:6-30)

  7. Why did Jesus tell His disciples not to be alarmed when they would hear of wars? (13:7)

  8. What must happen before Christ returns? (13:10)

  9. How did Jesus tell His followers to act when they were arrested for their faith? (13:11)

  10. What did Jesus tell His followers to do to be assured of eternal life? (13:12-13)

  11. Where will "the elect" be during the "days of distress"? (12:19-20)

  12. What will be the greatest temptation during the "days of distress"? (13:21-23)

  13. What do Christ's words "if that were possible" mean? (13:22)

  14. What events will happen right before the Second Coming of Christ? (13:24-25)

  15. What will Christ's return be like? (13:26-27)

  16. What did Jesus want us to learn from the blossoming of a fig tree? (13:28-29)

  17. What did Jesus say we could count on happening? (13:29-30)

Get It

  1. Why do you think Jesus told His disciples not to worry about what to say whenever they were arrested for their faith?

  2. Why do you think Jesus has told us "everything ahead of time" about His return and the end times?

  3. What signs from this passage do you think have already been fulfilled?

  4. What can we do to make Christ's return closer?

  5. How can we be involved in spreading the gospel to all nations?

  6. How can a person be sure he or she is saved and will inherit eternal life?

  7. How can we be on our guard against false Christs and false prophets who perform signs and miracles to deceive us?

  8. How does the promise of the Holy Spirit's active presence encourage you to follow Christ through difficult times?

  9. What can we do to avoid being deceived by false teachings about God or spiritual matters?

Apply It

  1. What can you read or do this week to strengthen your hold on the truth about Christ?

  2. What concrete action can you take to become more actively involved in telling others about Christ?

Notes

Mark 13:3-4: The disciples wanted to know when the temple would be destroyed. Jesus gave them a prophetic picture of that time, including events leading up to it. He also talked about future events connected with his return to earth to judge all people. Jesus predicted both near and distant events without putting them in chronological order. Some of the disciples lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This event would assure them that everything else Jesus predicted would also happen.

Jesus warned his followers about the future so that they could learn how to live in the present. Many predictions Jesus made in this passage have not yet been fulfilled. He did not make them so that we would guess when they might be fulfilled, but to help us remain spiritually alert and prepared at all times as we wait for his return.

13:3-4 The Mount of Olives rises above Jerusalem to the east. From its slopes a person can look down into the city and see the temple. Zech. 14:1-4 predicts that the Messiah will stand on this very mountain when he returns to set up his eternal kingdom.

Mark 13:5-7: What are the signs of the end times? There have been people in every generation since Christ's resurrection claiming to know exactly when Jesus would return. No one has been right yet, however, because Christ will return on God's timetable, not ours. Jesus predicted that before his return, many believers would be misled by false teachers claiming to have revelations from God.

According to Scripture, the one clear sign of Christ's return will be his unmistakable appearance in the clouds, which will be seen by all people (Mark 13:26; Rev. 1:7). In other words, you do not have to wonder whether a certain person is the Messiah or whether these are the "end times." When Jesus returns, you will know beyond a doubt, because it will be evident to all true believers. Beware of groups who claim special knowledge of the last days, because no one knows when that time will be (Mark 13:32). Be cautious about saying, "This is it!" but be bold in your total commitment to have your heart and life ready for Christ's return.

Mark 13:11: Jesus did not imply that studying the Bible and gaining knowledge is useless or wrong. Before and after his resurrection Jesus himself taught his disciples what to say and how to say it. But Jesus was teaching the kind of attitude we should have when we must take a stand for the gospel. We don't have to be fearful or defensive about our faith because the Holy Spirit will be present to give us the right words to say.

Mark 13:13: To believe in Jesus and stand "firm to the end" will take perseverance because our faith will be challenged and opposed. Severe trials will sift true Christians from fair-weather believers. Enduring to the end does not earn salvation for us, but marks us as already saved. The assurance of our salvation will keep us going through the times of persecution.

Mark 13:14: The "abomination that causes desolation" is the desecration of the temple by God's enemies. This happened repeatedly in Israel's history: in 597 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar looted the temple and took Judean captives to Babylon (2 Chron. 36); in 168 B.C. when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the sacred temple altar (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:30-31); in A.D. 70 when the Roman general Titus placed an idol on the site of the burned-out temple after the destruction of Jerusalem. Just a few years after Jesus gave this warning, in A.D. 38, the emperor Caligula made plans to put his own statue in the temple, but he died before this could be carried out.

Mark 13:20: The elect are God's chosen people, those who are saved. See Romans 8:29-30 and Ephes. 1:4-5 for more on God's choice.

Mark 13:22-23: Is it possible for Christians to be deceived? Yes. So convincing will be the arguments and proofs from deceivers in the end times that it will be difficult not to fall away from Christ. If we are prepared, Jesus says, we can remain faithful. But if we are not prepared, we will turn away. To penetrate the disguises of false teachers we can ask: (1) Have their predictions come true, or do they have to revise them to fit what's already happened? (2) Does any teaching utilize a small section of the Bible to the neglect of the whole? (3) Does the teaching contradict what the Bible says about God? (4) Are the practices meant to glorify the teacher or Christ? (5) Do the teachings promote hostility toward other Christians?

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