APOCALYPSE NOW! (2)

(Mark 13:24-37)

"And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." (v37)

Hinduism believes that existence is cyclical - and that ethical performance in one life determines the status of one's reincarnation. Whether one rises or falls, the process is believed to continue ad infinitum. Secular philosophy is similar in its overall outlook, usually operating on the premise that the world and human existence will proceed as it has always done. But apocalyptic prophecy tells us different. It asserts that history and human existence is not circular but linear, leading inexorably onwards in a straight line to a point, a terminus, a destination. And that destination is the return of Jesus Christ. The certainty of Christ's return is the essential message of the apocalypse. What does Jesus' discourse in Mark 13 tell us about this event?

According to vv24-27 it will follow the 'tribulation' - the ongoing persecution of Christ's church. The light of the cosmos will be snuffed out when Jesus returns and the "powers in the heavens will be shaken." (v25) Jesus' return will be an unmistakable event of great power and glory, witnessed by all (v26). And it will be followed by the gathering of Christ's elect - his church (v27).

Jesus doesn't say when this will happen. He rather teaches that his return is imminent - that is to say that it could happen at any moment. This point is made in v30: "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." This is a mysterious verse that has puzzled many. But its meaning is plain if one takes it at face value. Jesus is telling his disciples that the signs that will precede his return will all occur in their own generation. In other words, all the conditions for Jesus' return will be fulfilled in their own lifetime.

You might be thinking: 'Well, what about v10? ("And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.") That didn't happen in the disciple's generation. In fact it hasn't happened yet! Surely there's a sign that has yet to be fulfilled?' But the New Testament does regard that sign as fulfilled. Indeed, it was fulfilled on the day the church was born. Peter's first Christian sermon was preached to "men from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5). Paul describes the Gospel as something that "has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven" (Colossians 1:23). We shouldn't think that Jesus' return is awaiting the evangelization of that last indian tribe in the Amazon basin or the jungles of Borneo! In the way Jesus meant it, it's already happened. v14 ("the abomination of desolation") was also fulfilled in the disciples' generation when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. There may be future fulfilments of this sign, as there have been past - but we can say with certainty that it has already been fulfilled. Likewise the warning of false prophets performing signs and wonders was clearly fulfilled by Simon Magus in Acts 8:9-11.

So Jesus' return is truly imminent. Nothing else needs to happen first. Imminence is not, of course, the same as temporal proximity. Jesus might not return for another hundred millennia. But he could return before you've finished reading the next sentence! All the signs that need to precede his return have already happened - indeed they happened long ago.

To reinforce this point, Jesus emphasizes that his return will be unexpected (vv32-36). In v32 he makes the extraordinary point that he himself did not know when he would return. The security surrounding the timing of Christ's return is so great that God the Father did not tell even his own Son. We may assume that the risen and ascended Jesus now in Heaven does now know the day and hour of his return. But when he walked this earth, God incarnate didn't know - which means he couldn't have ever told anyone else. It is therefore certain that no-one on earth knows when Christ will return. It will be a surprise to everyone. And the use of apocalyptic prophecy to set timetables seeking to anticipate Christ's return is a blatant abuse of God's purposes in giving us this material.

What then is the purpose of apocalyptic prophecy? What function should it serve in our church today? The essence of its message is that Christ's return is sure - it's imminent - but it will also be unexpected. How should this message be applied to us? Perhaps an example will help. Suppose a teacher knows she has to leave a class unattended for 20 minutes. To give the class that information is to guarantee 19½ minutes of mayhem! The experienced teacher will simply tell the class that her return is imminent - and in the light of that fact tell them to behave and get on with their work. Such is the message of Jesus. In the light of his impending departure, he calls upon his church to "stay awake" (vv33, 35, 37) - ie to get on with its work. That's the purpose of apocalyptic prophecy: to instruct and reassure Christ's true church today - so that it might be awake and working - proclaiming the Gospel to all nations (v10).

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