Mark 13:1-37
Introduction
We now come to Chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel which contains the longest discourse by Jesus in his gospel. This discourse is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse and a fuller version of it can also be found in Matthew’s Gospel. See Matthew 24:1 – 25:46. The discourse begins in Verse 5 where He starts to answer the two questions put to Him in Verse 4. It is called the Olivet Discourse because it takes place on the Mount of Olives – see Verse 3.
The Olivet Discourse is the most difficult passage in Mark’s Gospel to understand. If you do some research, you will find various different interpretations about what Jesus is saying. Many bible teachers have struggled to make sense of it, myself included. However, after much hard work I have come to a clear understanding of how to interpret the Olivet Discourse and I will show you the fruits of my labours as we make our way through the following studies on Chapter 13.
In the discourse we can clearly see that Jesus is talking about the future. We see this in the future tenses of many of the verses. In other words, the Olivet Discourse is a prophecy by Jesus. But what is He prophesying about?
Before we go through the Olivet Discourse in detail, we need to understand what period of future human history Jesus is talking about. Until we understand what He is prophesying about, we will not be able to make sense of the discourse. So, in this first study on the Olivet Discourse, I will help you to understand what Jesus is prophesying about and in future studies we will go through the whole of Chapter 13 in detail.
What is the Future History for Mankind?
To understand what period of human history Jesus was talking about we must first understand God’s plan for human history as of the time that Jesus spoke. We can do this because His plans have been revealed in scripture.
Since the time that Jesus spoke, we have been living in the Church Age. Then at some time in the future, there will be a seven-year tribulation period.
This seven-year tribulation period is spoken of by the prophet Daniel. God revealed to Daniel that there would be 490 years that would pass by before the Kingdom of the Messiah would be established. 483 of these years were fulfilled in the First Coming of Jesus. In Chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel we are told that the remaining 7 years would be postponed to a future time. This outstanding 7 year period is known as the 70th Week of Daniel. It is not possible for me to explain Daniel’s 70th Week in this study. That requires a special study on its own. Daniel’s 70th Week is also known as The Tribulation. The Tribulation will be characterised by the world giving allegiance to a false Christ and by God pouring out His wrath on mankind.
At the end of The Tribulation Jesus will return to the earth (the Second Coming) and establish an earthly kingdom for a thousand years. This is known as the Millennial Kingdom. After that Jesus will establish an eternal state with a new heaven and a new earth.
With all of this is mind we now need to work out which time period Jesus is talking about in the Olivet Discourse.
What Time Period is Jesus Referring to in Mark 13:5-23?
The most difficult part of the Olivet Discourse to understand is found in Verses 5 to 23. So, for the rest of this study, I will concentrate on these verses. I will deal with the remaining verses later on.
So, what time period is Jesus referring to in Mark 13:5-23? There are 4 possibilities according to various scholars. They are as follows:
1. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
2. The Church Age in general.
3. The 7 year Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th Week)
4. A combination of the first three.
It is my belief that Jesus is talking about the 7 year Tribulation in Mark 13:5-23. And what I want to do next is to show you why that is my belief.
The Mount of Olives
Notice in Verse 3 that Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives when He answers the two questions put to him by the disciples in Verse 4. In the Jewish mind, the Mount of Olives is very significant as far as the end times is concerned.
When Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives it would have reminded the disciples of a prophecy in Zechariah that is very important to Jews. See Zechariah 14:1-4. This prophecy speaks of an event at the end of time when all of the nations will surround Jerusalem to attack it. And when that happens, the Messiah will set foot on the Mount of Olives and wipe out the enemies of Israel and establish His kingdom. Immediately before that happens, the Old Testament prophets spoke of the Day of the Lord, which we will come to later. It’s with this in mind that the disciples put their questions to Jesus.
Revelation Chapter Six
In Revelation chapter six, which is the beginning of the Tribulation, we have the same catastrophes that are described in Mark 13:4-8.
The parallels between Revelation 6 and Mark 13 are as follows:
1. 1st Seal: False Christ(s) in Revelation 6:2 and Mark 13:5-6
2. 2nd Seal: War in Revelation 6:3-4 and Mark 13:7-8a
3. 3rd Seal: Famine in Revelation 6:5-6 and Mark 13:8b
4. 4th Seal: Death in Revelation 6:7-8 and Mark 13:8b
5. 5th Seal: Martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11 and Mark 13:9, 11-13
6. 6th Seal: Earthquake in Revelation 6:14 and Mark 13:8
In Revelation 6:8 we see that a fourth of the world’s population die as a result of these catastrophes. That has not happened yet. For instance, during WW2 4% of the world’s population died. But in Revelation 6 we are told that 25% of the world’s population will die.
Birth Pangs
Notice how Jesus uses the term ‘birth pangs’ at the end of Mark 13:8. Birth pangs is a technical term for the future Day of the Lord. The Greek word translated as birth pangs is ‘odin’.
This same Greek word is used in the Septuagint version of a prophecy in Isaiah. See Isaiah 13:6-10. Odin is translated as ‘pain’ in Verse 8 of Isaiah’s prophecy.
This prophecy in Isaiah is about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is a universal time of judgement when the wrath of God will be poured out on the sinners of the earth. i.e The Tribulation
Notice what Isaiah says in the second half of Verse 10. This is what Jesus says in Mark 13:24.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
In this passage, Paul is talking about the future Day of the Lord. Paul tells us that it will come upon the earth like labour pains (birth pangs).
In his teaching about the Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-7, Paul uses 10 Greek terms found in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse.
They are:
• Kairos
• Gregoreo
• Hemera ekeine
• Katheudo
• Aiphnidios
• Kleptes
• Methuo
• Ekpheugo
• Ephistemi
• Odin
This shows us that Paul was relying on Jesus’ Olivet Discourse for his teaching.
So, we can see from this that the birth pangs have to do with the future Day of the Lord, otherwise known as The Tribulation.
Conclusions
So, when Jesus talks about wars, famines and earthquakes, He’s not talking about the things we see now. He’s talking about the seven-year Tribulation.
Now, in the current Church Age we are pregnant and the pregnancy can be uncomfortable at times. And in our current state all we are doing is waiting for the birth pangs of The Tribulation to start.
This means that there will be no signs to tip us off that The Tribulation is about to begin. Instead, The Tribulation will come suddenly without warning, just as it is with birth pangs.