Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 13:1) And as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been teaching in the temple.  He now left the temple and one of His disciples remarked to Him about the magnificence of the temple and its stones.  It was indeed a beautiful building with stones of enormous size.  The historian Josephus said that the massive stones were white and fifty feet long, twenty-four wide, and sixteen thick.  The disciple marveled at the beauty of the white buildings and the enormous size of the stones.

(2) And Jesus, answering, said to him, "See these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."

Jesus told the disciple to behold how beautiful and strong the buildings were.  The disciple surely thought the buildings were of such grandeur and especially strength that they would likely stand for generations to come.  However, Jesus told him it would be destroyed and there wouldn't be left one stone upon another that won't have been thrown down.

(3) And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew, asked Him privately, (4) "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?"

Jesus then sat upon the Mount of Olives which was directly east of the temple where He had a good view of the temple.  Peter, Andrew, James, and John came to Him privately away from the rest of the disciples and asked Him when the things He spoke of would happen and what would be the sign of its coming.

(5) And Jesus, answering them, began to say, "Take heed, lest any man deceive you."

Jesus began His answer with a warning that they should watch out that no one deceived them.

(6) "For many shall come in My name, saying, 'I am Christ,' and shall deceive many."

Jesus warned that there would come many false Christs claiming to be the Messiah.  The Jews, having rejected the true Messiah, would perhaps be more susceptible to believing a false Christ.

(7) "And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for these things must be, but the end won't be yet."

Jesus told them they would hear of wars and rumors of wars, but they were not to be troubled by those.  They would happen, but it did not mean the end of the state of Israel at that time.

(8) "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in diverse places, and there shall be famines and troubles; these are the beginnings of sorrows."

Nations and kingdoms would indeed rise up against one another.  There would be earthquakes in different places, as well as famines and other troubles, and those would be the beginning of the sorrows to come to Israel.

(9) "But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues you will be beaten, and you will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them."

Jesus told them to watch out for themselves as they would be delivered up to councils and they would be beaten.  They would be brought before rulers and kings for Christ's sake, for professing Him and preaching His gospel, and that would, of course, be a testimony against those who rejected their message of Christ.

(10) "And the gospel must first be proclaimed among all nations."

Jesus said that before the destruction of Jerusalem would come, the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations, at least all the ones in their part of the world which was all they knew.

(11) "But when they lead and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand about what you will speak, nor premeditate, but whatever is given you in that hour, speak that, for it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Ghost."

Jesus told the disciples that when they were indeed delivered up to councils, rulers, and kings, they were not to be anxious and concern themselves with what to say, but the Holy Spirit would give them the words to speak, and they were to speak those boldly and with confidence.

(12) "Now brother will betray brother to death, and father, his son, and children will rise up against parents, and will cause them to be put to death."

There would be such a rage against Christ and His gospel, that even close relations would have their close relatives put to death because of Him.

(13) "And you will be hated of all for My name's sake, but he who endures to the end shall be saved."

Jesus warned that they would be hated by all men because of Jesus and His gospel, but He gave them encouragement, saying that whoever endured all the afflictions and persevered in the faith of Christ would be saved with an everlasting salvation.

(14) "But 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 Judaea flee to the mountains."

The Jews had been rebelling against the Romans, as well as persecuting Christians, and Jesus warned that when they saw the abomination of desolation, the abomination of Roman soldiers plowing through their holy city bringing desolation, they were to flee to the mountains.  This had been prophesied by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:27.  When they saw this unfold, those who were in Judaea should run for the hills and mountains.  "Let the reader understand" appears to be a parenthetical statement made by Mark, rather than the words of Jesus.  However, Matthew said something similar when relating his account of this warning by Jesus, so perhaps Jesus did say it, but His usual words were "He who has ears, let him hear."  It doesn't seem right that He would say that a reader understand, unless He was speaking of understanding the prophecy of Daniel, which would make sense.  Since two Gospel writers wrote it, it does begin to make sense that Jesus said it about the prophecy of Daniel, as it wasn't a completely direct and clear prophecy:

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." - Daniel 9:27

(15) "And let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter to take anything out of his house."

Jesus had just warned that all in Judaea should flee to the mountains.  He added further that they should not take the time to go back into their houses to take anything with them.

(16) "And let him who is in the field not turn back again to take up his garment."

Furthermore, if any person was working in the field, he should not take even what little time it would be to grab any outerwear.

(17) "But woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing in those days."

Jesus lamented the situation of pregnant and nursing mothers in those days because it would be difficult for them to flee in haste, making it more likely they would fall into the hands of the enemy.

(18) "And pray that your flight be not in the winter."

Having to flee in the winter would be very difficult, too, in inclement weather on bad roads.

(19) "For in those days shall be affliction such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, neither shall be."

Jesus warned that in those days there would be so much affliction and misery the likes of which had not been seen since the beginning of time and would not be seen again. 

(20) "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake whom He has chosen, He has shortened the days."

Jesus said that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be able to survive.  However, for His chosen elect, the Lord would shorten those days.  Note that Jesus spoke in the past tense.  The Lord had already shortened the days for His elect.  This destruction was already a done deal, but the Lord shortened it to save His remnant, as He always does.  He never entirely destroys or allows His chosen people to be completely destroyed.

(21) "And then if any man says to you, 'Lo, here is Christ,' or 'Lo, there,' do not believe him. (22) For false Christs and false prophets shall rise and will show signs and wonders to seduce, if possible, even the elect."

Jesus warned that there would arise men claiming to be Christ and prophets declaring the Messiah was there to deliver them from their distress.  They would even show signs and wonders to seduce the people to believe them, some of them so convincing, that if it were possible, they might even deceive the elect.  Scripture says it is not possible to those who are truly saved:

"My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand. My Father who gave them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are One." - John 10:27-30

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

(23) "But take heed; behold, I have foretold you all things."

Jesus warned His disciples to give careful attention to the things He had told them so that they might be prepared when they saw the signs and be on guard against every deception and temptation.  Jesus told them He had told them all things regarding their question about when the destruction of the temple would be.

(24) "But in those days after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."

This is where Jesus seemed to take a turn and begin talking about His second coming.  He had indeed made a point to tell them He had foretold all things, as if that was the end of that one discussion, and now He began another topic.  He spoke of the days after that tribulation which could very logically mean a long time afterward at the end of the world.  However, the same account in Matthew said that Jesus said, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days..."  

That is the reason I really loved my chronological Bible study because it would include all these accounts together.  However, I was challenged to read the gospel accounts to "see what Jesus said..." about certain things in our culture.  Reading just Mark's account would surely lead one to believe Jesus had to be talking about His second coming and the end of the world.  However, combined with Matthew's "Immediately," one might have a different take.

In my study of Matthew, I could see how the dust and smoke of complete destruction could black out the sun and moon.  However, John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that this and the following few verses were meant to be symbolic.  After the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God, the Shekinah glory of the Lord, represented by the sun, was gone.  All symbols of the Lord's divine presence were destroyed.  The moon would not give her light.  That light that shone in darkness, that light of the world, that goodness and knowledge of truth and life that was visible in the light, was now extinguished.

(25) "And the stars of heaven shall fall and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken."

Very reasonably, one can follow Gill's logic that this was symbolic and see that the stars of heaven might be the rabbis and teachers of God's Word, and that the powers that were present in that Word of truth would be shaken to the core.

(26) "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (27) And then He will send His angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."

Then would the Son of Man come with great power and glory, but not in a physical visible form, but as the Word that He has always been from the beginning.  This time it would not be for the Jews, God's chosen people, but He would send His messengers out to the four corners of the world, to the Gentiles, to the uttermost regions under heaven, to build His kingdom on earth, the Christian church.

Although Jesus's words clearly seem to be about the destruction of the Jewish state, that is not to say they can't also be about the second coming of Christ at the end.  In Mark's account, the disciples had asked when the falling of the temple that Jesus spoke about would occur and "...what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?"  However, in the account in Matthew, they had asked a bit more specifically than that, and asked, "...what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world?"  I believe that, as often occurs in prophecy, it can refer to both the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world.  Often Jesus quoted as prophecy something that was fulfilled at that time it was originally quoted, but also referred to what was happening in His time.

(28) "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when her branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. (29) So you, in like manner, when you see these things come to pass, know that it is near, at the doors."

Jesus told His disciples that just as they recognized the signs when summer was near, when they saw the things He had spoken of, they would know that the destruction was near.

(30) "Verily, I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done."

Jesus did give them a window of time when the things He had spoken of would occur; the present generation of men would not completely pass away before those things would happen.

(31) "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away."

Jesus's prophetic words were so completely true that even as heaven and earth might pass away, His words never would.  The things He spoke of were absolutely sure to happen.

(32) "But of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels who are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."

Although Jesus gave them a 40 year window of when those things would happen, He said that no one knew exactly when it would happen, not even Jesus at that time, but only His Father in heaven knew.  As God the Son in heaven, Jesus surely knew when they would happen, but as the Son of man on earth, He had not been granted that particular knowledge at that time.

(33) "Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is."

Because they did not know when total destruction would happen, Jesus warned His disciples to be careful, watch for the signs, and pray.

(34) "It is as a man taking a far journey who left his house and left authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."

Just as a man might take a far journey and leave his house under the authority of his servants, and left everyone to their work, and a doorkeeper to watch, so it would be when Jesus left them to carry on His ministry.

(35) "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning, (36) Lest coming suddenly, he finds you sleeping."

Jesus exhorted them to watch and be ready at all times of the day or night, lest they be found surprised and unprepared.

(37) "And what I say to you, I say to all, 'Watch!'"

I love this powerful end statement by Jesus.  What He had told those four disciples, He would tell everyone.  It was meant for even us today reading that message; we should always be mindful of the signs, and always be ready for Jesus.  The parable of the master of the house sounds like Jesus gone away and returning, finding people not ready for His return.  It doesn't have to be at Jesus's second coming; no one knows if he might meet Jesus when he dies unexpectedly.  We should always be ready for Jesus!  One of my favorite songs is this one by Casting Crowns, and it says it beautifully:

While You Were Sleeping

Oh, little town of Bethlehem, looks like another silent night. Above your deep and dreamless sleep, a giant star lights up the sky. And while you're lying in the dark, there shines an everlasting light, for the King has left His throne and is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight. Oh, Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping, for God became a man and stepped into your world today. Oh, Bethlehem, you will go down in history as a city with no room for its King, while you were sleeping, while you were sleeping.

Oh, little town of Jerusalem, looks like another silent night. The Father gave His only Son. The way, the truth, the life had come, but there was no room for Him in the world He came to save. Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping. The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today. Jerusalem, you will go down in history as a city with no room for its King, while you were sleeping, while you were sleeping.

United States of America, looks like another silent night, as we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children. And while we're lying in the dark, there's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky, for the Bridegroom has returned and has carried His bride away in the night, in the night. America, what will we miss while we are sleeping? Will Jesus come again and leave us slumbering where we lay? America, will we go down in history as a nation with no room for its King? Will we be sleeping? Will we be sleeping? United States of America, looks like another silent night.