Mark 13:14-17
(Happy 2024 Resurrection Day to all!)
The church in the end?
We'll see how far we get in this chapter? Been contemplating doing another little "current events blurb" on the front end of this; only because I'm still (and forever) contemplating how what I'm finding in Mark (paralleling Matthew of the 1st century) is applicable to today?
The one question that keeps surfacing is: As they left 1st Century Judaism; what about the church in the end? There certainly is apparently a parallelism of apostasy, but is there any "mandate" of leaving the cooperate "religious structure" called "Christendom" in favor of congregating in small groups to await the end?
I do agree that "assembling yourselves together" may not be in the context of a "formal denomination" or "established church body" in every circumstance; but I also don't advocate leaving a reasonably faithful congregation, if it's not necessary by some form of obvious apostasy. For even in churches that are…. losing their grip on the gospel; one may certainly find other believers. My experience over the past decade though is that this is proving to be further and fewer between.
So does there come a point just before the end where the "cooperate church" is essentially dead? Not sure I know the answer to that; or at least if it is in the Scripture, I haven't found definitive instructions of such.
The political state of the world?
Then of course there's this question: As apostasy runs rampant in the church; among other things, civil governance begins to break down. Although we know some of the politics of this is planned by the "beast system". (And how far will their plans get, is also a matter of how much B.S. the populace are willing to tolerate.)
The other aspect here though is, as things get more chaotic; people generally look for an authority figure to step in and reestablish order. Which again, who that authority is and what they attempt to implement; is dependent to varying degrees on the cultural factors of what individual populations are willing to tolerate, as well as the moral conscience of the authority figure.
Are we edging closer to WWIII?
Again, that's hard to determine. As of the writing of this chapter (3/31/2024); now independent journalist Tucker Carlson has released an interview done with Russia's president Vladimir Putin. The entire interview can be watched on Tucker's website (Tucker Carlson Network).
It was an interesting interview, in which Putin spent about a half hour giving a 1200 year "run down" of the history of Russia; in relation to his reasoning for Russia's actions in the Ukraine. And for the most part, what Putin said was historically factually accurate; despite yes, his telling of the history was through the perspective of Russia, which did not include the perspectives of other players in that geographical area. (Poland and Hungary); although Putin did speak of the shared history of all these groups.
Things could have been covered in this interview that weren't and some things did come up that I wasn't aware of, which did surprise me. Tucker offered information that he'd applied to join the CIA; at the point Putin had brought up the CIA in relation to the Nord Stream bombing.
Since this, other citizen journalists I've listen to have claimed they believe Tucker is a CIA asset. Now whether Tucker is or not; I have no idea. All I can say is that he doesn't "seem like" CIA material to me; (LOL) but my opinion doesn't mean anything in that regard either!
Now what impact this interview is going to have on the general population of American "normies"; remains to be seen too, as now this conflict in the Ukraine is becoming more and more unpopular with the American public. (A "normie" in this context is one who is at least minimally "red pill awake"; although likely recognizes "something's amiss" with the political system; though may not know exactly what.)
Growing numbers of people around the world are more awake now, of the various aspects of corruption within the global political system. Ironically, much to the more recent realization of the American public; the people of countries like Russia, China, Ukraine, etc. have been "awake" in their own regards for more than the past 50 or so years. Are we in the west, the peoples who've been most lulled by propaganda that we don't even recognize as propaganda? (That's a valid question!)
I was recently watching a documentary on the CIA's Project MK Ultra. Some scary stuff in that documentary. And the reality of the means in which they claim they have been able to accomplish what they claim to accomplish; remains questionably fuzzy itself. Which I suppose leads to certain existential issues and morality questions. A person without strong ethical convictions, can be swayed to do a lot of things! Another aspect of the venue of the operation of the "beast system" in whom it can get to worship the beast? (Not sure I know the answer to that either?)
Either way, multiple narratives are coming unraveled. Thus the outcomes compared to the intended plans of various groups, are not going to match; making political predictability at this point impossible. (There are people who remain strongly morally and ethically convicted!) Which is likely why there's no predicting the future with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper (or Google newsfeed) in the other. The best we can do is observe the general trends Scripture speaks of.
Though ironically, the truth of Scripture still stands in this regard. A kingdom divided against itself will collapse; and this is what we are seeing happening to the beast system now. The danger is, that in its collapse, it undoubtedly will attempt to take as much "collateral damage" as it possibly can.
And we are seeing this now, as just recently there was a terror attack at a concert in Moscow, an international call now for a cease fire in Gaza and a shipping accident that totally collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Though I believe the bridge incident was a genuine random accident; it still leaves the shock of the questions about the stability of our infrastructure, as I don't think anyone witnessing the collapse of that bridge expected it to fall down like toothpicks!
As for the terror attack in Moscow? Its end result was Russia hitting what's left of the communication and electrical grid in Ukraine. "Rumor" has it that Russian forces are now poised to move into western Ukraine. (Which may not mean much in regards to further civilian casualties, as so many people have already fled into Poland, Hungary and even Russia itself.)
NATO is in total disarray, as no one's got any munitions left; (consequence of sending so much manufacturing overseas). Yet, France is now stating that they will be sending troops to Ukraine. (But we'll see if that actually happens, as it doesn't seem to me the French people are going to tolerate that idea, as everyone is already in the streets protesting all the other idiotic ideas Macron is advocating.)
As for Gaza? Well…. Israel is becoming REALLY unpopular globally at the moment. The growing calls for humanitarian aide (food and medical supplies) seem to be falling on deaf ears; at least among the governments in the west, which is causing a larger divide between governments and the people.
As a consequence, there is much speculation that this war in Gaza will be the "heralding in" of the building of.. what would now technical be the 4th temple. There's footage on YouTube of Israel having built a "red heifer alter" for anticipation of "resurrecting" animal sacrifices. Now how far that gets? Well, that may depend on what happens with the US 2024 presidential elections?
Regarding 2024 though, there's speculation that there may not even be an election. (We'll see what happens.) Currently, there's been a lot of court rulings trying to confiscate Trump's properties in New York; as he is pretty much the only one left on the Republican ticket at this point.
BUT… enter in April 8th solar eclipse! (What's a solar eclipse have to do with political events? That? I'm not sure myself!) The odd thing is many states are preemptively declaring a "state of emergency", calling out the national guard and telling local residents to stock up on at least 2 weeks worth of food, make sure you have medication refills in advance, alternate means of communication besides cell phones; and fill your gas tanks.
(Hum….)
The reason stated is that allegedly there are lots of people traveling into the path of the total eclipse to witness this event. Now whether crowds will come, in the numbers stated remains to be seen. I live in one of the areas that's in the path of the total eclipse. Our local Wegmans grocery stores are shutting down for a half hour so the employees can watch the eclipse themselves. (Interesting!)
Lots of people are "prophesying" this eclipse will be some sort of "Biblical event" that will affect satellite communications and possibly even the power grid. We'll see what happens!
Despite all this, and regardless though, all of humanity is still individually morally accountable for our own actions!
Now though; onwards to the continuation of Mark 13:14 and Matthew 24:14
Matthew 24:14
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mark 13:13-14
13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that reads understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
Matthew:
Here again we have a verse inserted into Matthew that is not present in Mark. That verse is "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
This is an interesting verse to be interjected into Matthew, but is not in Mark. My assumption here being that by the time we get to what Mark is referencing; (the bitter end) the gospel is now "preached in all the world for witness to all nations" as is being eluded to in Matthew.
Thus, the first detail I note, is that "shall be preached...shall the end come" is future tense in Matthew. (Although "shall" isn't the verb; both "preached" and "come" are the verbs.) "Shall" is understood by both "preached" and "come" being in the future tense. Interestingly though, "preached" is passive future while "come" is active future. Though obviously "the end" "coming" will always be future until it actually happens!
The simplest Greek grammatical explanation given for this difference between passive and active; is that "come" is predicated on the subject of the sentence completing the primary verb. The subject of the sentence is the "gospel of the kingdom". The action is the "preaching" there of. Which results in the future (actively) coming. But because the subject of the sentence is what is being preached and not who's doing the preaching; the "coming end" is active.
Could there also be "time reference" application to the continuous preaching being "passive" which "actively" brings about the end?
Yes, that meaning could be buried within the structure of the language, seeing how the entity doing the "preaching" isn't directly named. Although the "preacher" is understood as the gospel itself. (Also interesting.)
The next part of the verse: "… in all the world for a witness to all nations..." is literally "in whosoever of the dwelling places into witness (record / establish a record) of the entirety of whosoever of all ethnos"; (ethnicities). I.E. every kindred, tribe, tongue and nation. (The whosoever of the whole of the world.)
"Then shall" (that which was set out for = "end") "the end" (active future - from the perspective of starting in the days of those this is directly addressed to; being the apostles) "come". This, "shall the end come" is spanning the time from Pentecost until Judgement Day actually gets here.
Now jump back a minute to verse 13 in Mark; (which I covered part of in the last chapter). "…he that shall endure to the end; the same shall be saved."
The word "endure" is a compound of two Greek words meaning "to enter into" (the end). It's also "active voice"; Meaning it's a "current event" (to be "currently enduring into"), but it's also "singular" to the "he" (who) "shall be currently enduring into the end". This is another compound phrase: "he" (specific individual who actively is) "to breathe unconscious" though, is fitted in this choice to endure.
Odd looking phrasing; I know.
Which, what I'm gathering from this, is that whosoever is meant to (or "appointed" to) "endure to the end" is done so "breathing unconscious" through the events of the end and "will be saved" in the sense that they will physically survive to Judgement Day. This particular verse in Mark is not referencing redemption. It's referencing physical survival. Thus the verse 1 Corinthians 15:51 "Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed…."
Interestingly though, this group (or groups of) people all over the world, are choosing to "endure" "unconsciously" "for a witness unto all nations". Now what does that mean? Are they "unconsciously enduring" or is the choice to endure "unconscious"? (Meaning they are not sure how they've survived this long?)
Or, is the "unconscious enduring" similar to the parable of the ten virgins where "they all slumbered and slept". (Matthew 25:5) Are the "unconscious" physically alive "slumbering" while the deceased are "sleeping"? Thus: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…"
Contemplating that language? It seems odd in one sense, for the Corinthian passage to state that this is "a mystery"; as there's no logical reason for time to continue absent of any application of the elect still coming to faith. The context of Matthew 24:14 is that the gospel goes forth as a witness.
Interesting! Hold this thought in the back of your head.
Matthew 24:15
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:)
Mark 13:14
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that reads understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
Now, who sees the differences here? In Matthew, the abomination of desolation is "to stand" (present tense) in the holy place. But in Mark it's "standing where it ought not". So what's the difference between "the holy place" and "where it ought not"?
Well that's a good question!
Comparing the two different eras; we have the dismantling of the Old Testament system. "the holy place"; i.e. being the "place marker" the Messiah is to take up. That system is a parabolic representation of what the Messiah would accomplish. He is the sacrifice and so long as the standing system is still sacrificing animals; it is an idolatrous system. Which I think that's what Paul is referring to in Corinthians when he talks about "meat sacrificed to idols". Yeah, one could argue that has an obvious application to religious practices in the Roman Empire in general; but I think specifically, of what's related directly to Scripture; the reference is to the sacrifices in the temple of the Old Testament system. Particularly post resurrection!
Now, I talked in a former chapter about the two beasts in Revelation 13 "in the presence" of (each other). The specific times this verse is talking about is when these two beasts coexist. The first time for sure, is the collapse of the apostate Old Testament system. The 2nd beast "rising" out of multitudes of peoples; being apostate New Testament "corporate Christendom", did have its existence in the 1st century. This was gnosticism, which was a quasi-bastardized Jewish version of Christianity. Well in the end now, we have a quasi-bastardized Christian version of Judaism. (The whole "Hebrew roots movement", Dispensationalism, and the modern tongues movement all connected to "the sign seekers" "The Jew requires a sign."
The "tail end" of this "meeting of the beasts" at inception, (1st century) probably came into being just before the Old Testament system came down; thus a glimpse into what would happen at the "bitter end" concerning the whole reemergence of "signs and wonders" gospels set upon the principle stated in the beginning of the book of Corinthians, being "the Jew requires a sign". Thus "tongues are a sign".
So now on the other side of that; what is "abomination of desolation standing where it ought not"? The answer to that I believe is the false emergence (reemergence) of "reverse gnosticism" into the pulpits of apostate churches today. Which entails a variety of false gospels; beyond the modern tongues movement.
And this is why I think it says the beast and the false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire. The "false prophet" isn't the "beast" of cooperate Christendom; they are the propagators of the apostasy. And the statement "standing where it ought not" is because the apostasy is presenting a false gospel; but can not (and does not) take the place of Christ's atonement.
Now the last part of Mark 13:14: "….let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains."
This is almost exactly the same phrase as is in Matthew 24:16; although the words aren't in the same order. Matthew reads "Then (whom) be in Judea flee into the mountains." Whereas Mark reads "….then flee whom be in Judea flee to the mountains."
Why "flee" is used twice in Mark and only once in Matthew? I don't know. That difference could just be the particular sentence structure as the phrase in Mark is attached to the former phrase in the sentence and in Matthew it's a "stand alone" phrase. The word "Judea" is the same Greek word that comes from the Hebrew meaning "of Judah". Which applicably speaking; could simply mean "those in Christ (Judah) flee to the mountains".
Also, the word "mountains" (plural) is the same word used in both verses. Interestingly though that word is believed to be derived from a root meaning "to bear" and in two other places is translated "hen" (hen bears chicks). But this particular word "mountain" is the only word in the Greek New Testament used for "mountain"(s), "mount" or "hill". Thus it's not a unique word in reference to a plot of land called "a mountain". (A piece of land "bearing above" the plain.)
In the historical context, it is absolutely true that the people were warned of Christ to leave the area. The verses about "armies surrounding Jerusalem" are in Matthew, but not in Mark. Which, in contemplating the whole historical context; it is reasonable to conclude that "those in Judea" in both Matthew and Mark, can be metaphoric of believers; seeing how the only ones who obeyed this 1st century command to flee, were those who deemed Christ's warning worth paying heed to in the first place!
Those who left Judaism of the 1st century were taken in by the gentile believers; which bears resemblance to the phrase Jesus makes about "Oh, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered your children as a hen gathers her chicks… and you would not." Seeing how "flee to the mountains" and "hen gathers her chicks" likely comes from the same root words; there seems to be a metaphoric connection there. The "mountains" are the protection of God.
2000 years of apostasy?
I spent a lot of time contemplating this from the commencement of writing this chapter and one thing I found puzzling; which I couldn't seem to ever escape, is the fact that the organized cooperate entity called "the christian church" has always been "apostate".
When ever "denominations" have become "politically motivated"; the end result is always apostasy. That's true whether we're talking Eastern Orthodoxy, Western Catholicism or Protestantism. Whenever politics gets involved; the "church" becomes part of the "beast system". Which makes sense because the manifestation of apostate religion itself is what makes the "beast system" a distinct and (at least initially) separate entity from civil government.
Which brings up the recognition, that even looking back at the Old Testament political / social structure (which was it's own theocracy); the redeemed / elect of God have always functioned within a corrupted politically structured society. We see this going all the way back through Scripture. Abel, Noah, Job, Abraham, Moses, the post Pentecost "Christian church" have all existed in a certain state of "apostate society".
I never thought about it that way before, but it's true. There really is no such thing as "Christian nationalism". Not that individual believers should not participate in their nations' political systems or care about their communities or larger society; but Jesus certainly spoke volumes of "geo-political truth" when he said: "My Kingdom is not of this world."
Why it takes all of us so long to wrap our brains around that one? Well…. that's another issue!
The next three verses in both Matthew 24:17-19 and Mark 13:15-17 are the same.
A: Don't go back into the "house".
B: Don't turn back for your "garment".
C: Woe to the pregnant and nursing mothers.
These verses (in Matthew) I dissected back in the last chapters of END TIMES I; of which I'm now starting to contemplate if the warnings have really changed any?
We all come out of "religious structures" that we come to realize…. "Hey, wait a minute; what I was taught wasn't exactly the Bible." Not that everything we've ever learned was error; but it's certainly true that everything we do learn contains error. And that I don't think is avoidable, based on the fact that we are all still sinners; struggling as best we can, even when we do have the purest intentions, to understand things that are simply beyond us.
I was talking to someone the other day about "Christian parenting philosophies" I'd… been encouraged to, back when my son was a baby. Which I discovered within a few short years that these techniques didn't actually work! Then as I went digging more and more through Scripture I realized; "Well, that isn't what that verse actually means!" (Which of course, misguided "advise" of what someone else "thinks" the Bible says; isn't going to work!) I said to the other party in this conversation; how honestly surprised I was of all the crap I'd learned that wasn't actually in the Bible!
Thus, my advise to anyone reading this study! Don't believe anything I say. Be a Berean and do your own research!
The next set of verses, I'm going to save for the next chapter. (This one is long enough.)
Last thought though on the irony of "Woe unto them with child…"
The end of the Old Testament era brought the annihilation of the rebellious of who was left of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Yet contemplating "population collapse" today? On so many levels, we really are… dare we say: near the end of humanity?
Particularly in the developed world; we see population collapse has already commenced. Due to quite the variety of factors, birth rates in all developed nations have plummeted. "Factors" related to Covid have accelerated this trend.
A report by the Lancet dated January 2024 states that more than half of nations in the world today are below population replacement rate of 2.2 children per woman. The only countries today whose populations are growing, are all in sub-Saharan Africa. China's population is declining and India's is currently just at population replacement rate.
So… "Woe unto those who are pregnant and have nursing infants."
What else is "coming down the pike"?
We'll take a look at the next set of verses starting with Mark 13:18 in the next chapter. I suspect there will be some more clues to explore in these verses, as to why the people of God do "slumber" through this "bitter end" tribulation.
"Will I find faith on the earth…."
That question has been killing at least a few of my brain cells now; in the past several weeks! But, we'll see what we can dig up.
