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Today's Daily Study Bible
 
MARK 13:24-37

24 "In those days, after the time of suffering, the sun will grow dark and the moon will shine forth its light, 25 the stars will fall from heaven, and the universe will be shaken from its foundations." 26 Then the people will see the Messiah (the Son of Man, the Christ) coming in the clouds, arriving in majesty and glory.  27  He will then send forth the angels ( messengers), and gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth (the four winds), from both the far reaches of the earth to the far reaches of heaven.

28 Consider the lesson of the fig tree.  As soon as its branches begin to green in the springtime and its leaves begin to unfold, you can tell by this that the summertime is near.  29  So in like manner, when you see the things I have told you begin to happen, you know that the Son of Man (often a symbol of the day of reckoning) is near, at the very gates of the city. (Here, Jesus completes his circle back to the original question asked by the disciples in 13:4 concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.) 30 I tell you the truth when I say that our generation will live to see all these things will take place.  31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will endure forever. (Memory Verse)

32 But as to the specific hour or day, no one knows, neither the angels, nor the Son, but only God the Father.  33 So you must always be on the alert, for you will never know when the time will come.  34 It is like a man who sets out on a long journey.  When he departs he places his servants in charge, giving to each servant their responsibility.  He then orders the doorkeeper to maintain the vigilant watch.  35  Therefore, you must keep awake - for you do not know when the master will return, it could be in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrow (probably referring to the pre-dawn town crier's cry from the watchtowers and not necessarily an actual rooster's crowing) or at the sunrise.  36  If you are not keeping the faithful watch, he may return and you may miss his coming.  37 Therefore I say to you and to eveyone, "Be vigilant in your watch (literally, keep awake)."

13:24-37 We can read this and other apocalyptic passages in either of two ways - as a journalistic description of scenes from a foreseen future or as a poetic expression of the human eperience of future events.  One must make their choice.  Either path can rise from a sure and faithful confidence in the inspiration of the Scriptures.   Inspired truth can be expressed in terms as diverse as divine legislation (such as the Ten Commandments) and divinely-inspired poetry (such as the Psalms).  Sometimes the poetic better expresses the truth than any narrative history ever could.

It seems that in context of the the disciples' original question concerning the destrtion of the Temple, Jesus is speaking throughout these verses about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple some forty years in the future.  Hence, within the lifetime of many present there that day, John the Apostle being one, this near total devastation of the Old Way would take place.

The metaphor of the fig tree would seem to be quite intentional in its purpose - do not try to figure out when all this will take place!  Yet, when it comes to apocalyptic passages concerning the future, human nature is bent on trying to pin it down.  Jesus' prescription is to be always ready and prepared as if it might happen tomorrow or if it might happen in some far distant future.

 

For earlier commentary proceed to the PRDSB-Mark page.