Mark 13 - Part 2

Ok… Back to Mark 13

We left off last time as Jesus warned the disciples of the persecutions that lie in wait for them. The next things that Jesus said were this:

1. The appearance of “Abomination of desolation” standing where he shouldn’t be (14)
2. Run to the mountains when that happens, immediately (14-16)
3. Pray that it will not happen in bad timing (17-18)
4. The tribulation will be like nothing ever seen before (19)
5. If the Lord does not cut it short, all will perish (20)
6. Appearance of false prophets, christs, and signs (21-22)
7. Be on guard since He has said that beforehand (23)

If Jesus was referring to the end of times, then most likely He is talking about the tribulation (and hence, pre-millennialism view). Verses 14-18 will means that someone can do something to avoid (or at least, lessen) the effect of the tribulation, and it would be detrimental if someone have his or her focus on something else, as they will most likely fall on the tribulations. The tribulations will be the worse the world has ever seen (worse than the signs in Signs 1) but God will make it short for the sake of the elect. Hence we, as those elect, must be on guard.

It is also possible, however, if Jesus was referring to the historical destruction of the temple. The “Abomination of desolation” refers to Daniel 9:27 and 11:31. The words “let the readers understand” (verse 14) is not a remark from Mark but a remark from Jesus, saying to the disciple to recognize what Daniel meant. If it is so, then Jesus is telling the disciple to be on guard and flee from Jerusalem when the “Abomination of desolation” is standing where he shouldn’t be, as the tribulation will be great on them if they stay.

In actual, this is what happened back before the temple was destroyed by Titus. In 67-68 A.D. Jewish fanatics occupied the temple, and they allowed people who had committed crimes to roam freely in the holy of holies, even those who had committed murder. They even committed sins inside the holy of holies. The apex of the monstrosity was when they elected Phanni as a high priest – and it was said that he was a clown. Jesus is giving them an escape plan: They are to flee to the hills as the Romans will pillage Jerusalem, they are to flee hastily (the rooftop in that time was flat, and it is such a way that you can run to the city wall from the rooftop), pray that it will not be in winter as the roads will not be passable, and not on Sabbath as the gates will be closed. The Christians actually follow these instructions under the leadership of Symeon (a cousin of Jesus) where they flee to Pella in Pyrea, in the hills east of Sea of Galilee. It was said by Josephus that no Christian died on the holocaust.

(In fact, there is another event which is regarded as an appearance of “Abomination of desolation” by the Jews. It happens before the times of Jesus in 168 BC when Antiochus Ephipanes slaughtered 40000 Jews in the temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, sprinkling the blood on the holy ground deliberately and put a statue of Zeus in the altar. At the times of Jesus, all Jews knew about this and they can be really scared when Jesus said that the next will be worse)

Again, we can’t determine the context of the text, whether it is only on the end of times or end of the temple, or both. Let us just say these points as “Signs 3: Tribulations”

Jesus continues by saying:

1. About how the Son of Man will return after the tribulations (24-26)
2. The elect shall be gathered from everywhere (27)
3. Again, to be ready as they know what will happen when it is near (28-29)
4. This generation will not pass away until all these things pass away (30)
5. Jesus’ words will ever be true (31)
6. Regarding the time of the second coming, only the Father knows (32)
7. Again, be on guard (33-37)

Let us say that these signs are “Signs 4: Second Coming”. Now, we all know that Jesus did not come when the temple was destroyed. However it does not mean that Jesus is not talking about the destruction of the temple. On the contrary, if Jesus is talking about the end of times all the while, the saying of verse 30 will not make sense. The statement will be “This generation will not pass away until the end of times and the tribulations pass away”! So this last part is, in my opinion, in favor of either “end of the temple” or composite context. The “end of the times” context is not able to stand alone without making the whole arguments confusing.

What is clear however, is that when the times of tribulation is over (depending on how you see it, we can conclude two different ways, that the tribulation has started and we are still there, or that it is still in the future) the Son of Man will return. And He will return in His full glory such that we can’t miss it. All of His elect will be gathered from everywhere, further supports that the second coming will not come until the Gospel is told to all nations. For that we must be ready.

I have not been able to reach into any conclusions, even though I have written all these. I’ll try to wrap it up in the next post.

On Mark 13

So, this Sunday I'm supposed to lead the Bible Study. We are at 3rd study of the topic "End Times" now, and the topic is about "Signs of the Times". The passage is taken from Mark 13 (which is parallel to Luke 21 and Matthew 24, the similarities are striking, so I guess this is why they think Luke and Matthew referred to Mark's account when writing theirs).

Usually, I prepared it on Friday or Saturday. However, I wanted to be more prepared so I do it today (Wednesday). Little that I know, my decision to prepare it on Wednesday was a really big help. The passage was very hard for me to understand. It's like a cocktail of imagery, prophecy and sayings about past, Jesus' present, our present (reflectories), and the future. In short, my head is filled with things jumbled up together. Hence, I try to write this post. Just to help me sort out things. If you feel that this post is not written systematically, then please do understand that the writer is really dazed. Haha.

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So let's start with the context. Mark 11 talks about Jesus going to the Temple in Jerusalem after the Palm Sunday. So He went to the temple on Monday (Mark 11:12), 'cursing' the fig tree in the way to the temple, cleansed it, taught the people (Mark 11:18, Luke 19:47) and went back on the evening (Mark 11:19). He came back the next day to teach (Mark 11:27, Luke 19:47) and here He told various parables, and amongst them are the hard critics to the state of Judaism and the Pharisee's hypocrisy (Mark 11 and 12). Mark 13 comes when Jesus is going back from the Temple (13:1) when one of his disciple (unnamed) talk about the temple.

And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" (13:1)

Now, the temple at that time is built by Herod (thus nicknamed Herod's temple), most likely to win the hearts of the Jews. It was said that the temple was indeed enourmous, Josephus account told that the stones measured 12 ft high and 18 ft wide (4x6 metres - larger than my room.. man, that's huge) and it was filled with white marbles and gold. Some says that at this point, the construction is still going, some also said that it only takes 3 years to complete (from 20 B.C.). Jesus' answer to that statement was this:

Do you not see these great buildings? There will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down (13:2)

And that is what happened in history. In 70 AD, this temple was brough down by Titus when the Siege of Jerusalem ended. The siege was done because of the Great Revolts of the Judah Province (there are a lot of revolts going on there, the Zealots are one of them - refer to my post on the twelve: simon the zealot). The temple was pillaged by the Romans, and there were nothing left of the marbles and the golds. Up until this part, not much problem.

So He walk out of Jerusalem, and they went to Mount Olives (13:3). This temple is located just outside Jerusalem, and with an elevation level such that they can see the temple and its glory clearly - see the map.

Then Jesus' four closest disciples (Peter, Andrew, John and James) came to Him privately and asked him: "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" (13:4, ESV) and this triggers the sermon.

Now, two things piqued my interest here:

1. Why did Jesus went to Mount Olives? Was it a routine, or was it because He is preparing to make a reinforcement to what He is going to tell?
2. Mark and Luke state that the disciples said "when all these things are about to be accomplished" (13:4 and Luke 21:7) interestingly, Matthew said that the disciple said that "of Thy coming and the end of the world" (Matthew 24:3, the Indonesian translation to Mark 13:4 also refers to end of the world). It seems that the disciples equates the destruction of the temple with the end of the world! They are actually asking about the destruction of the temple.

Ok, moving on. Then Jesus said about these things:

1. To be careful as not to be deceived (13:5)
2. Many will say that they are Christ (13:6)
3. War and rumors of war will take place, and it needs to be, but it is not yet the end (13:7)
4. Nations will rise against nations (13:8a)
5. Earthquake and famines (13:8b)
6. But all those are only just the beginning (13:8c)

Now, was Jesus talking about the destruction of the temple or the end of the world? I mean, it is easy for us to come into conclusion that Jesus is actually talking about the actual end of the world and is trying to tell the disciples that destruction of the temple is not the end of the world. But if we are to be objective, it is still inconclusive. (1) and (2) is more reasonable if it is talking about the end of the world, but does not mean that the otherwise is an impossibility. (3) and (4) is acceptable for both, as in the timespan from 30 A.D. to 70 A.D. there's got to be much war. (5) is actually happening today, and I'm not sure whether it happened between 30 to 70 A.D.

So I began to ask myself: what is Jesus talking about, really? Does He answer according to the context of the questions raised by the disciples? Or does He talks about the actual end of the world?

Or, maybe He is talking in parallel. Both about the destruction of the Temple (as a prelude) and the end of the world (as the real deal). As all five points are progressive, and is 'not yet the end'. Whatever it is, let's call this part as "Signs 1: The beginning of the end"

Now comes the confusing one, Jesus told the disciple that:

1. They need to be on guard, as they will be prosecuted and questioned (13:9)
2. The Gospel need to be told to all nations (13:10)
3. When those happens, speak according to the Holy Spirit (13:11)
4. Betrayal by brothers and parents (13:12)
5. The disciples will be hated (13:13a)
6. Those who perseveres until the end will be saved (13:13b)

If "Signs 1" are more suited if we think that Jesus is talking about the end of the world. However, these next points are sayings to the disciples on what will happen to them after His ascension. If we want to be consistent with the context, we need to conclude that Jesus must be talking in the context of the destruction of the temples in this part.

Well, to be fair, the other also fits if you apply it to our time/end of the world context. But consider the fact that Jesus is talking to Peter, Andrew, John and James in private, and the 'you' in verses 9 to 13 refers to them, it would be more natural if Jesus is talking about what the first disciple are going to face, which means, He is talking in their context.

Again, these part can also be regarded as talking in parallel, the near future and the future. As these points are also progressive, and it is a fact that disciples, be it the first or now, are facing all of the above. So let's leave it there for the time being, and call it "Signs 2: Persecutions"

It wouldn't make sense if "Signs 1" talk about "End of the world" and "Signs 2" talk about "End of the Temple". It's either both are talking the same thing, or both are talking in parallel. And now you see why I am confused. Haha...

I guess I'll stop here for today and continue tommorow ;)

To Be Continued =P

Genesis Time Line

Finally, our KTB started the daily readings on the Old Testament. We agreed (well.. I forced them, to be precise. I'm an authoritarian guy. lol) to have three chapters read every day -- excluding the day when we encountered Psalm 119. This will be the second time that I'm going to read the OT as a whole (not topical like what I usually did).

We start reading from Genesis, and if we are sticking to our schedule, we should be on Exodus chapter 4 by the time this entry is posted in this blog. Well, thankfully I managed to reach the target so far thanks to the fact that I don't have much to do in my office this week God's providence.

I'm doing an extra things when I'm reading Genesis this time though, I searched for the verses that I can extract information about the historical time line of the bible. Why? Because I'm afraid that I will feel sleepy in my readings Because I'm curious. I want to see for myself that the verses doesn't contradict each other-- in a sense, I just want to stop taking things for granted, and study the bible more seriously.

Going through the years after the creation, on the offspring of Adam and Steve Eve, the flood, the covenant family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (and his 12 sons). The numbers of years might not reflect exact numbers, but I tried to do it anyway out of curiosity. Things got a little bit complicated when I reached Abraham since I can't pinpoint the age of his father when Abraham was born (Gen 11 only said that Terah was 70 when Abram, Nahor and Haran was born), hence a speculation arises. It became more complicated when the chronicles reached Jacob's story since most of the events are hard to locate in the time line (albeit most are minor events). But the peak of the complication was when I tried to locate when Joseph was born. Now, that was a little bit tricky.

It will be great if I can show the excel sheet I made, but I don't know how to do it here... So here we go...

Note: the numbers in the time line shows the numbers of years passed since Adam was created (hence the abbreviation AAB -- After Adam was Born =p). I double checked and triple checked it already, but there can be mistakes, so please correct me if you found something wrong.

0 AAB - God created Adam (Gen 1-2).
Remarks: some suggest that the fall of men happened within one year after the creation, since Cain and Abel are not mentioned yet, and assuming that Eve was having them right after the creation -- But it's not stated in the Bible so I won't list them here
130 AAB - Seth was born (Gen 5:3)
235 AAB - Enosh was born (Gen 5:6)
325 AAB - Kenan was born (Gen 5:9)
395 AAB - Mahalalel was born (Gen 5:12)
460 AAB - Jared was born (Gen 5:15)
622 AAB - Enoch was born (Gen 5:18)
687 AAB - Methuselah was born (Gen 5:21)
874 AAB - Lamech was born (Gen 5:25)
930 AAB - Adam died at the age of 930 years old (Gen 5:5)
987 AAB - God took Enoch away when he was 365 years old (Gen 5:24). In a sense, he never died.

1042 AAB - Seth died at the age of 912 years old (Gen 5:8)
1056 AAB - Noah was born (Gen 5:28)
1140 AAB - Enosh died at the age of 905 years old (Gen 5:11)
1235 AAB - Kenan died at the age of 910 years old (Gen 5:14)
1290 AAB - Mahalalel died at the age of 895 years old (Gen 5:17)
1422 AAB - Jared died at the age of 962 years old (Gen 5:20)
1556 AAB - Shem, Ham and Japeth was born (Gen 5:32). The exact year when each of them was born are unknown. (or maybe, they are triplets?)
1651 AAB - Lamech died at the age of 777 years old (Gen 5:31). And yes, he died before his father, Methuselah. Lucky number 777?
1656 AAB - Methuselah died at the age of 969 years old (Gen 5:27). Oldest man living ever recorded, and hence his name was a synonym for a creature with old age. And yes, he died just before the flood (in the tradition of the Jews, as if God was waiting for him first), or maybe, he died because of it?
1656 AAB - Beginning of the flood (Gen 7:6). The only human mentioned boarding the ark are Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. So far, everything is consistent, since all of the aforementioned people have died (that is, except Enoch).

Let's take a small break here... I'll update the post later. It's coffee break time.

*Added on 28th August 2009*

Ok. Let's continue on the rest of the Genesis time line. The more complicated time line will be here =) but nothing too hard actually.. I'm using my coffee break time for this.

1657 AAB - Noah leaves the ark (Gen 8:13-14).
1659 AAB - Arphaxad was born (Gen 11:10).
Remarks: It was said that Arphaxad was born when Shem was 100 years old, but Noah's three sons was born when Noah was 500 years old, so it seems that the number 100 (or 500) here is an approximation. It wouldn't be too much discrepancy though.. Somewhere around 2-3 years only.
1694 AAB - Shelah was born (Gen 11:12).
1724 AAB - Eber was born (Gen 11:14).
1758 AAB - Peleg was born (Gen 11:16).
1788 AAB - Reu was born (Gen 11:18).
1820 AAB - Serug was born (Gen 11:20).
1850 AAB - Nahor was born (Gen 11:22).
1879 AAB - Terah was born (Gen 11:24).
1949 AAB - Abram, Nahor and Haran was born (Gen 11:26). Again, same case with Shem, Ham and Japeth.
1997 AAB - Peleg died at the age of 209 years old (Gen 11:19).
1998 AAB - Nahor died at the age of 119 years old (Gen11:25).
2006 AAB - Noah died at the age of 950 years old (Gen 9:29).
2024 AAB - Abram set out to Canaan from Haran (Gen 12:4). The year 2024 AAB here is a speculation, as we can't pinpoint the exact year of Abram's birth. It could be earlier than this date, but this is the latest it logically allowed. The subsequent time line will be established using the assumption that Abram was born in 2024 AAB.
2027 AAB - Reu died at the age of 207 years old (Gen 11:21).
2035 AAB - Ishmael was born (Gen 16:16).
2048 AAB - The covenant of circumcision. Abram's name changed to Abraham (Gen 17).
2048 AAB - Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed. This is just a speculation since assuming that it happens between the covenant and Isaac birth, it would most likely happened in 2048/2049.
2049 AAB - Isaac was born (Gen 21:5).
2049 AAB - Hagar and Ishmael was sent away (Gen 21:8).
2050 AAB - Serug died at the age of 200 years old (Gen 11:23).
2084 AAB - Terah died at the age of 205 years old (Gen 11:32).
Remarks: Haran died before Terah, so Haran died in between 1949 to 2084 AAB, of course, we can say that most likely it will be after 1970s AAB since Haran already had a child when he died, which became the daughter of Nahor, Haran's brother.
2089 AAB - Isaac married Rebecah (Gen 25:20).
2097 AAB - Arphaxad died at the age of 403 years old (Gen 11:13).
2109 AAB - Jacob and Esau was born (Gen 25:26).
2124 AAB - Abraham died at the age of 175 years old (Gen 25:7).
2127 AAB - Shelah died at the age of 403 years old (Gen 11:15).
2149 AAB - Esau married Beeri and Basemath (Gen 26:34).
2158 AAB - Shem died at the age of 500 years old (Gen 11:11).  
2165 AAB - Ishmael died at the age of 137 years old (Gen 25:17).
2188 AAB - Eber died at the age of 430 years old (Gen 11:17).
Remarks: between this period, Jacob worked for Laban for 20 years, in the 7th he married Leah and the Rachel in the 14th year.

Things will get a bit messy after this point. =)

2200 AAB - Joseph was born. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.
2217 AAB - Joseph was sold to Egypt. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.
2228 AAB - Joseph interpreted the cupbearer's and the baker's dreams. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.
2229 AAB - Isaac died at the age of 180 years old (Gen 35:28). Rachel died shortly before Isaac, meaning, she died without knowing that Joseph is still alive. Sad. =(
2230 AAB - Jacob interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams- start of the years of plenty. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.
2237 AAB - Start of the famine. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.
2239 AAB - Jacob moved to Egypt. See 'Remarks: Joseph' below.

Remarks: Joseph
Okay. This is the messy part. We will be calculating this backwards. Note that Jacob said to the Pharaoh that he was 130 years old when he moved to Egypt (Gen 47:9). This means that he moved to Egypt on 2239 AAB. Note also that it was on the second year of the famine when they moved there (Gen 45:6). It means that the famine started on 2237 AAB, and the years of plenty started on 2230 AAB (Refer to the Pharaoh's dreams interpretation). I hope you're still following me up until this point. This is important facts for determining when Joseph was born.
Then, assuming that the years of plenty started right after Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, we can determine these rest of Joseph's time line easily! We know that he interpreted Pharaoh's dream 2 years after the cupbearer and baker event (Gen 41:1), meaning it happened on 2228 AAB. We also know that Joseph was 30 years old when he served the Pharaoh (Gen 41:46), meaning he was born on 2200 AAB. Lastly, he was sold when he was (at least) 17 (Gen 37:2) meaning that it happened at least on 2217 AAB!

2256 AAB - Jacob died at the age of 147 years old (Gen 47:28).
2310 AAB - Joseph died at the age of 110 years old (Gen 50:22).

And with that.. this long post on Genesis is done! And so far, there are no contradictory statements in Genesis that I see. ^^

Gee.. This is such a long post.. --'