End Time Insights

According to Jesus, the End will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed to all nations – Matthew 24:14. When the subject of the Second Coming is raised, the question of what sign will precede it is asked. Invariably, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and similar catastrophes are offered as harbingers of that final day. Yet Jesus gave the definitive answer to this question - the   completion of the Church’s mission to proclaim his salvation and lordship to all nations.

The End will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed to all nations – Matthew 24:14. When the subject of the Second Coming is raised, the question of what “sign” or “signs” will precede it is asked. Invariably, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and similar catastrophes are proposed as the harbingers of that day. Yet Jesus himself gave us the  definitive answer  to the question, namely, the   completion of the mission of the Church  to proclaim his Salvation and Lordship to all nations.

Jesus provided information vital to his disciples if they wished to avoid deceptions from false prophets, false apostles, and other deceivers . Christ’s final sermon given while on the Mount of Olives repeatedly warns his followers about the “ many deceivers ” and “ false prophets ” who will work tirelessly to mislead them, among other things, spreading false information about his return and the end of the age. Constant vigilance is vital for avoiding deception and apostasy .

Just as unprepared men were destroyed by Noah’s Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overtaken by destruction when Jesus arrives . Jesus compared the final years before his return to the days before the Great Flood. “ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be ” when the “ Son of Man ” returns. Some interpreters take this as a prediction of the return of the same conditions that existed in Noah’s day, including the moral anarchy and violence that prompted God to send the floodwaters.

Jesus warned of coming deceivers who will mislead many and spread false information about his return . Jesus began his final discourse with a sharp warning: Beware of the “ many deceivers ” who will come and spread false information about his return, including rumors about wars, earthquakes, and other calamities. They will “ deceive many .” Likewise, “ false prophets ” and “ false anointed ones ” will propagate lies about the whereabouts and the “ coming of the Son of Man .”

Instead of calculating times and seasons, followers of Jesus must always be prepared for his sudden arrival . Did Jesus command his followers to know end-time chronologies, the “ times and seasons ”? Must we decipher key “signs” and use them to calculate the time of his return so we may prepare ourselves in the nick of time for the end? Did Christ and his Apostles leave us with a comprehensive list of signs whereby we may decode prophetic timetables and cosmic signs?

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus provided his disciples with a chronological key – they would know the time of the demise of the Temple when they saw all “ these things ” coming to pass - Before “ this generation ” reached its inevitable end. That was his definitive answer to the question, “ When will THESE THINGS come to pass? ” Within one generation, Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed, and some of his followers would live to see it.

Before his final departure from the Temple, Jesus fielded challenges from the “ Scribes and Pharisees ,” confrontations that set the stage for his arrest and trial, as well as his execution by the Roman authorities. As he left the building, he pronounced its impending judgment and destruction. From start to finish, priests, Scribes, Herodians, Sadducees, and especially Pharisees resisted him, and some of the Temple authorities became complicit in the plot to put him to death.

The whole earth will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of Heaven, and he will send his angels to gather his elect  –Mark 13:21-27. After describing the destruction of the Temple, Jesus turns to the subject of his return. How much time will pass between the Temple’s demise and his arrival, he does not say, but in the intervening period, his disciples must beware of deceivers and “ false prophets ” who spread false information about his coming.

The  Gospel of Mark  divides the story of the barren fig tree into two sections and places the “cleansing” of the Temple between them. The two incidents are closely linked. The fruitlessness of the fig tree and its cursing highlighted the failure and fate of the Temple, and the actions of Jesus foreshadowed its destruction. After his arrival in the city of Jerusalem, he first visited the Temple and “ looked around on all things .”

The ‘ Olivet Discourse ’ in the thirteenth chapter of  Mark  is the last recorded block of teachings by Jesus given shortly before his death on the Mount of Olives. It followed a series of confrontations in the Temple between him and the Pharisees and the priestly authorities, disputes that set the stage for his trial and execution. Thus, his “trial” effectively began in the Temple, and inevitably, it concluded with his unjust death on a Roman cross.

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.

According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.