{"id":967254,"date":"2015-04-15T16:09:53","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T22:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=967254"},"modified":"2015-04-15T16:17:33","modified_gmt":"2015-04-15T22:17:33","slug":"the-end-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=967254","title":{"rendered":"The End Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"skies\"<\/a>Our church has\u00c2\u00a0been studying the Olivet Discourse of Jesus in Mark 13 recently. That study has opened up a deeper consideration of the end times according to Jesus.<\/p>\n

Discussions and writings about the end of the age have always been popular. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a source of curiosity for centuries, even outside of the church world.<\/p>\n

In our day, the publishing industry loves<\/em> to print books about the end times because they usually become best-sellers. People are fascinated by this.<\/p>\n

Hollywood even produces expensive movies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in the genre of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153religious fiction,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with big-name actors, full of exaggerations and distortions, about how the world will supposedly end.<\/p>\n

Discussions about the end times have also been no small source of controversy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are various camps and groups within Christianity based on differing interpretations of these events surrounding the end of the age. And godly people haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always agreed.<\/p>\n

But most critically, each interpretation has a different impact on how we live now<\/em> in the present age and how we interpret the past, the present, and the future.<\/p>\n

So it does<\/em> matter how we view the end times.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the worst view of the end times is any view that considers the subject to be unimportant and trivial. The end<\/em> of redemptive history is very prominent in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book.<\/p>\n

In fact, the end of the story of human history is the main reason God has given us the beginning<\/em> of the story and the middle<\/em> of the story in which we now live.<\/p>\n

Consider the first two verses of Mark 13 about the literal destruction of the temple:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And as [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

2\u00c2\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And Jesus said to him, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

In these two verses, you have a description<\/em> in verse 1 followed by a prophecy<\/em> in verse 2.<\/p>\n

There was nothing metaphorical or spiritualized about our Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meaning. The disciples understood exactly<\/em> what Jesus was saying.<\/p>\n

Nobody asked Him, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lord, what do mean by \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthese great buildings\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and what do you mean by \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnot one stone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthrown down?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

They got it\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 because there was a one-to-one correlation between what they saw<\/em> with their own eyes and what Jesus was saying<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The stones and the buildings were referring to the literal temple where they happened to be standing when Jesus said this. The meaning was obvious.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do you see these great buildings?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It was the temple where they were.<\/p>\n

And that prophecy was fulfilled forty years later when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and not one stone of the temple was left upon another. It was all thrown down\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 literally.<\/p>\n

Now some people ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What about the Wailing Wall on the western side of the foundation? Why wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that part thrown down?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

That Wailing Wall was never<\/em> part of the temple structure itself. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually part of a massive retaining wall that prevents the western hillside from crumbling into the street.<\/p>\n

These were the huge foundation stones on which the current Dome of the Rock \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an Islamic shrine \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now sits. As for the temple itself, it was completely destroyed and has never been rebuilt.<\/p>\n

This took place in 70 AD. The apostle John would have been alive to know about this destruction prior to his revelation from Christ in around 90-96 AD.<\/p>\n

So that fulfillment took place literally<\/em> during the age of the apostles.<\/p>\n

And because the destruction of the temple had such a clear and literal fulfillment during the age in which it was spoken, it serves as an indicator<\/em> of how the remaining prophecies are to be fulfilled in the days to come.<\/p>\n

After all, the prophecies regarding our Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first coming\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 His virgin conception and His entire earthly ministry were all fulfilled literally. So that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s our key for interpreting the remaining prophecies regarding\u00c2\u00a0our Lord’s Second Coming.<\/p>\n

The rest of Mark 13 presents an overview of the end time events that will characterize that final generation who will see the Great Tribulation and ultimately\u00c2\u00a0the return of Christ.<\/p>\n

Once those events begin, Jesus said it would all happen quickly – within one generation. So that the\u00c2\u00a0generation who sees those events beginning would not pass away until all these things were fulfilled. It will all transpire within a single generation.<\/p>\n

Because we know how the world will end, those of us in Christ should live holy lives of eager expectation for the Lord’s imminent return in the air for His Bride, the church. And we should urgently make His saving message known to the lost while there’s still time.<\/p>\n

Even So, come quickly Lord Jesus!
\nPastor Kevin<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our church has\u00c2\u00a0been studying the Olivet Discourse of Jesus in Mark 13 recently. That study has opened up a deeper consideration of the end times according to Jesus. Discussions and writings about the end of the age have always been popular. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a source of curiosity for centuries, even outside of the church world. … <\/p>\n

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