Stay Awake, We are in the Last Days
Truth Taught- The time to prepare for the Lord’s return is now because no one can prepare then.
We have considered our Lord’s Words concerning two great events in which His people were to watch and be ready for. The first was Jesus’ early followers and the first century Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. If you remember, our Lord told his first followers to watch for the Abomination of Desolation that would take place right before the destruction and tribulation. We saw together from the Book of Daniel that this would be a time when the normal worship of God would be stopped within the Temple as the pagan army would raise an image or a banner within the Temple itself so the people would worship the image rather than God. The Daniel event was long passed. Now when the Christians in Jerusalem saw a similar event, they were to flee to the mountains. We also looked at the historic account from Josephus which showed us that this very thing took place in 66AD and the Christians, remembered the Lord’s warning and fled the city to the mountains. Then following that event, in 70 AD the Temple was destroyed.
The second event which is the return of Christ, our Lord tells us will be preceded by the Great Tribulation. According to our Lord there is coming tribulation like none other and He said that for the sake of the elect, it would be shortened.
Mark 13:19–20 (ESV)
19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
Now, in our text for today, we will see that after that tribulation there will be cosmic events take place and then Jesus will return and gather His elect to Himself.
Jesus goes back and forth a little between these two great events. Sometimes, He’s referring to the first century and the fall of Jerusalem and other times, He’s referring to His return.
Please Stand in honor of God’s Holy, Inspired, and Inerrant Word
Father, please bless Your Word and equip us by it. Make us ready for the return of Jesus…
Mark 13:24–37 (ESV)
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
1. The Return of Christ (13:24-27)
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
Here is the entire point of why Jesus tells His first followers and us about His return is that He will break into world history and end all hostilities toward His people. Tribulation will be in full swing then the Lord returns to set all things right.
There has been a pattern throughout biblical history on a universal level and even on a personal level…suffering precedes glory. Of course, Jesus, Himself is the greatest example of this biblical pattern. He first suffered on the cross and then He was glorified. When we get this truth, we can better endure suffering now because great glory is also coming to us.
Our Lord’s point here is that we can endure tribulation if we know glory follows.
Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
He endured the cross as He looked forward to the glory that was to follow.
We saw that pattern for those in Jerusalem at the fall of the city. They endured tribulation and then they were saved. The same pattern has been throughout the Christian world. Paul endured great suffering before his glory was revealed. Practically all the apostles suffered martyrdom prior to their deaths.
This time of suffering Jesus speaks about will be like the world has never seen before or ever will see again. God will intercede and the days of it will be cut short. Then Jesus returns and gathers His people to Himself.
Then Jesus tells us that there will be great cosmic events.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Our Lord is speaking of a great cosmic collapse when the world will be reverting back to its pre-creation existence. There will be great darkness and chaos just as before the beginning in the Book of Genesis.
26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
As these events are taking place Jesus returns, He will be the Rescuer of His people.
The dark forces love the idea of the created world falling into chaos. Satan and his army will be joyful at this until Jesus shows up to save and gather His people.
This is an image taken from Daniel 7:13.
Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations,
and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
It’s Mark that shares with us what will take place in just a few short days from when Jesus is telling His followers these things. At our Lord’s crucifixion there will be a similar darkness.
Mark 15:33 (ESV)
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
Satan was ecstatic with joy as the Son of God died in darkness. He thought he had won…then the very event, namely the death of Jesus, that he thought meant victory actually sealed his doom. The death of Jesus was our Lord’s greatest hour of conquest when the forces of darkness were defeated. His death and resurrection were Jesus’ time of great conquest. The world has never been the same.
Now, what Jesus is referring to is the time when darkness and chaos seems to win the day again and then…He returns. Our Lord is the end of history. He returns and gathers from across the globe His elect. His precious saints that have endured such hard struggles are gathered by the angels and taken to Jesus. No more tribulation, darkness, cosmic chaos because Jesus is here with us. Christ will gather His elect from the four corners of the planet…
1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 (ESV)
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
We see Christ is the focal point. He is like a magnet for His people, we will all be brought to Him and our eternal focus will remain fixed on Jesus.
We know that in what Jesus tells us here, there is no mention of a millennium, no New Jerusalem, no battle of Armageddon and no hints of when this will take place. On all these things, Mark is silent.
Remember Jesus’ purpose…to get His people ready for that day. For that, He will go to the cross in two days.
2. Back to the Fall of Jerusalem (13:28-31)
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Now, Jesus returns back to the fall of Jerusalem. He shows further that these things will take place just as He said and they will happen within the current generation of His early followers.
He says things like, These things not those things. He says that this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
The reason our Lord goes back and forth with a somewhat confusing teaching is that the Fall of Jerusalem is a picture of the Great Tribulation to come.
His Words and focus go like this…
As you wait for the Abomination of Desolation understand that is a sign to flea Jerusalem and that the end of the city and the Temple is near.
In the same way, when you see leaves appear on the fig tree you now summer is near.
Jesus closes this short section by teaching, that it is Jesus who stands in the gap. He is the reason we can have hope.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The Word of God outlives even the very cosmos. His promises made to His people will bring us home even though everything around us falls God will uphold us by the power of His eternal Word.
3. I Say to All: Stay Awake (13:32-36)
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
The first sign for Jesus’ first followers was the Abomination of Desolation. When they saw that event, it was the sign that they should flea the city. That also marked the beginning of the Last Days.
We have no where to run to. So, our fleeing does not begin when we see cosmic events, because when we see those signs, it’s already too late, Jesus is here. No, beloved our fleeing the wrath to come must begin right now. All signs have been given and they add up to one massively important conclusion. The End cannot be prepared for then because it’s not a time but an event. Just as the Last Days are already upon us so the end is too.
It’s as if the Abomination of Desolation is in the Temple now. Flee to Jesus Christ now not then because there really is no then. It’s now. The reason is because no one knows when it will take place. Humans don’t know, the Angels don’t know, not even the Son of God.
So, we see an amazing but wonderful paradox in verse 32. Jesus, the Son of God does not know the time when He will return. What is His attitude toward that thing that is unknowable to Him? If we learn what Jesus does as He does not know when, then we too have our answer as to what we are to do because we do not know when either.
Jesus was perfectly fine not knowing and He continually placed Himself in the Father’s care. Beloved we cannot know when Jesus will return. It’s not knowable so we too must take Jesus’ strategy and continually submit ourselves to the Father. He will carry you home when the time comes. Do not be anxious about the End of Time ready yourself now and God will bring you home when Christ returns.
The disciples want a time and Jesus gives them a Person. Jesus didn’t know either and didn’t get caught up in the time but focused all His mind and efforts on the Father.
When even the Sun, Moon, and Stars are shaken, the believer may rest assured that God is still Father, and as Father He remains steadfast in His will, compassion and purpose.
So, what does Jesus tell us to do? Stay Awake, be ready.
35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
These are the very “watches” where the disciples will in just a few short days, fall asleep.
Matthew 26:38–40 (ESV)
38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?
Beloved, don’t get sidetracked, don’t get distracted, don’t fall asleep…
Live now for eternity. Live faithfully and truly as believers in obedience to God’s Word. Love God’s people, love the Church and battle sin like your life depends on it. Stay Awake.
Jesus is returning. He may come in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning
Resources Used:
Relied heavily on Mark by James Edwards
Words of grace
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