Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Tonight’s Study, Session 11: Core Belief #10 – End Times
Introduction: What the Bible says about end times can be somewhat confusing or a foreign concept to many Christians. The Scriptures are clear about the signs we would see as believers in the last days before the return of Christ. Problems come in when we misinterpret or misunderstand the Scriptures concerning the end times. For example, there is much speculation about the rapture of the church, does this event really take place and when it will be. Is it a Pre, Mid, or Post- Tribulation rapture? Instead of all of the semantics, let’s go to the ultimate source, Jesus Christ Himself.
One
Road Markers
Say you’re on a driving trip across the United States on its vast interstate highway system. What signs or road markers are you likely to look for? What kind of information might they provide?
Certainly, signs that update distances to destinations would be important. Signs that inform us of available restaurant or fuel options would catch your eye. We might find ourselves looking for notification of an upcoming rest area and the necessary facilities it offers. Road markers are important. They provide information. They move us forward and on our way.
The same is true when tackling challenging and lengthy portions of Scripture. We sometimes need “road markers” to navigate our way through the text. That is the case with Jesus’ message in Mark 13 – a teaching block that carries the potential to generate the heat of conflict as well as the light of understanding. It’s packed with information that can be read any number of ways, depending upon our theological persuasions about the end times.
Common Ground
There are a variety of views on “end times,” also called eschatology. Those differing views are often held by solid, reputable scholars who love Christ and love the Scriptures. Perhaps the fact that these various positions exist may tell us that none of us has the end times perfectly figured out. That makes it more critical to remember that these various views are not the gospel – the message of the life, death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ. Our salvation does not depend on our view of the end times. While are differing perspectives are not unimportant, they are not what is most important, nor are they justification for breaking fellowship with one another.
So where do we find common ground in the midst of honest disagreement?
What matters most in our consideration of “end times” is the confident assurance that Jesus will return as He promised. In John 14:1-3, we read: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
This promise was echoed six weeks later in Acts 1 by two figures (apparently angels) speaking to the disciples after Jesus’ ascension to the Father: And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)
We may disagree on the calendar of that return or the mechanics of it, but one thing is clear – Jesus will return. In Mark 13, Jesus speaks to His disciples of events that, in one way or another, will characterize the time between His soon departure and His certain, promised return. How do we navigate our way through this strategic chapter? By paying attention to the road markers that Jesus Himself has provided in His teaching.
Necessary Warnings (Mark 13:5-8, 9-13, 21-23, 32-37)
Be On Guard Against Wrong Assumptions (Mark 13:5-8)
The word assumption has been defined as “a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.” How many of us assumed that our day must be the day? Assumptions can be dangerous because even though our day might be the day, there is nothing that says that it must be the day. Jesus warns against being deceived, and at its core, that warning is rooted in a simple fact – these kinds of events are an ever–present part of the brokenness of the world. They didn’t suddenly begin to occur in our generation, and they won’t suddenly go away until Jesus actually does come. The last sentence is the key to how we respond to these words.
And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
(Mark 13:5–8)
“These are the beginning of sorrows.” (v.8)
The beginning. The first part. Not the culmination or the conclusion.
Two
Be On Guard Against Coming Persecution (Mark 13:9-13)
“But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Mark 13:9-13)
Regardless of when Christ returns, the time between Jesus’ day and the day of His return will be marked by His people suffering persecutions. This is not only a feature of Jesus’ longest message in Mark, it is also presented as part of the opening Beatitudes of His first message in Matthew: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
Without being the least bit trite or flippant, we may say that persecution* of Christ-followers was never going to be the exception to the rule; it is the normal response of a dark world to the light of Christ. While there is a danger in assuming that everything negative in life is just a persecution event, that doesn’t alter the fact that real persecution exists in our world today.
*Statistics are often difficult to track accurately, but according to reputable sources, more than 300 Christians are currently martyred in a typical month and multiple thousands are displaced.
Jesus’ warning rings true. As we move forward into the future and God’s promises along the way, we must be aware of the realities of the present. For many people, that may include persecution and suffering for the name of Christ. The question we must ask ourselves is whether or not we too will be ready for persecution if it comes our way.
Three
Be On Guard Against False Christs (Mark 13:21-23)
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. (Mark 13:21-23)
As it was in Jesus’ day, we are constantly looking for someone to rescue us from the darkness of this world. But following a false messiah has devastating results, as was discovered by over 900 people (more than 300 of them children) who committed themselves to Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of The People’s Temple. Leaving homes, families, and careers, these folks migrated to the jungles of Guyana in South America to establish a community in honor of their deeply flawed, deeply disturbed leader. Jonestown was the result. On November 18, 1978, it became the site of a mass suicide demanded by Jones and carried out at gunpoint. One of the greatest tragedies of the late 20th century was the product of embracing a false Christ.
The danger of false messiahs, however, is not only in the potential for a Jonestown-like disaster. Those false Christs cannot meet the needs of the hearts that follow them. These leaders are inadequate to provide what their followers are longing for, so that their ultimate thirst is never truly met. Such false Christs divert those hungry hearts away from the living Christ who alone can meet those deep heart needs. We need to be on our guard, indeed.
Four
Be On Guard Against Setting Times or Dates (Mark 13:32-33)
In the mid-1800s, a Baptist pastor named William Miller determined that according to his understanding of Daniel 8:14* Jesus would return to the earth in October of 1844. Many of his followers sold all of their possessions and joined together to welcome the King of kings. When Jesus did not return, Miller rejected his own problematic teachings, and the nonevent became known as “The Great Disappointment of 1844.” More recently, one preacher warned that May 21, 2011, was “Judgment Day,” on which the Lord would return. He even put it on billboards across the country. Nothing unusual happened that day, of course.
*Daniel 8:14 – And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
From televangelists to pastors to authors, little has changed, we are continually being told that the unknowable is now known – declaring with absolute confidence that they know the time in which Jesus will return.
In spite of those professing such certainty, Jesus makes it clear that such knowledge is beyond our reach. In fact, this is the point of His next warning: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. (Mark 13:32-33)
While the promise of Jesus’ return is one we can hold with absolute confidence, Jesus builds on His previous warning to reemphasize the danger of misreading the events of the times between His departure and His promised return. We cannot know the times of His return, because, in His humanity, even Jesus Himself was restricted from that knowledge (Mark 13:32).
As a result, the Teacher challenges His followers to live always in the expectation of that return. It calls us to a mindset in which the value of each moment, event, or opportunity is heightened by the possibility of His coming.
This helps us to form the opposite of an escapist mentality. Rather than looking for Jesus to come so that we can escape from this world to the next, we are called to maximize this life. To live fully this day and every day in His name. This value system was at the very heart of one of Paul’s most dramatic statements. Writing to his friends at Philippi, the apostle affirmed: For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Those words form a statement of remarkable balance. There will be a time for the next life – a time for which we don’t know the day or the hour – but in the meantime, every day is to be lived as an expression of our desire to follow Christ’s return or our passing, will come at an unpredictable moment, our challenge is to make every moment count.
Five
A Closing Story (Mark 13: 34-37)
Jesus gives a final parable on being prepared for His return, then gives one final charge to pay attention.
It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:34-37)
Twice Jesus warns, “watch!” As the servant carries on his or her duties with the anticipation of the Master’s return, we too embrace the opportunities presented to us with a sense of awareness – not a sense of dread. No wonder Paul could says these words in 2 Timothy 4:6-8: For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Having lived each day in faithful response to the love of Christ. Paul had no need to fear death and every reason to celebrate Christ’s return.
Conclusion: The end times can be a very exciting time for some and a dreadful time for others. The Word of God and the words of Jesus give us the proper perspective on the end times. We need to pay attention to the signs that are around us so that we live our days to reflect His life and heart. So that we can help others learn to pay attention as well. As such, we need to pay attention to: The times in which we live, the challenges and warnings of Scripture, the possibility of suffering for His name, and the reality of His promised return. We need to pay attention so that, in these troubled and troubling times, we can point people to Him for hope and help.
Next Week, Session 1: Starting Spiritual Conversations