MARK LESSON 28

     We will begin this lesson in Mark 13:23.

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

     Here, again, the Lord Jesus was warning Peter and the other
disciples to remember what He told them about what was going to happen
before it happened, so that they would not run away.  They would still
believe that He was Messiah in the face of all these problems.  He was
not only telling the disciples, but all believers for all ages even
unto our time.

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

     Jesus was telling when this shall happen (in the last days after
the tribulation).  This, I believe, happens during the wrath of God.
There are a number of ways to look at this.  In our Revelation
teaching, we were pretty broad in our coverage.  There could, and
probably, will be a time of physical darkness upon the earth.  Whether
caused by smoke being between the sun and moon and the earth, I cannot
say.  We do know there will be darkness.  There will, also, be a lack of
light coming from the Church after the Christians leave the earth:  so
the darkness will be physical and spiritual.

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

     The Creator of the world is angry.  His wrath has come up in His
face.  There will be shaking in heaven and on earth.  This "stars"
falling can be literal stars, and it can, also, be big time men and women
of God.  People are many times spoken of as stars.  We know we have
been seeing some of these stars of heaven falling.  We, also, know there
will be a shaking and all who can be shaken will fall.  In Hebrews
12:25 we read, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they
escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not]
we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven:"
Hebrews 12:26 "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath
promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also
heaven." Hebrews 12:27 "And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the
removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made,
that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

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

     The "Son of man coming", here, will be King of kings and Lord of
lords.  He is coming for His elect.  This will be the Lord in all His
magnificence.  As He went away in a cloud, He will return in a cloud.
He will be clothed as it were in a cloud.  There will be such
brightness that it will light all of heaven, because He is the Light.
Many believe we will see the Cross, others believe we will see a
golden sword, but I believe we will see the glorified Lord.  The
Lord's great power is unsurpassed, because He will rule over everything
in the earth, under the earth, and above the earth.  There is no
greater power.

     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."

     This is speaking of the angels who take orders from the Lord.
The elect that will be gathered are the believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ.  There will be people of all nationalities.  This is talking
about those who are alive in Christ when the Lord returns, and those
who are dead in Christ, also.

     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:"

     We know that the fig tree symbolizes "Israel".  Israel sprouted
again and became alive in 1948 (it became a nation).

     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."

     When Israel became a nation, we were to realize that the return
of the Lord was very close.  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."

     Now here is where the controversy comes in.  How long is a
generation?  Is this speaking of forty years, or fifty, or seventy, or
one hundred and twenty years?  All of these numbers have been spoken
of as a generation somewhere in the Bible.  Many believed, and I am
one of them, that 1988 was a very important year in the Lord's time
table. It could have been 1998, or it could be 2018 or even 2068. Perhaps,
the tribulation began, or some other mark of time with God.  God's time 
and man's time are not the same, so we really cannot figure God out.

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

     This doesn't mean that at the end of this generation heaven and
earth will pass.  This verse 31 is not connected to verse 30.  This is
just showing how unending the Word of God is.  Verse 32 is joined
actually to verse 30.

     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."

     We have connected this knowledge of the Father and not the Son
about the time with the Jewish wedding.  In the Jewish wedding, the
Son (Jesus) goes away to build a home for His bride (the Christians).
When the Father approves of the house, the Son goes for the bride.
The groom stands on a hill outside of town at midnight and blows a
trumpet, and the bride comes out to meet Him.  Doesn't this sound like
the rapture of the Church?

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

     The Lord will return again, no one knows for sure when, but we
must be staying ready. Surely we will give an account to the Lord when
He returns. I love the song "We'll Work Till Jesus Comes".  That is
exactly what we must do.

     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."

     The servants are the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ from all
ages. The porter is like the ministers.  The ministers must keep
reminding the believers to watch and be ready, because we do not know
when He is coming, only that He is coming when we least expect Him.
The Son of man, of course, is Jesus; and this is speaking of when He
went to heaven in the cloud and sat at the right hand of the Father.
He left the disciples and all believers in Christ to do the work till
He returns.  All the world belongs to Jesus, the Father gave it to
Him.

     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:"

     These are the four watches of the night.  It is so easy to get
complacent and say, "He isn't coming".  But that is a lie of the
devil. The Church must not get careless. It must go on teaching the
absolute truth.  Jesus is coming back for a Church without spot or
wrinkle. To follow the instructions He left, we must know His
instructions well.  His instructions are in the Bible.  Watch and be
ready.

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

     In Proverbs, we are warned about spiritual sleeping.  This is
getting satisfied with things the way they are and not looking for His
return. Titus 2:12 "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world;" Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

We must stay alert living as pure a life as we can, staying ready.

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

     Jesus, in this sentence here, is explaining that it is not for
just the disciples of that day, but for all believers of all time.

                          Mark 28 Questions


1.  What was Jesus telling them to take heed of in verse 23?
2.  Why was He warning Peter and the others?
3.  In verse 24, what two things shall happen after the tribulation of
    those days?
4.  What does the author believe the time is called when the sun and
    moon are darkened?
5.  What two types of darkness could this be talking about?
6.  What will happen to the stars of heaven?
7.  The powers in heaven shall be __________________________.
8.  What does Hebrews 12:25-26, tell us about this time?
9.  Who is the shaker?
10. How will the Son of man come?
11. Who is this Son of man?
12. What are some signs people believe we will see in the sky?
13. What does the author believe we will see?
14. Where is the Lord's rule?
15. Who does the Lord send to gather His people?
16. Where will His angels gather them from?
17. Who are the elect of the Lord?
18. What are we to learn a parable of?
19. Who is this really speaking of?
20. When did they become a nation?
21. There are several different times that have been classified as a
    generation, forty years being the most prominent, name two others.
22. "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but ________________________
    shall not pass away."
23. Who, besides man, does not know the day or hour of the return of the
    Lord?
24. What Jewish tradition reminds us of the rapture?
25. What are we warned to do, because we do not know the time?
26. In verse 34, who do the servants symbolize?
27. Who does the porter symbolize?
28. What four times are mentioned that He might come back?
29. Where can we find instructions on what we should do as we wait for
    His return?
30. In verse 36, what type of sleeping is this talking about?
31. In Titus 2:12, how should we live?
32. In verse 37, who is the warning to?

                                 Notes