“14 When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where it should not (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 15 A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house. 16 And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes. 17 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 18 Pray it won’t happen in winter. 19 For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of the world, which God created, until now and never will be again! 20 Unless the Lord limited those days, no one would survive. But He limited those days because of the elect, whom He chose.

21 Then if anyone tells you, “Look, here is the Messiah! Look — there!” do not believe it! 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.”

Mark 13:14-23

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Using prophetic language, Jesus has afforded us a look into the future and the events surrounding the destruction of the temple (70 AD) and the last days. There are hints toward both events here in this chapter in Mark. The events on the Temple Mount led into a violent conflict and the dispersion of the Jewish people. What a blessing to give His disciples proper warning and instructions for such a horrific event! 

Life is fraught with tragedies of varying size and importance. Very rarely are we afforded warning. Looking at the historical markers for WW1 & WW2, it was not difficult for people to see trouble brewing. But the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the bombing of Pearl Harbor came unexpectedly. There was no warning. Again, jumping ahead to the events of 9/11, there was no warning, the U.S. was caught completely off guard. And in stark comparison, we find the daily tragedy of government endorsed and supported abortion. 57.4 million babies have died since Roe v Wade in 1973, stand that in contrast to the 2.7 million soldiers & war dead who have passed in every conflict on American soil or as U.S. soldiers. 

Tragedy heaped upon tragedy. We live in a sick and broken world. And since we are all going to ask God when the suffering will end, Jesus was compassionate enough to give us signs, yet wise enough not to give us an exact date. Faith comes into play here, and anticipation of the unknown serves as a fantastic motivator to press forward. God provides our comfort as we await His return, and just like every generation before mine, I sit and think that same thought, “Well, looking at the world today, it can’t be long.” 

I pray that the 6600 unreached people groups are reached within my lifetime and that the evils of the world, like ISIS and Boko Haram among so many others, will be subdued. Christians are dying every day, and every year that annual total increases. Persecution is rampant. Over 35 million Christians have died in the past century, that’s approximately half of all Christian deaths since the birth of the church, and the trend is on the rise. So my hopes, then, do not rest in men seeing this violence stopped, but in God’s work through His people and the spreading of His Word. 

Jesus has given us all the hope we need to survive such trying days, and certainally there are still difficult days to come. The increased silencing of Christian voices in Western Culture is just one of the signs that lets us see that…

But in Christ Jesus, we have hope that will never let us down! GoLove people, and let them hear about the hope that -you- have! It is absolutely worth it! 

Romans 5:1-5

Faith Triumphs

“1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because Gods love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”