Mark 13:22

Mark 13:22 says, For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.  In those early days, and at all ages since, there have been those who have claimed to be Christ.  Jesus said that they would do many signs and wonders.  I believe that this would be more from the perception of people who put their faith in one of these false Christs than from their actual power, but I also know that Satan is given a great deal of power in the world, so some of these signs and wonders may be real.  They were not called miracles though.  Jesus said that they would seduce the elect if possible.   I believe that if we are truly a part of the elect of God, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, that we can never be seduced away from Him, because God seals those who have done so to Himself.  Verse twenty-three continues, But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.  Jesus then told them to take heed, because he had foretold all these things to warn them.  We as followers of Christ today should not be surprised when trials and tribulations come, because we have already been told that they will.  Verse twenty-four says, But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, Jesus then discusses the time of the second coming of Christ.  The disciples seemed to expect this to happen soon, but Mark said there would be no doubt when it did happen.  He said that it would be after the tribulation.  He also said at that time, the sun would be darkened, and the moon would not give light.  Verse twenty-five adds, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken He then added that the stars would fall from heaven and the powers in heaven would be shaken.  We often hear scientists speculate about when the sun will burn out, yet we as Christians should already know.  It will be when Christ returns, whenever that will be.  Jesus Christ Himself will be the Light by which we will see, as He should already be for us spiritually.  Verse twenty-six continues, And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  Jesus said when this happens, then we will see the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  He is not coming back as a baby or carpenter's son, but as the all-powerful Son of God.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, 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. Jesus then said that He would send His angels to gather His elect, those who put their faith in Him as their personal Savior and Lord, from the uttermost parts of the earth to carry them to the uttermost parts of heaven. No one who ever accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will be left, even those who died centuries ago.  One thing is certain, if you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, when the day of His return happens, it will be too late to do so. 

Mark 13:9

Mark 13:9 says, But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.  After Jesus spoke of some of the things that would occur before the His return that didn't mean the end was near, He then told those who put their faith in Him to take heed of themselves.  Since we see these things occurring today, this would apply to us more than ever.  Jesus said that Christians in that day would be delivered up to councils and religious leaders where they would be beaten and brought before rulers for Jesus's sake as a testimony against them.  Again, this applies to us today more than ever before.  Jesus did not promise riches nor that we would escape this persecution.  Since Jesus said this would happen, we often apply this to the early church, but then apply the signs as happening today, but it seems to me that the persecution happens as the signs increase, so we need to take heed of ourselves and our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.  Verse ten adds, And the gospel must first be published among all nations. Jesus did say that the gospel must be published or preached to all nations before His return.  I am not sure if this has happened at some point in time or not, but if we are impatient for the return of Christ, we need to be busy sharing the gospel with the world.  Verse eleven continues, But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.  Jesus also said that we should not worry about what we should say if we are persecuted, because it would be given to us at that time because the Holy Spirit would speak through us.  Of course, we must remain faithful to Jesus Christ for this to happen.  We have very little control over these other signs, but we have a lot of control over proclaiming the gospel, especially when we find ourselves suffering persecution.  Verse twelve states, Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.  Jesus said that the closest family members would betray each other and cause them to be put to death, and that Christians would be hated for His sake.  We are definitely getting closer to that point, so we need to take heed of ourselves.  Verse thirteen adds, And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  Jesus said then that we would be hated by all men, but if we remain faithful to the end, we will be saved.  I don't believe that this means that we could possibly lose our salvation, but that if we are truly saved, we will never deny Jesus Christ even if it costs us everything, even our life.  Verse fourteen continues, But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:  We must first determine what the abomination of desolation is.  Matthew Henry says it was the Roman army, and this prophecy was fulfilled within forty years of it being made.  I believe that this is something that everyone has to determine themselves under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  I know that the Romans wreaked desolation on the early church.  Many Christians were killed, many turned away from their professed faith in Christ, and some were able to escape.  We today may find ourselves in a similar situation, but we are told to stand fast in our faith.  I don't believe that we are to run away from persecution, but as Mark said to the early Christians, we have to come to an understanding of what this means for us if it begins to happen in the world today under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse fifteen states And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter t herein, to take any thing out of his house:  Verse sixteen adds, And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.  When this occurred, Christians were urged to flee for their life.  They were not to worry about material possessions but were to leave everything to find safety.  Verse seventeen continues, But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.  Jesus said it would be very hard on mothers with young babies, because fleeing would be hard for them.  Verse eighteen concludes, And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.  These were all commonsense warnings, and they are still applicable today.  Verse nineteen says, For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.  Jesus said that there would be affliction like the world had never seen at that time, and we today are seeing affliction like never before, and a growing persecution of Christians.  I cannot say that we will not face those times, but I can say that if we are faithful to Jesus Christ, He will see us through them.  Verse twenty adds, And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.  Jesus said that if God had not shortened the days of persecution that no one would have survived, but that for the elect’s sake, those who had accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, God shortened the days.  Before the return of Christ, we are going to experience the same sort of desolation, but our days of suffering, no matter how long they may last, are already shortened compared to everlasting life that we have if we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Of course, the key is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. Verse twenty-one concludes, And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: Mark was still writing about the early days of Christianity when Christians were to suffer persecution at the hands of the Romans, but also about any time since Jesus's ascension and His return. 

Mark 13:1

Mark 13:1 says, And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!  After Jesus and His disciples came out of the Temple, one of His disciples asked Jesus to look at the Temple and marvel at how great it was.  This disciple was focused on the beauty of the Temple, and not what was going on inside it.  As Christians, sometimes we can be focused on the beauty of a church building more than we are on what goes on inside it.  Some church buildings may be very simple, or maybe even run down looking, but the people inside the building may be the most dedicated to God that anyone can be.  We need to be careful that we don't hold churches with beautiful buildings and large memberships in higher esteem than we do those with the simplest church building and a small membership, and the building should never become our main focus of concern.  Whatever it looks like, even if the members are gathering in the homes of its members, the focus should be on what is going on with those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and who gather together to worship and serve God.   Verse two adds, And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  Jesus then answered the disciple by saying that these great buildings would one day be totally destroyed.  That is why we shouldn't begin to overly admire the church building.  Just like the Temple then, one day all these beautiful church buildings, if not totally destroyed, will be left behind when Jesus Christ returns to claim His church, those who have put their faith in Him, no matter what the church building looks like.  Verse three continues, And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, After Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed, four of His disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, came and asked Him when this would happen.  They still didn't understand when He said He was going to die, and they didn't understand His statement about the Temple.  We cannot understand what the Bible is about if we do not understand that Jesus Christ died for our sins and accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse four concludes, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?  These disciples wanted a sign to show them when these things would happen, and many Christians are still looking for a sign today that Jesus is returning soon, but we are told not to worry about the time, because only the Father knows when the time will be right.  Verse five states, And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: Verse six adds, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Jesus warned them not to be deceived. Jesus said many would come claiming to be Christ, and they have and still do, but that the disciples should not be deceived by them.  As long as we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the world can never deceive us.  Verse seven continues, And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.  Verse eight concludes, For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. Then, Jesus spoke about things that sound like the news today, wars and rumors of war, nation rising against nation, earthquakes in place where earthquakes don't normally occur, and famine and troubles in the world.  We see news of these each day, and many people even experience them personally.  Jesus said that we are not to be troubled, because these things must occur, but the end is not yet, but these are the beginnings of sorrows.  So, when we hear of all these things, are we troubled, or do we simply continue to put our faith in God?  Do we spend more time talking about all these bad things, or more time sharing the Gospel?  I believe that if we truly believe that we are close to the time of Jesus's return, we should be reaching out to the lost with an urgency that we may have never felt before.