Mark 13:24-31
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
THIS part of our Lord’s prophecy on the Mount of Olives is entirely unfulfilled. The events described in it are all yet to take place. They may possibly take place in our own day. The passage therefore is one which we ought always to read with peculiar interest.
Let us observe, in the first place, what solemn majesty will attend our Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming to this world.
The language that is used about the sun, moon, and stars, conveys the idea of some universal convulsion of the universe at the close of the present dispensation. If reminds us of the apostle Peter’s words, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” (2 Pet. 3:10) At such a time as this, amidst terror and confusion, exceeding all that even earthquakes or hurricanes are known to produce, men “shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first. He came the first time in weakness, a tender infant, born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonored, and scarcely know. He shall come the second time in royal dignity, with the armies of heaven around Him, to be known, recognized, and feared by all the tribes of the earth. He came the first time to suffer — to bear our sins — to be reckoned a curse — to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned, and slain. He shall come the second time to reign — to put down every enemy beneath His feet — to take the kingdoms of this world for His inheritance — to rule them with righteousness — to judge all men, and to live for evermore.
How vast the difference! How mighty the contrast! How startling the comparison between the second advent and the first! How solemn the thoughts that the subject ought to stir up in our minds! Here are comfortable thoughts for Christ’s friends. Their own King will soon be here. They shall reap according as they have sown. They shall receive a rich reward for all that they have endured for Christ’s sake. They shall exchange their cross for a crown. Here are confounding thoughts for Christ’s foes. That same Jesus of Nazareth, whom they have so long despised and rejected, shall at length have the pre-eminence. That very Christ, whose Gospel they have refused to believe, shall appear as their Judge, and helpless, hopeless, and speechless, they will have to stand before His bar. May we all lay these things to heart, and learn wisdom!
Let us observe, in the next place, that the first event after the Lord’s second coming, shall be the gathering of His elect. “He shall send His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds.”
The safety of the Lord’s people shall be provided for, when judgment falls upon the earth. He will do nothing till He has placed them beyond the reach of harm. The flood did not begin till Noah was safe in the ark. The fire did not fall on Sodom till Lot was safe within the wall of Zoar. The wrath of God on believers shall not be let loose till believers are hidden and secure.
The true Christian may look forward to the advent of Christ without fear. However terrible the things that shall come upon the earth, his Master will take care that no harm comes to him. He may well bear patiently the partings of separations of this present time. He shall have a joyful meeting, by and by, with all his brethren in the faith, of every age, and country, and people, and tongue. Those who meet in that day, shall meet to part no more. The great gathering is yet to come. (2 Thess. 2:1)
Let us observe, in the next place, how important it is to note the signs of our own times. Our Lord bids His disciples “learn a parable of the fig tree.” Just as its budding leaves tell men that summer is near, so the fulfilment of events in the world around us, should teach us that the Lord’s coming “is nigh, even at the doors.”
It becomes all true Christians to observe carefully the public events of their own day. It is not only a duty to do this, but a sin to neglect it. Our Lord reproved the Jews for “not discerning the signs of the times.” (Matt. 16:3) They did not see that the sceptre was passing away from Judah, and the weeks of Daniel running out. Let us rather open our eyes, and look at the world around us. Let us mark the drying up of the Turkish power, and the increase of missionary work in the world. Let us mark the revival of Popery, and the rise of new and subtle forms of infidelity. Let us mark the rapid spread of lawlessness and contempt for authority. What are these things but the budding of the fig tree? They show us that this world is wearing out, and needs a new and better dynasty. It need its rightful king, even Jesus. May we watch, and keep our garments, and life ready to meet our Lord! (Rev 16:15)
Let us observe, lastly, in these verses, how carefully our Lord asserts the certainty of His predictions being fulfilled. He speaks as though he foresaw the incredulity and scepticism of these latter days. He warns us emphatically against it: — “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
We ought never to allow ourselves to suppose that any prophecy is improbable or unlikely to be fulfilled, merely because it is contrary to past experience. Let us not say, “Where is the likelihood of Christ coming again? Where is the likelihood of the world being burned up?” We have nothing to do with “likely or unlikely” in such matters. The only question is, “what is written in God’s word?” The words of St. Peter should never be forgotten: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” (2 Pet. 3:3-4)
We shall do well to ask ourselves what we should have thought if we had lived on earth two thousand years ago. Should we have thought it more probable that the Son of God would come on earth as a poor man, and die, or that He would come on earth as a King, and reign? Should we not have said at once, that if He came at all, He would come to reign, and not to die? Yet we know that He did come as “a man of sorrows,” and died on the cross. Then let us not doubt that He will come the second time in glory, and reign as a King for evermore.
Let us leave the passage with a thorough conviction of the truth of every jot of its predictions. Let us believe that every word of it shall prove at last to have been fully accomplished. Above all, let us strive to live under an abiding sense of its truth, like good servants ready to meet their master. Then, whatever be the fulfilment of it, or however soon, we shall be safe.*
— J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)
* I am aware that some interpreters of the passage now expounded, explain its language very differently from myself. Many regard the “sun, moon, and stars” as emblems of kings and rulers — the “coming of the Son of Man,” as a general expression signifying any great exhibition of divine power — and the “sending forth of His angels,” as nothing more than the sending of ministers and messengers of the Gospel to gather together the people of God.
I will only say that I can see no ground or warrant for such interpretations. They appear to me to be a dangerous tampering with the plain literal meaning of Scripture, and to give a great handle to the Arian, the Socinian, and the Jew, in the arguments that they respectively bring forward in support of their own peculiar views.
I take this opportunity of expressing my decided opinion that the word “generation” in the verse, “this generation shall not pass away,” can only mean “this nation or people — the Jewish nation — shall not pass away.”
The view that it means “the generation of men which is alive now while I am speaking,” would make our Lord to say that which was not true. His words were in no sense completely fulfilled when the generation to which He spoke had passed away.
The view that it means “the same generation which is alive when these things begin, shall also see them accomplished,” appears to me untenable for one simple reason: It is not the natural meaning of the Greek words from which our translation is made.
