ATTENTION: Please note that this adult Sunday school lesson, Coming of the Son of Man aka Jesus is Coming Again on Mark 13:14-27 is for the 2-27-11 International Sunday Sunday School Lesson. You will find the 2-20-11 lesson, Jesus Came to Serve, directly beneath this message and on the right side.
Jed
Coming of the Son of Man
Or
Jesus is Coming Again
Mark 13:14-27
International Sunday School Lesson
February 27, 2011
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
Let me begin by saying that today’s passage, along with its corresponding accounts in the gospels, Matthew 24 and Luke 21, are some of the most abused and misused of passages! I ask you to disabuse yourself, if possible, of the teachings that you may have swallowed hook, line and sinker! I would have you be prepared and not deceived by those who so readily serve up their theories as fact. Please note that this is one of the main thrusts that Christ puts forward for your benefit and many of the verses that follow are not included in the scripture for today. He said:
Mark 13:5a, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”
Mark 13:6, “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.”
Mark 13:9a, “You must be on your guard.”
Mark 13:12, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.”
Mark 13:21-23a, “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. So be on your guard;”
I hope you fathom the importance that Christ placed on warning the reader to not be deceived concerning this time and to be on guard. Of course, that means then that you have a responsibility to your brothers and sisters to make sure that they too are so warned. Too many believe far too easily what is taught on this passage and the other subjects concerning Christ’s return and judgment.
As today’s passage begins we see reference to an “abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong” followed by the rather odd, “let the reader understand”. Matthew 24:15 interjects “spoken of through the prophet Daniel” in between those two and Luke 21:20 reads, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”
So many who study this passage have had their minds polluted by fiction writers on what will happen in Jerusalem in the last days that it is hard for them to take the scripture on face value alone. I ask you to consider, is it sufficient enough for just Jerusalem to be the holy place, does there really have to be a rebuilt temple, where is the holy place now, is it within each of us, what if your theory is wrong and you fail to recognize the truth because you are looking to have your theory materialize?
The times of which we are reading will be the worst ever. We know from all the scriptures that people will be betrayed to death because of their faith in Christ Jesus. There never has been a time such as this where if God did not stop it there would be no one left alive. That though, is what this time will be like and thus why Christ so wants you to have a guarded mind.
Yes, there will be those who say Christ is here and the signs that accompany it will deceive many, but you will not fall for that, will you? You know until you “see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” that the rest will be just deception. It will be just what the angels said in Acts 1 would happen after Jesus was taken up in a cloud, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
What I want to impress upon you, is that no one will miss it; you won’t have to be told that He is over here or over there. Matthew 24:30 tells us “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky.” In Revelation 1:7 we read these stirring words, “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the people of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.”
This is the time, as it says in verse 27 from today, that the angels will gather His elect. Paul says this about that time:
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
For Discussion:
1. Read also Matthew 24 and Luke 21
2. Consider some of the challenges in interpreting this prophecy in a way that for certain separates what applies to Jews and what applies to Christians, very difficult indeed.
3. For those who are steadfast in their beliefs in their understanding of prophecy, I implore you to prayerfully consider that you may be wrong.
4. What could happen in today’s world that would cause Israel to be surrounded by armies?
5. Pray for Jerusalem.
Join me in the weeks ahead for the following International Sunday School Lessons:
March 6, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Worship Guidelines aka Instructions about Worship on 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 3:14-16
March 13, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Leadership Qualities aka Qualifications of Worship Leaders on 1 Timothy 3
March 20, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Leadership Priorities aka Prepare for Leadership on 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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