The Things That Are Coming – part 5
081 The Things That Are Coming – part 5
Mark 13:1-37 (7-8)
November 8, 2026
I am grateful for the week to sort of get away and recharge, and I am thankful to Daniel and Cody and Tommy for taking up the slack for me to be able to do so.
That being said, it has now been TWO WEEKS
Since we spent any time together in the book of Mark
And I want to draw us back into the flow of the message.
It is now Wednesday.
· Jesus has spent the day at war in the temple.
· He has been answering every critic and opponent.
· He has totally destroyed them.
And as He is leaving the temple, one of His disciples makes a statement.
#1 THE OBSERVATION
Mark 13:1-2
The disciples looked at Jesus and said, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
· The disciples saw the temple as a testimony to human achievement.
Jesus on the other hand saw it as a monument to human failure.
“Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
For all the architectural and construction brilliance it contained
The temple ultimately failed at its chief purpose.
The temple was built to glorify God and give men access to Him.
According to Jesus it had become a den of robbers
And had not succeeded in anyone drawing near to God.
It was not a success, it was a failure.
And Jesus pronounced judgment on it.
That temple, like all human effort, is totally incapable of saving man.
And that led us to our second point.
#2 THE CURIOSITY
Mark 13:3-4
The disciples wanted to know “when” it would happen.
· Lost men often want to know the timing of judgment so they know how long they can stay in their sin.
· Sometimes the redeemed want to know so they know how long they can remain lethargic in their mission.
We don’t know why the disciples specifically wanted to know,
But as we pointed out, “when” IS THE WRONG QUESTION.
What they should have been asking was “WHAT?”
“WHAT would you have us do in light of a world headed for judgment?”
AND THERE IN LIES THE CHRISTIAN MISSION.
· We live in a world that is headed for a sure and certain judgment.
· We have been left here as lights in darkness.
· We are messengers of salvation.
IT IS NOT FOR US TO KNOW WHEN,
But it is for us to know “what” we are to do until “when” gets here.
Acts 1:6-8 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
· “WHEN” is God’s responsibility.
· “WHAT” we do until then is ours.
The disciples were curious about the wrong thing.
And that then led us to the 3rd point, which is certainly the bulk of the message.
#3 THE PRIORITY
Mark 13:5-27
Here we noted that Jesus is about to get practical with the disciples.
THE GOAL IS NOT to take a newspaper in one hand and a bible in the other and crack to the code to predict the day of judgment.
Jesus specifically says that verse 32, “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
· Our priority is NOT to finalize a timeline of the end.
· Our priority is NOT to accurately predict the coming of the Lord.
As the church we have a different set of priorities,
Here in Mark’s gospel we listen as Jesus lays out 6 of them for us.
Six practical priorities that the church needs to focus on
Since we live in a world that is headed for judgment.
1) DECEPTION TO AVOID (5-6)
We noted Jesus’ use of the word BLEPO
· In verse 5 it’s translated “See to it”
· It is a word that speaks of focus.
· He uses it again in verse 9 where it is translated “be on your guard”
· He uses it again in verse 23 and verse 33 where it is translated “take heed”
IT IS JESUS’ CHIEF CALL OF THE ENTIRE MESSAGE.
To focus, pay attention, see to it, be on your guard or take heed.
DON’T GET DISTRACTED FROM THE MAIN THING.
And THE FIRST practical thing to focus on is NOT BEING DECEIVED.
Jesus told Peter, James, John, and Andrew
“See to it that no one misleads you.”
· There is a danger even for the elect.
· There is a danger even for the devout.
· There is a danger even for those who personally close to Jesus.
That some false Jesus will show up and say, “I am He”.
· We know they “will mislead many”
· What Jesus says is that you must make sure they don’t mislead you.
And so we discussed the importance of KNOWING JESUS.
We asked: HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?
You don’t know what Jesus looks like.
· And even if you did, that all changed at the resurrection.
Are you just going to go with your “gut”, some kind of “feeling”.
· That’s a recipe for disaster.
The only possible way you could know if it is the real Jesus or not
Is if you know Him by the means that He has made Himself known AND THAT IS THROUGH HIS WORD.
The only way you can safeguard yourself from the coming deception
Is to know Christ through His word.
So if you want an academic exercise to focus on,
· Don’t focus on trying to crack the code of the timing of the end,
· Focus on knowing Christ in His word.
This deception is no joke.
If Jesus warned even Peter, James, John, and Andrew of the danger, what makes you think there is no threat to you?
· This is practical.
· This is priority.
· GET TO KNOW JESUS.
This world is coming to an end and we have A DECEPTION TO AVOID.
Well, that was last time.
This morning, let’s look at the second priority we hold in view of the coming end.
2) FOCUS TO MAINTAIN (7-8)
(7-9) “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
I suppose the best way to wrap our minds around the point of this section
Is to first point out the imperative command mentioned here.
There is certainly some interesting information given,
But there is only one command given by Jesus here in these 3 verses.
It is found in verse 7 where Jesus says “do not be frightened”
And so we immediately begin by sort of wondering:
WHY MIGHT I BE FRIGHTENED?
And Jesus says why.
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars…”
When you hear word of some battle occurring somewhere in the world.
· It’s not something you have seen with your own eyes.
· It’s not something you have personally witnessed.
· It’s something you hear about.
Now Jesus does reveal that it is quite likely that the rumors are true.
After all He says “those things MUST take place”
By God’s sovereign decree and according to His sovereign will
This world will be engulfed in conflict and war.
And this is not difficult to understand.
On one hand we know that Satan is the god of this world.
· Jesus said that “the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.”
So why would we expect anything less than war and destruction
In a world that he seeks to influence?
· We know how wicked men are.
· We know how greedy men are.
· We know how ruthless men are.
· We know how hateful men are.
· We know how ambitious men are.
· And war has a way of scratching all of those itches.
There is also then the reciprocal effect to that,
War is necessary to stop wicked and evil men.
The writer of Ecclesiastes said:
Ecclesiastes 3:8 “A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.”
There are times when war is mandated, even by God.
He has granted the sword to the governing authorities and sometimes that sword is needed to stop evil.
· The book of Joshua is a book devoted solely to the conquest of Joshua to go and war against the pagans who lived in the land of Canaan.
So in a wicked world filled with wicked men
It is not surprising that war will often times be the outcome.
And Jesus even says that IT WILL happen.
(8) “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines.”
· There will be disasters and wars.
· Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
In addition there will also be calamities in the natural order.
· Jesus said “there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines.”
Famine may be the effect of war,
But more likely Jesus is referring to the effects of a cursed creation.
This world is cursed.
What was created a paradise has become a dangerous place to reside.
· We know of fires and floods.
· We know of tornadoes and hurricanes.
· We know of droughts and famines.
· We know of blizzards and sand storms.
AND ANY ONE OF THEM CAN KILL YOU.
All of these things are the result of a cursed and sinful world.
Isaiah 24:19-20 “The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”
THIS WORLD IS GROANING.
· It’s NOT because of Styrofoam or hairspray.
· It’s NOT because of carbon emissions or cow farts.
· This world is groaning and struggling because sin is running rampant.
Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
Everything on this planet is a war and a struggle.
NOT ONLY THAT,
But we know that it is a struggle that will only CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY.
· If the tottering of the earth is a result of the sin which contaminates it,
· It only stands to reason that with each passing day the load becomes increasing less bearable.
Consider this verse.
Numbers 35:33-34 “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. ‘You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”
A pro-abortion environmentalist is an oxymoron.
With the amount of innocent blood shed in our world on a daily basis
It is no wonder the world every increasing groans and suffers.
IT CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH.
AND THE FACT IS THAT IT CAN BE FRIGHTENING.
When you start analyzing too strongly the events of the world,
It can be a frightening thing.
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TAKE FOR EXAMPLE THIS PAST TUESDAY.
WE SAW TEXAS GO BLUE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES.
This past week I read part of a quote from the only remaining republican official in Texas, Ted Cruz.
· He said that 2026 was the most important election of our lifetime, (funny how
they always say that).
· He talked about all the terrible things that democrats are going to do in our
world; how the socialists are now in control; etc.
He’s a politician on the losing end of an election,
Do you expect him to point out how rosy everything is?
Or just take the average news story.
· They love to tell you why you should be afraid or why you should be angry.
· They love to spell out the worst-case scenarios of every decision.
Anyone paying attention to all the headlines
Knows that we should have been dead years ago.
IT IS ONE CATACLYSMIC WARNING AFTER ANOTHER
AND WHAT IS THE DANGER?
Namely that we get distracted by all of that nonsense.
YOU SAY, “Preacher, are you saying things aren’t bad out there?”
No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.
· Things may be bad, really bad.
· In fact, they may get worse.
· More wars, more earthquakes, more famines, more death.
Never underestimate the carnage of wicked men in power.
Even Jesus said bad things are coming.
What I am saying is that regardless of those things
The Christian cannot get distracted by it all.
LISTEN TO JESUS HERE.
· In all the warnings of wars and famines…
· In all the revelations of coming destruction…
Jesus gives ONLY ONE COMMAND.
“do not be frightened”
It’s an interesting word.
“frightened” translates (thra-AY-o)
The most basic definition means “to cry aloud”
It can be used in the sense of “being troubled in mind”
It’s only used 4 times in the N.T., and 3 of them
Are during the Olivet discourse in the various gospel accounts.
One interesting usage of the word comes in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament).
Song of Solomon 5:4 “My beloved extended his hand through the opening, And my feelings were aroused for him.”
Literally the translation is “my bowels were aroused for him”.
· The woman speaks of a maybe what we might describe as “butterflies” in her
stomach.
You might more readily associate it with feelings of anxiety.
Or a nervous stomach.
You feel it in the gut.
SO ON ONE HAND YOU COULD HEAR JESUS SAYING HERE
Even if wars and famines occur and the news plays the disaster 24-7,
Don’t be overcome with anxiety about it.
But there is perhaps even a better way.
I think a better word to describe what Jesus means is “PANIC”.
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not panic…”
The only other time we see the word used in the New Testament
Comes in the book of 2 Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”
There the same word is translated “disturbed”.
And the advice Paul gives to the Thessalonians
Is very much the point of what Jesus is saying here.
TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS 2
We just read the first 2 verses of the chapter where you saw the problem.
· Someone sent a message to the Thessalonians telling them that “the day of the Lord has come.”
We don’t have time to get all into the day of the Lord,
It is a horrible day when God passes judgment on His enemies.
In all of redemptive history there have only been two days compared to it.
· One is the flood of Noah.
· The other is the crucifixion of Christ.
IT IS A HORRIBLE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
Now, the fear of the Thessalonians is that they were experiencing it.
· All of the circumstances around them…
· All of the chaos…
· All of the persecution…
· All of the natural disasters…
And someone sent them a letter or a message
Explaining all of it as “the day of the Lord.”
AND THEY WERE PANICKING.
THEY WERE DISTURBED.
THE FIRST THING PAUL DOES
Pull them back off the ledge by giving them the facts of the end.
(READ 3-5)
Regardless of how bad their current circumstances are,
This cannot be the day of the Lord.
We know that because the anti-christ has not yet appeared.
· The one who exalts himself
· The one who claims to be God
Paul says, “Don’t you remember that?”
What you are experiencing may be bad, but it is not the end.
It is NOT the day of the Lord.
THEN PAUL
Reminds the Thessalonians who the day of the Lord judgment is for.
(READ 6-12)
The anti-christ is coming, and his deception will be bad
Right up until Jesus returns and destroys him.
But the focus of judgment is not on those who received the truth,
The day of God’s judgement is on those who rejected truth.
God’s judgment will fall on those who
“did not receive a love of the truth so as to be saved.”
So there are two very important facts the Thessalonians overlooked.
One, they failed to remember the details surrounding the end.
Secondly they failed to remember who was the recipient of God’s wrath.
Someone told them they were under the day of the Lord judgment
And Paul reiterates for a number of reasons why that cannot be.
They were panicking for nothing.
After I read Ted Cruz’s post about how bad things will be now
I just stopped and prayed to remind myself of what is true.
And the truth is this:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for He is with me. His rod and His staff will comfort me.”
RIGHT?
The things I heard from Ted Cruz are just noise.
It may be bad, but this is NOT the end,
And even if it was, I have NO reason to fear.
There is no reason for a child of God to panic over such events.
Psalms 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.”
Can you imagine a more cataclysmic occurrence than that?
· To the Jewish mind nothing was more steadfast than a mountain.
· And nothing was more mysterious and dangerous than the sea.
So to say that the mountains were cast into the sea was to say that
“Everything steadfast had been overthrown by everything terrifying.”
It’s an awful reality, but even then the Psalmist said that
They had no reason to fear. God is with us.
Even consider the talk of wars and rumors of wars.
The Psalmist actually continued in Psalm 46
Psalms 46:8-11 “Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.”
What are you afraid of?
God is with us.
· “Cease striving and know that I am God”
· AKA – “Be still and know that I am God”
There is no reason to fear what your God is absolutely in control of.
And Paul first tells the Thessalonians as much.
BUT THERE IS A REASON the Thessalonians need to stop panicking.
THERE IS A REASON why Jesus told the disciples “do not be frightened”
It’s because that panic is nothing but a distraction from the main focus.
Now listen as Paul continues talking to the Thessalonians.
(READ 13-15)
This is very important.
You recognize some of the points.
· YOU WERE CHOSEN – “God has chosen you from the beginning”
· YOU ARE BEING SANCTIFIED – “through sanctification”
· YOU WILL BE GLORIFIED – “that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Don’t forget that.
· You aren’t under judgment.
· You aren’t under God’s wrath.
· You don’t have to panic or be afraid of what you see.
The Lord is your shepherd.
He chose you, He is sanctifying you, “surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
You can hear the encouragement.
But again, that’s STILL NOT the main point.
Certainly Paul comforts them in regard to their fears,
But there is a reason why they must not fear.
There is a reason why they must not panic.
(READ 16-17)
· Do you see why they cannot panic?
· Do you see why they cannot lose focus?
They have been left here for “every good work and word”
Paul certainly wanted to strengthen their hearts,
The reason was so they would no longer be disturbed
But would focus on their mission.
AND NOW I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THE POINT.
All of that chaos around you
Is nothing more than the enemies means of distracting you
From what you were put here to do.
YOU WERE CALLED TO EVERY GOOD WORK AND WORD.
And if you want to see some example of the problem in Thessalonica, look at chapter 3.
(READ 3:6-13)
There were people who had lost all sense of duty and service.
· Some people were so sure that it was the end that they just decided to quit their jobs and wait for it all to come crashing down.
· “No use going to work today if the world is ending tomorrow”
Paul points out that that was a terrible attitude.
It is an attitude that must be rebuked by the church.
Paul says, “Get to work!”
Be about every good work and word.
SO NOW WE GO BACK TO MARK’S GOSPEL
Where Jesus used the same word as Paul.
Jesus told these 4 that regardless of what they see “do not be frightened”
· Don’t panic!
· Don’t get distracted.
All of those wars and famines and earthquakes
Have the tendency to cause you to lose your focus.
I didn’t end up liking the whole thing,
But the other day I was watching a show called “Homestead”.
It was set after an atomic bomb is set off in L.A. and a cyber attack on the east coast throws out the power grid.
· America without power.
· America in chaos.
One family had been preparing for such a thing for years
They were ready when everything started crumbling down.
And the immediate reaction was to lock the gate,
Ration all the supplies, and only look out for themselves.
Until the wife was so overcome by guilt at watching their friends starving outside their gate that she determined to open the gate and let them in.
But I want you to consider such things for a moment.
· When wars are launched…
· When earthquakes hit…
· When famine comes…
· And when the news reports how bad everything is and will be.
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?
Hole up in seclusion and go into self-preservation mode and only care for yourself?
· Lock the gate, ration the goods
· Get all you can, can all you get and then sit on the can?
Or are you supposed to go into battle mode?
· Gather all your guns and ammunition, fortify the gate,
· Shoot anyone who tries to get by.
IS THAT THE GOAL?
IS THAT WHY CHRIST LEFT HIS CHURCH HERE ON THE EARTH?
Those are the behaviors of men
Who are focused on the wrong thing
Men who have given way to fear and panic.
AND BELIEVER When Such Things Occur,
It will be very easy to fall into such thinking.
· When war hits…
· When natural disaster hits…
· When what appears to be the apocalypse lands at your door…
It will be very easy in that day to give way to fear and panic
And totally lose focus as to why you are even here at all.
BUT WHAT DID JESUS SAY?
“do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.”
· Your ministry is not over just because war broke out.
· Your ministry is not over just because famine came.
· Your ministry is not over just because an earthquake struck.
· You ministry is not over just because Democrats won the Senate.
Those things are warning shots, not the final shot.
And we are the only ones who know what they are all pointing to.
They are not the end, but they do point to it.
Jesus said, “These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Don’t abandon the woman once she starts to be in labor.
THIS IS A THREAT WE MUST BE READY FOR.
THIS IS PRACTICAL.
Don’t consume yourself with figuring out when the end will come,
Consume yourself with being faithful until it comes.
And even when labor pains increase and terrible things happen,
That is NOT when the church is supposed to
Curl up in self-preservation and panic,
That is when the church is supposed to shine the light the brightest.
Mark doesn’t include it, but listen to this one statement from Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24:12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”
That’s a horrible reality isn’t it?
But think about the things that you hear.
Think about the rumors and “news” that is pumped at you 24/7.
There’s not much there that is telling you to love your enemy.
· Most of the news is trying to identify your enemy.
· Most of the news is strategy regarding how to defeat your enemy.
BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.
· We don’t lose our minds when an election is lost.
· We don’t lose our minds when a tragedy strikes.
· We trust God and we point the world to Jesus Christ.
We don’t let things like that cause us to panic.
We have the best shepherd any sheep has ever had.
We just go out to the trembling goats
And ask them if they’d like to experience the peace of the Good Shepherd
And invite them into our fold.
The church doesn’t fear wars and rumors of wars.
The church mobilizes during those times
And offers fearful people the answer.
SO THERE’S PRACTICAL POINT NUMBER 2.
DON’T ASK WHEN, ASK WHAT.
The first what is that you have A DECEPTION TO AVOID
· You need to get to know Christ so that a false one doesn’t deceive you.
The second priority is that you have A FOCUS TO MAINTAIN
· Don’t get distracted by the fall of the world around you.
· Spoiler – it doesn’t make it.
Instead focus on the mission.
Focus on good works and the good word.
The ship is going down, save as many as you can,
Don’t just stand there panicking over the moment it actually sinks.
Let the world lose their minds, the church cannot.