A Day is Coming

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

A DAY IS COMING

Mark 13:28-31

28 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

NIV

There seems to be a twofold truth which resides within the words of Jesus. First we know that about thirty-five years after he said this Jerusalem was destroyed and in fact the current generation which Jesus was speaking to, his disciples, all were killed for they faith, and gone, except for John. Those they trained, like Paul trained Timothy, a much younger man, saw this come to pass. But as we can also interpret the Greek phase ‘this generation’ to mean this period of time of mankind living on earth, the words of Jesus could be speaking of things yet to come. Scholars are not in agreement concerning which of these two is the correct way to see it, but we can be sure of one thing and that this heaven and this earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away. There is a time coming, the destruction of Jerusalem for the Jews, and the end of all things for all mankind. Jesus’s words, not passing away are for all generations, the whole of mankind. We can only conclude he is speaking of the end of all things. Surely Jerusalem was destroyed but Israel has also once again become a nation and the city, although missing the temple, is once again a thriving business center. We should learn the lesson Jesus tells us to, in that a time is coming and we should prepare ourselves for it. There will be indications of the end, but even if we do not personally see them, we must know it is at the door, it is near. God is not going to hold back his wrath on the evil of this world forever. We should do all that we can to resist being a part of it. True we will never be completely free of sin, nor will we every be worthy of our own merits to escape his wrath, but we have been set free by the blood of Jesus, for it is by faith are we saved, and not by any deeds we could every do. A time is coming the whole earth will be destroyed, and all that is in it. The living and the dead will be judged, that is all, every single person who has lived upon the face of the earth, throughout all of history will stand before God and give an account of whether or not they accepted the salvation God offered. True many lived before Jesus died for their sins, and unlike us, they could not have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they could not have been born again, but at the same time God says that they are without excuse for what may be known about him was plain to them by all that he created. Thus all will have to give an account, not of deeds, but of whether or not each accepted what God offered, and gave their lives to him, rather than to self. A day is coming and we need to be ready to give our account. A day is coming.