Mark 13. You can listen to the whole message HERE.
However ironic, this week we come by complete coincidence, to Jesus’ teaching on the end times. For many of us, this COVID-19 pandemic feels like an end times in its own way and for this reason, it is a fitting word for our time.
I personally grew up in a context saturated by the imagery of the movie Left Behind and the notion that there would be a great tribulation that I better choose Jesus in order to escape. In fact, at the age of 16, I had a license that declared “IN CASE OF RAPTURE THIS CAR WILL BE UNMANNED.” Needless to say, it was never unmanned!
This problematic vision of eschatology (a fancy term for end times) continued to rule in my imagination for many years.
So, as we come to Mark 13 and some of Jesus’ own words regarding the end times, there were 3 things that I wanted to accomplish in this message:
1. I provide some Interpretive principles for reading about the end times.
2. I address some misconceptions about the end times and relieve some of the dread that comes with how they have been framed.
3. Finally, I offer some practical application for us, living in a sort of end times of its own today.
Please leave comments and questions. I look forward to continuing the conversation and would love for you to join us on Facebook Live at 11am on Thursday. Visit us on our Bright City Facebook page then!
