Mark 13:24-37
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
Jesus gets into details with the sign of His coming. He talks about the days after the tribulation where the cosmos will be greatly affected. Yet in the midst of that, verse 26 reminds us of the good news – the Son of Man is coming with power and glory – and all the world will know and see.
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Look at the signs, Jesus reminds the disciples and you will see me coming. In verse 30, He reassures us again that heaven and earth will pass away but His word will remain. It makes us reflect on what is really important – the word of God. His word is eternal and therefore I need to invest my time in His word.
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
In the midst of speculations made in our history – we must remember that nobody knows the times and dates when Jesus will return. We cannot pre-occupy ourselves with the date of when He will come rather we need to put our effort towards preparing the church to go and make disciples before He comes. Save and engage many as we can. Disciple and multiply ourselves while He is not yet here.
Lord, make me fruitful and productive before your return. I look forward to the day when we will be together in eternity.