Identifying 'These Things'

Scripture: While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" Mark 13:3-4

Observation: Jesus has predicted the destruction of the Temple, and the disciples ask when "these things" will be occur. Jesus will go on with a litany of non-specific events, which he even says are just the beginning of chaos. Then he discusses specific items with vague language as signs of more immanent danger, before finally transitioning his explanation to an image of how he will return.

It is all very confusing with certainly a non-specific response. However, the disciples asked a more specific question ... they asked about when "these things" will happen. Immediately before this, Jesus spoke of the destruction of the Temple. We know that occurred in 70 AD. That is only about 35 years after when Jesus is speaking, and thus withing 'a generation' and aligning to v30.

But where did the rest of "these things" come from? How did Jesus pivot into end-times prophesy. And ... did he even do that, or were all these things actually just reference to the near-future Roman destruction of Judea, sacking of Jerusalem, and scattering of Jews? Certainly many of these things align ... Romans in the temple burning it down would mandate that all flee quickly; This was a nation/kingdom rising against another nation/kingdom; Those seeking to survive would turn against their own families; Those who didn't believe in Jesus as Messiah were still looking for another Messiah to rise up and overthrow Rome; Verses 24-27 could be metaphorical to show that the promised land is again evacuated and removed from the Jews for a long, long time (it would be almost 1,900 years) and that issue must be resolved before Jesus' return.

But that isn't how this chapter is usually read. Most believe this is all about end-time prophesy. That doesn't make total sense. Yet this could be another example of where the scriptures are able to relate to multiple events - events that are both different yet indeed possess a foreshadowing relationship. God does this over and over in scripture, so certainly Jesus can respond to a request with the same skill.

Application: If I had to tell someone, I would say this entire passage from Jesus falls into the prophesy category of "both soon and later". I would say this referred to the Roman situation the Jews were in, and that the violent resolution of that situation is a kind of earthly foreshadowing of the future spiritual conflicts that will precipitate the 'second coming'. I do think we are in this second cycle now ... that there is enough parallels in the words of Jesus and current earthly events to make a logical connection. However, that doesn't mean it will happen in my lifetime.

I hope to see the second coming, yet I would have trepidation of living in the worst of the end times if all the interpretations of such a time is accurate. I am certainly not sure. However, I do believe that Jesus will come again, and I believe the issues of our current time involve spiritual warfare waged by satan against God and his creation. It would be nice to have it all end.

Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.