Mark 13:24   The references to time here are absolutely crucial. In those days moves on to answering the second part of the disciples question. In those days, after that tribulation, moves on to describe the Great Tribulation which we can find more about in Revelation. Judgments I evolving the darkening of the sun and the…

Mark 13:23   We generally fail to recognize it, but Jesus is The Prophet. We think often of his role as priest and king, but forget this truth. He has told us more about the future than any other, and he is the Author of all other prophecy. He gave the other prophets the words to…

Mark 13:22   There will be those who simply claim to be prophets, whereas others will claim to be Messiahs. And, in these cases we must know that signs and wonders will not indicate anything. This is quite interesting in that all prophetic activity must now fall in line with Christ and his cause. The future…

Mark 13:21   Any time that there is great trouble there is a chance for false Messiahs to crop up. They prey on the needs of others, offering an empty hope to those who are suffering. Jesus warns us ahead of time that he will not appear in this way, so we need not be deceived.…

Mark 13:20   If the Elect are those who the Lord has chosen, why would he need to shorten the time? Would they not go to heaven in any case? No, not necessarily. Again, we must remember this is prophecy. The Lord is speaking of a future time. So, it is for the sake of those…

Mark 13:19   Every fulfillment of this prophecy will find this statement to be true. Which, of course, means that it must be worse in every case. The result of the Jewish revolt in the first century was not good, and was arguably the worst of all that had happened to them up to that point.  …

Mark 13:18   This is one of those short little verses that we just skip over. However, it is very revealing. How so? Well, why would Jesus tell them to pray for their escape to not have to happen in the winter if he already knew exactly when all of this would happen? It would be…

Mark 13:17   Being pregnant or trying to nurse the young would slow the mothers down of course. Jesus is really painting a picture of a very difficult and dangerous time. This applies very well to the events surrounding the Jewish revolt and subsequent quashing later in that century. But, it will also apply to the…

Mark 13:16   This likely refers to the outer garment or robe which was worn over the inner garment, or garments. Thus, for travelling it would be desirable to have the outer garment. If a man was working busily in the field, he might have strayed some distance from his original spot. But, Jesus encourages such…

Mark 13:15   In those days they generally had a flat roof that could be reached by a flight of stairs from the outside. So, it would be easy to exit from the housetop without entering the house.   One might ask how this would apply if a person happened to not have such a housetop setup?…