Lent: Day 13

As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see how wonderful these stones and buildings are!”

Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”

As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us when these things will be? What is the sign they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he! ’ and will lead many astray.

“The days will come, when you will desire to see the day of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t follow after them, for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky to the other part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 

As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but in the day Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all. 

It will be the same way the day the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to get them. Let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Those who seek to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives will save them. In that night there will be two people in one bed: one will be taken, and the other left. There will be two grinding grain together: one will be taken, and the other left.” 

They asked him, “Where, Lord?”

He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together.”

 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains. 

“Family members will betray each other, causing them to be killed. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. 

When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of the house. Those who are in the field should not go back for their clothes. Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter. In those days there will be trouble, such as has not been known from the days of creation until now, and never will be. Unless the Lord shortens the days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, he shortens the days.

Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. For there will arise false christs and false prophets, who will show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. Be on your watch.

“I have told you all things now. In those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. They will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. He will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the sky.

Reflection

 

Apocalyptic language like this can be hard to understand, particularly for those who don’t realize how much of it was fulfilled about thirty years after the death of Jesus when Rome brutally crushed a Jewish rebellion and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Stars falling from the sky is metaphorical language similar to our speaking of earth-shattering events. How familiar are you with the destruction of Jerusalem in 66 A.D.? It is almost impossible to understand the prophetic passages of the New Testament without knowing some history from that era. Too many so-called "Bible experts" and "prophecy experts" fail to grasp the historical context of these passages.

Prayer: Help me understand, Lord, the portions of scripture that have already found their fulfillment in history.