The Signs Of The Times Pt. 1 (God’s Timing)

The Signs of the Times Pt. 1 (God’s Timing)

Mark 13:1-8

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith (trust in what the Lord has said and promised) is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NKJV

Hebrews 11:6 says, without faith it is impossible to please God, but that doesn’t mean we don’t use our brains; there is a lot of evidence to prove the Lord and the Bible apart from our faith.

The many fulfilled prophecies of scripture have to be the most amazing evidence that proves the Bible’s divine origin, and they also prove that Jesus is who He said He is.

The world has always pointed to people like Nostradamus with his incredible fortune-telling abilities, even though his track record of accuracy is very dismal and esoteric at best.

But Bible prophecy has never been proven wrong. There are scriptures that call people by name, years before their birth.

We have also seen critics claiming Daniel never existed for years, until scholars discovered the early origin of him and his prophecies, proving scripture to be completely accurate again.

When it comes to Bible prophecy about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, there are hundreds of prophecies that were proven once Jesus showed up in the New Testament time.

Please open your Bibles to Mark 13 as we continue in a verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Mark.

Last time in Mark, Jesus gave some warnings about the false pretense of the religious leaders as well as revealing His heart about gifts that are given with the right motivation.

Then Jesus spoke about the widow who gave a huge, meager offering and said, “This poor widow has put in more than all those who have given.”

Jesus values our giving; whether we are offering the Lord our time, talent, or treasures, He sees the heart and motivation.

Today is part one of a mini-series on the signs of the times…

Today’s passage happened right after that scene at the Temple and One of Jesus’ Disciples points out the beauty of the Temple, and then Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple.

I. The destruction of the Temple.

Read Mark 13:1-2

In Matthew’s account, before Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple, He lamented about Jerusalem’s lack of repentance.

Matthew 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Matthew 23:38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; NKJV

Jesus wanted to protect Jerusalem from this coming judgment, but He could not, because of Jerusalem’s rejection of Him.

Jesus was broken hearted over the fact that His chosen people, would not repent of their sin and accept Him for salvation.

Jesus has compassion over lost humanity which shows us an example of being broken hearted over the person who refuses His free gift as well.

Jesus wanted to gather His people and protect them; because sin and rebellion are destructive and the person who refuses Jesus will face the consequence of the destruction that comes from sin.

So, after Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, He left the Temple and His disciples pointed out the beauty and splendor of the Temple.

The original Temple was built by Solomon, but it was eventually destroyed by Babylon, as the Jewish people spent 70 years in captivity.

After the Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and Ezra and Zerubbabel rebuilt the actual Temple.

We are told the Jewish people mourned because the rebuilt Temple did not have the glory and beauty of the former Temple.

Later, Herod the Great ordered the Temple to be remodeled to far surpass its original glory under Solomon, but Herod died before the Temple remodel was fully completed in 64 A.D.

Here in our narrative, the Disciples felt the Temple was so great that it was evidence of God’s blessing upon Jerusalem, so they pointed out the beauty and the splendor of the Temple to Jesus.

Jesus’ statement about the destruction of the Temple was unthinkable to the Disciples because they believed the Temple was built so well, it could never be destroyed.

Some predictions can be pretty vague, but Mark 13:2 was a pretty incredible prediction by Jesus, saying that one stone would not be left upon another on the Temple.

In the year 66 A.D. the Jews rebelled against Rome and in response, the emperor Nero dispatched an army to restore order.

By the year 68 A.D., Nero committed suicide and Ves-pa-sian was declared Emperor and returned to the Rome as his son, Titus, led the remaining army to attack Jerusalem.

During the siege in 70 A.D., Josephus estimates 1.1 million Jews were killed and 90,000 others were enslaved.