MARK

Mark was closely associated with Peter. Irenaeus, one of the early church fathers, says "Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter." That Peter was a primary source of Mark's gospel account may be seen where Peter calls him his son in 1 Peter 5:13. Mark also traveled with Paul and Barnabas in the first missionary journey. Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome during Paul's second imprisonment in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11). Even the hyper-dispensational (tell them what they want to hear) teachers, would agree that Mark's gospel was written to appeal to the Roman mindset. Was the Roman mindset Gentile or Jewish? This is pointed out with the hope that you may see that all scripture is for the Church past, present, and future, whether the individual Church member be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female. It is time for reconciliation and restoration in the Church. It is time for the Jews to become part of the Church and for the Church to recognize its Jewish roots. It is time for the gospel to be preached and received by the Jew first. Can you consider that the times of the gentiles have been fulfilled because the Jews again possess Jerusalem?

If the Olivet Discourse was only given to Peter, James, John, and Andrew then it perhaps should be placed before Matthew as we look for an understanding of End Time Prophecy. It is likely that Peter, James, John and Andrew posed the question, and likely that Matthew and the other apostles heard the answer which Jesus gave. While some might argue that Matthew's gospel was written for the Jews, it would be very difficult to argue at the same time that Mark's gospel was not written to the Gentiles. They were both written for the Church. The Jew who trusts Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) for his salvation is part of the Church. He will stand with his Gentile brother in tribulation. Any church member who does not love and bless the Jews is a questionable Church member indeed. It is time for reconciliation and restoration in the Church. It is not quite rapture time yet.

No matter what the circumstances, it is well to look at Mark's account of how Jesus explains End Time prophecy and events.

Mark 13:1-37 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]!

And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any [man] deceive you:

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and shall deceive many.

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for [such things] must needs be; but the end [shall] not [be] yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these [are] the beginnings of sorrows.

But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

But when they shall lead [you], and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against [their] parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter [therein], to take any thing out of his house:

And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here [is] Christ; or, lo, [he is] there; believe [him] not:

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.

But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, [even] at the doors.

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

[For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

It would be good to reread Mark's short Chapter 13 account of the Olivet Discourse before looking at the details.

Mark 13:1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]!

Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The disciples were marveling at the magnificence of the temple. Jesus then told them that the great temple which Herod had built would be so totally destroyed that there would not be one stone left on another. When Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. they burned the temple. Some of the gold in the temple melted and they disassembled the foundation stones to remove the melted gold.

Mark 13:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

Mark 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

Jesus got the full attention of His disciples when He told them the temple was going to be destroyed. When shall these things be? What shall be the sign? How shall we know when all these things shall be fulfilled? "What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3)

The destruction of the temple foreshadowed the time of the end. The destruction of the temple marked with certainty the beginning of the "Times of the Gentiles." From this event, Israel would not again possess Jerusalem until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled. God allowed the apparent total destruction of Israel in judgment because of their rejection of Messiah. God would never forget Israel. When the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled, God would reestablish and regather Israel. Jerusalem was part of Jordan until Jordan invaded Israel in 1967. In 1917 Britain took Palestine from the Turks. Because of the tension between Jews and Arabs, the land was divided between the Jewishsection (Palestine) and the Arab section (Jordan). The proper name of the Palestinian State should be Jordan. Jordan is the Palestinian State. The West Bank was part of Jordan until Jordan attacked Israel in 1967. Jordan lost the war that they started. Israel again took possession of Jerusalem. There is good reason to believe that this marked the end of the "Times of the Gentiles." God has obviously been on the side of Israel. If you support Israel you will be on God's side in the continuing turmoil of the Middle East. The powers of the world want the wealth of the Middle East oil and it is just a matter of time until Russia goes after it under the guise of attacking Israel. The large Moslem population of Russia and economics will make this a popular move for some Russian leader such as Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any [man] deceive you:

Mark 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and shall deceive many.

Mark 13:7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for [such things] must needs be; but the end [shall] not [be] yet.

We know from verse 7 that the Lord has finished talking about the destruction of Herod's temple and is talking about the end times. Take heed, pay attention, this is important. Don't be deceived. You will be deceived if you listen to men. Seek truth from the Word of God by His Holy Spirit. Don't trust anyone. Measure everything you are told by what the scriptures say. Let the bible be your source of truth. There has been much false teaching and deceptive teaching will increase as an end time sign. Remain teachable; but, let the Holy Spirit be your teacher.

Mark 13:8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these [are] the beginnings of sorrows.

The wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, and troubles are just the beginning. But what about the rapture ?

Mark 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

Mark 13:11 But when they shall lead [you], and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Take heed! Satellite communication technology has made possible the publishing of the gospel among all nations. The Lord is describing the conditions at the time of the end. He is speaking to His Church. We don't want to hear this; however, in verse 5 and again here in verse 9 He says "Take heed." Even if it is not what we want to hear we must have ears to hear what the Lord is trying to tell His Church of the end time. He is not talking to the Jews. He is talking to His Church of the end time, both Jews and Gentiles. The blindness of the Jews is lifting. They are recognizing Messiah Jesus Christ in exponentially increasing numbers. His Church will be hated by all at the time of the end. At the time of the end, Antichrist will be waging war on the _____? The missing word is Saints. That means both Jew and Gentile believers. The believers will be outlaws in the New World Order of Antichrist. Revelation 19:10 tells us that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. What are you prepared to suffer for your testimony of Jesus Christ as Lord? The Lord tells us not to worry because the Holy Spirit will speak for us and through us. If God is for you who can be against you? The problem is that no one wants to suffer. We need our faith to grow if we may be called to suffer for our testimony of Jesus. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What about the Rapture? The Lord has not gotten to the Rapture yet. Let us TAKE HEED to what He said regardless of what we have been taught or the way we want it to be. The way He said it will be is the way it will be. He will give us the answer if we will have ears to hear.

Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son;

and children shall rise up against [their] parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

When Antichrist wages war on the saints we will be reported to officials by our brothers. The pretenders in the church will report the true believers to the government. Everyone wants to have the favor of the people we know and love. Jesus tells us that we should take heed and know that we will be hated of all except true Jew and Gentile believers for His name's sake. He tells us that those who endure to the end shall be saved. Do we endure the Rapture? He has not gotten to the Rapture yet.

Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Mark 13:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter [therein], to take any thing out of his house:

Mark 13:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

Mark 13:17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Mark 13:18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

Mark 13:19 For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from thebeginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

What is the abomination of desolation of which Daniel spoke? It will be when we see Antichrist standing in the temple in Jerusalem proclaiming himself to be god and demanding to be worshiped as god by everyone. At this time the speculation and guessing about who the Antichrist is, will be ended. At this time we will not want to be downtown in any big city. We will need to be in Goshen. None of the plagues of Egypt had any effect on the Jews in Goshen. Faithful Christians will be safe in their occupied territories. Is our church strong enough in faith and the power of the Holy Spirit to make it safe like Goshen? What can be done to make it so? Where would we go, because we have not gotten to the rapture yet?

Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Mark 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here [is] Christ; or, lo, [he is] there; believe [him] not:

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

Again we hear the Lord telling us that we are to TAKE HEED. Will we hear Him saying - Look, pay attention to the warnings I am giving you in advance? If we are going to be raptured out why would He be telling us to TAKE HEED to His warnings, or why would He even be giving us the warnings in the first place? The rapture is not yet.

Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Let us recap and list His warnings:

1. Many false teachers.

2. Many false christs.

3. Wars and rumors of wars.

4. Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom.(Ethnic Cleansing)

5. Earthquakes

6. Famines

7. Troubles (pestilence, plagues, AIDS,)

8. Believers in Jesus will be persecuted

9. Gospel published among all nations

10. Believers to be taken by the government to prison and beatings and to testify against the wicked rulers of the New World Order.

11. Brother will betray brother.

12. Children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. (outcome based education, and solution to social security crisis)

13. Believers hated by all for Jesus name's sake.

14. The abomination of desolation.

15. Flight from the cities.

16. Greater affliction than ever seen on earth.

17. False christs showing great signs.

18. Sun and moon darkened.

19. Stars falling and the powers of heaven shaken.

20. Appearing of Jesus coming in the clouds in great power and glory.

21. NOW IT IS RAPTURE TIME!

Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

After the sun and moon are darkened, with stars falling from heaven, and every eye sees Jesus coming in great power and glory then He raptures His elect to join in His parade to victory. This may not be the order of events we have been taught. It may not be the order of events that we want. But if this is the order of events that Jesus said would be, it would be wise to prepare for this order of events. We lose nothing by preparing for the events as Jesus told us, which is sort of a worst case scenario. We could lose a great deal if we fail to TAKE HEED to what He said. Wishing and hoping and listening to false teachers will not make it so. The Word of God makes it so.

Mark 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

Mark 13:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, [even] at the doors.

Mark 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Israel, the fig tree, is the key to end time prophecy. If Israel again took possession of Jerusalem in 1967, and a bible generation is 40 years, everything including the tribulation and the Lord's return should be done by 2007. Please note that we are not telling anyone the day or the hour. We could be several years into the 7 years of final great tribulation and very few of us would know it. We have reason to expect the end to be before the end of 2007.

Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:32 But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

No one knows the day or hour. TAKE HEED - again the Lord tells us to payattention. Get to know the order of end time events from the Word of God and not a false teacher or a wishful thinking process. Know the great tribulation sign posts. TAKE HEED. If heaven and earth are soon to pass away but the Word of God endures forever, should we not give higher priority to the Word of God?

Mark 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Mark 13:34 [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Mark 13:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

TAKE HEED, watch and pray. We don't know the day or the hour but we know it is nearer than it has been for any previous generation. Nothing can put a believer to sleep or get him distracted better than a pre-tribulation rapture belief. Nothing will keep a believer on the watch, and taking heed, and better focused than a post tribulation rapture belief. Watch. TAKE HEED.