{"id":37364,"date":"2025-09-14T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=37364"},"modified":"2025-09-09T14:24:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T21:24:01","slug":"mark_13_14-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_13_14-27\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Must The End Times Be So Terrifying?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark\u00a0 13:14-27 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 13:14-27.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 13:14-27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Pray that this will not take place in winter,
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now–and never to be equaled again.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.<\/em>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“But in those days, following that distress, “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-27:\u00a0 Many scholars believe that verses 14-23 are referring to two periods of time: first, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and second the end times when Jesus comes again.<\/p>\n

To the extent that these verses deal with the end times, what can we learn from these verses?\u00a0 While we don\u2019t need to obsess over trying to figure out when exactly the end times will happen, Jesus does want us to be alert and aware of what the end times will look like.\u00a0 Jesus describes the end times as \u201cdays of distress unequaled from the beginning\u2026and never to be equaled again\u201d (v19).\u00a0 A big reason for the distress will be the arrival of the \u201cabomination that causes desolation\u201d (v14), a term from the book of Daniel to describe something that Satan\u2019s Anti-Christ will one day set up.\u00a0 It is not clear exactly what that abomination is, although the book of Daniel describes it as something that greatly disturbs the people\u2019s worship of God.\u00a0 Jesus even tells his followers to flee the moment they see it (v14-17).<\/p>\n

Jesus describes such times as the fulfillment of Isaiah\u2019s prophecies in Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4 about the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light, stars falling from the sky and the heavenly bodies shaking.\u00a0 Jesus says that false prophets and false Christs will appear and try to deceive people (v22).\u00a0 However, they will not compare to when Jesus comes again in the clouds with great power and glory (v26) and, with the help of his angels, gathers his people from around the world (v27).<\/p>\n

Why must the end times be so dramatic?\u00a0 It\u2019s because\u00a0the end times are the culmination of the war between good and evil, God and Satan, Jesus\u2019 kingdom of light against the kingdom of darkness.\u00a0 This is Satan\u2019s last ditch effort where he pulls out all the stops to overcome God\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 This is God coming in full force to put an end to Satan once and for all.\u00a0 That is why the end times are so intense and dramatic,\u00a0like the final fight scene in an epic story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whereas Jesus came as a suffering servant the first time, He will come back as a conquering king the next time.\u00a0 So the best and wisest thing a person can do is submit to Jesus\u2019 rule now before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Jesus, please give me the right heart and perspective when it comes to the end times, that I would focus on what\u2019s most important and be on my guard the way You want Your church to be.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 13:14-27.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 13:14-27 (NIV)
\n14\u00a0\u00a0“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
\n15\u00a0\u00a0Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.
\n16\u00a0\u00a0Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.<\/p>\n

On verses 14-27:\u00a0 Many scholars believe that verses 14-23 are referring to two periods of time: first, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and second the end times when Jesus comes again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37364"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37367,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37364\/revisions\/37367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}