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9. The Prophecy About the Entire Passing Away of the Universe (Mark 13:31-33)
MARK 13:31-33
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.
Christ is coming. Blessed is he who expects him, and prepares himself for this great meeting. The arrival of the Son of God signifies grace and judgment at the same time, and both of them are beyond our understanding. The grace carries us to fellowship with God, and the judgment destroys heaven and earth because of their disobedience.
Christ interprets what Isaiah said 700 years before: not only the earth will vanish but also the heavens (Isaiah 34:4; 51:6; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 6:12-17).
Whoever reads and understands these evidences will be astonished. The earth beneath will be wiped out, and the air, which we breathe, will burn. How fearful! Not only our small globe will vanish, but also the suns and planets, for the sin of men is only a small part of a larger falling away from the only God. Satan is not a fable, but the ruler of this world who draws the children of disobedience to him. Their punishment is the flaming fire about which Jesus said: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)
Do you know that the coming of the end of the world is known and mentioned in other religions, for unclean spirits know this forthcoming event? However, our faith is centered on the everlasting love of God, and not on the Day of Judgment. The love of God is our hope, and his kind word is the seed, the reason, and the power of renewal for those who believe in his name. Our future depends on the words of Jesus. The Lord keeps watch over his word that no one may twist or change it. Then, how do some people say that the Holy Bible is corrupted? Do they not know that our Lord is the truth and the living, embodied Word, to whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth? He has deposited his word into the hands of believers who have no greater treasure than the Holy Bible.
If you had to flee one day, it would not be difficult to lose all earthly things. Just take the Holy Bible with you. Keep it night and day. It is good to learn some golden verses by heart so that if your bible were stolen from you, it might remain dwelling in you through memorization.
Jesus said of himself: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” So, learn the word of your Lord by heart. Study it, understand it, and act accordingly. Then you will not marvel at the end of the world, nor will you pass away with it, for you have been changed by the power of the word of Christ, and have become a partner of his divine nature. You will be with him, and the angels will see his face at all times. Yet, you will appear as born of the word of his grace.
On the Mount of Olives when he delivered his prophetical Sermon about the end of time to his four closest disciples, with Jerusalem lying before them in the range of their vision, condemned to destruction, Jesus was in both states as the Son of Man and the Son of God in one person. Taking off his limitless glory and becoming a limited man, he bore his limitation, and admitted: “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing… For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.” (John 5:19-23).
We see in these confessions the complete humility of Jesus, as well as his absolute authority. He who understands his humble position, can also understand his word that the Father had not yet showed him the date of the end of the world. No angel, spirit, devil, or reborn person knows the date appointed by our heavenly Father for the end of the universe and the beginning of the resurrection of the dead and his just judgment. It is foolish to try to calculate the date of Christ’s advent. However, it is nearer than we know.
PRAYER: O holy Father, our Lord and Savior, how did you become sad O Loving One, and become angry O Holy One that you put an end to your patience, and determined to send your Son to judge the worlds? Your word foretells the passing away of the earth and heavens. Prepare us for this day when the elements melt with fervent heat, with a great noise. Help us to live for the Lord today, that eternal death may not devour us, but that we may be secure in Christ’s triumph, and continue in your life given to us through the power of your word. We thank you, our heavenly Father, for Christ is in us, the hope of glory. Amen.
QUESTION:
- What did you understand from the prophecy about the end of the worlds?