SPIRITUA DIARY FOR 11/14/2012
11:25:21 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Question
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Mark 13:1-4
Message of the
verses: “1 ¶ As He was going out of the temple, one of His
disciples *said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what
wonderful buildings!" 2 And Jesus
said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon
another which will not be torn down.’ 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of
Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were
questioning Him privately, 4 ‘Tell us,
when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are
going to be fulfilled?’”
As we begin this 13th chapter of the book of
Mark I look forward to writing about the events that will unfold here as the
words that Jesus speaks here is a prophetic blue print of what would happen on
earth after He was crucified, buried, and then rise again to return to His
Father. He makes a statement that speaks
of “birth pangs” to help us to understand about the events that will unfold
after Jesus returns to heaven, and then at the end of this prophecy speaks of
His physical return to planet earth in a time that is described as the worst
time to ever happen on planet earth.
There are three places in the Gospels that Jesus speaks of this and they
are the same event. Matthew 24-25, Luke
21:5-36, and Mark 13:1-35. This event is
called “The Olivet Discourse,” and it was the answer to a question asked by the
disciples of Jesus, and this is the longest recorded answer to a question that
was given to Jesus in all the Gospels. I
just want to begin with the question in Today’s Spiritual Diary.
The Jewish Temple was one of the most, if not the most
beautiful building from ancient times.
Herod had rebuilt the temple and it is said that the eastern side of the
building was covered with gold and when the sun came up in the morning if you
looked intently at the building you could go blind because of the brightness of
the sun shining on the gold. The
disciples must have been greatly impressed with the beauty of the building, but
as we learned in the last chapter the building was corrupted by the Jewish
religious leaders who worshiped there.
The only time that the building was filled with goodness was when Jesus
was preaching there in the last week of His life on earth.
The disciples must have been greatly surprised when Jesus
told them that this magnificent building would be torn down stone by
stone. This would happen in just 37
short years as Titus and his Roman Legions would come into Jerusalem and
destroy the city and also the temple. I
read that Titus did not want to destroy the temple, but that there was a lot of
gold in between the stones and the only way to get to it was to take it apart
stone by stone. This is exactly what
Jesus prophesied would happen.
To be sure the eschatology of the disciples was not all
correct and so they would learn more about the end times from the answer Jesus
would give them. As we look more closely
at this chapter in the days to come we must remember that there is more things
that we can learn from it than the end times, for all Scripture is given for
our instruction, to learn how better we can serve the Lord.
This chapter is speaking about a period of time that is
called the “tribulation period,” and it is also the 70th week from
Daniels prophecy in Daniel nine 24-27.
In Jeremiah 30:7 we read, “’Alas! for that day is great, There is none
like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.” The KJV calls it “Jacob’s trouble.” Zeph. 1:15-18 says, “15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and
desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. 17 I will bring distress on men So that they
will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their
blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be
able to deliver them On the day
of the LORD’S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of
His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all
the inhabitants of the earth.” Isaiah
writes the following about this time, “20 ¶
Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course. 21 For behold, the LORD is about to come out
from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And
the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain.” These are all OT prophets speaking about the
tribulation period, so the disciples would have known something about this
period of time, but they thought that Jesus would destroy the Romans and begin
the kingdom that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: As we begin to
look at this wonderful 13th chapter we can rest assured that the
things that Jesus tells us will happen will happen just like He says they will.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Continue to learn contentment, and to
continue to study the Word of God so that it will transform my mind from the
inside out.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 130:1-4
1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplication. 3 If You, Lord, should mark
iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4
But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
11/14/2012 12:24:38 PM
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