Mark 13
1 As he was leaving the sacred grounds, one of his students said to him, “Teacher, look where these stones came froma and where these buildings came from!”
2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these grand buildings? There is not a single stone here that will be left upon another, that will not be torn apart.”
3 While he was sitting at the Mount of Olives, across from the sacred grounds, Peter, Jacob,b John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will the sign be when all these things are going to be completed?”
5 So, Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out so no one misleads you. 6 Many will come in my name saying, “I am the one,”c and they will mislead many people. 7 Now, when you hear about battles and rumors of battles, don’t be alarmed. It must happen, but it’s not yet the end. 8 You see, people group will rise upd against people group, and regime against regime, and upheavalse across various places, and there will be famines. These are the beginning of anguish.f
9 “Watch out for each other.g People will hand you over to councils, and you will be thrashedh in synagogues and be made to stand before leaders and kings to give them a report on account of me. 10 First and foremost, it is necessary to announce the triumphant messagei for all people groups. 11 When they bring you to hand you over, don’t be anxious beforehand about what you should say; rather, say whatever is given to you at that time because you’re not the one speaking but rather the Sacred Life-breath. 12 Family member will hand over family member to death, even a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. 13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name.j However, whoever endures to the end will be liberated.k
14 “When you see the Devastating Atrocityl placed where it must not be placed (may the reader understand), then those in Judea should flee to the mountains. 15 Whoever is on the roof should not go downstairs or go inside to get anything from their house, 16 and whoever is in the field should not go back to get their cloak. 17 How hard it will be on women who are pregnant and nursing during that time! 18 Pray that it will not happen in winter! 19 You see, oppression will happen in those days as bad as any from the beginning of the creation that God created up till now or will ever happen. 20 If the Lord didn’t cut the time short, there would be nobodym left to liberate.
“However, on account of the chosen—the people he chose—he did cut the time short. 21 Therefore, if someone says to you, “Look, here is the meshiah!n Look, there he is!” don’t trust it. 22 You see, false meshichimo and false prophets will arise, and they will provide signs and miracles to mislead the chosen, if possible. 23 But you, watch out! I have told you everything in advance.
24 Nevertheless, in those days after that oppression,
The Sunp will be darkened,
And the Moonq will not give its light,
25 and the Starsr will be fallings from the heavens,
And the powerst in the heavensu will be shaken loose.v
26 Then people will see the Son of Humanity coming in the cloudsw with great power and renown. 27 Then, he will send messengersx and will gather together his chosen from the four winds, from the farthest point of the earth to the farthest point of the heavens.y
28 Study the parable of the fig tree: when its branch has become tender and sprouted leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that the Son of Humanityz is near—at the door. 30 Honestly, I’m telling you that this groupaa absolutely will not pass away until all these things happen. 31 The heavens and the land will pass away, but my conversation absolutely will not pass away.
32 As for that day or hour, no one knows except the Father—not even the messengers in the heavens or the son. 33 Look around! Stay aware! You don’t know when the time is. 34 It’s like how a person traveling abroad who left his house gave to each of his enslaved workers the authority for their work and directed the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 So, stay alert because you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming—whether in the evening, or midnight, or when the rooster crows or just before dawn— 36 so that when he comes suddenly, he doesn’t find you asleep. 37 What I’m saying to you, I say to everyone: stay alert!
FOOTNOTES:
a The word potapos is translated here as ‘where came from.’ It was typically used as part of a question about the origin of something or someone, typically national origin.
b Traditionally, ‘James’
c Or ‘saying that I am here.’
d Or ‘wake up.’ This word egeiro is also one of the words used to describe Jesus rising from among the dead.
e This word can mean shaking as in an earthquake, as in at sea, or it can mean a sociopolitical shakeup or tumult.
f Traditionally, ‘birth pains.’ While this word is often used in that context, that is not explicitly its meaning. There is nothing to suggest in this context that Jesus is discussing pain worth experiencing for the sake of a wonderful outcome, which is often how passages that use the translation ‘birth pains’ are taught. Keep in mind that death for both mother and child were much more common when this was written than in the context of modern American readers’ experience.
g Or ‘yourselves,’ but with the plural, it is about the group watching out for the group, not individuals watching out for their own interest.
h The primary meaning of the word here is ‘flay’ or ‘skin.’ It can be used of a flogging or severe whipping or beating that would have left skin ragged and torn.
i Traditionally, ‘gospel’ or ‘good news.’ The word ‘gospel’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell, which means ‘good story.’ The Greek euangelion literally means ‘good message’ and was used specifically of a message announced publicly, which fits the use of the word ‘news.’ The historical context comes from when rulers and military leaders returned to a city after victory in battle, and a herald would be sent ahead to announce the victory and the ruler’s impending arrival. The writers of the Bible took this word and applied it to Jesus’ victory of a different kind. The use of “triumphant message’ here is intended to communicate the full meaning of the word in context and not the narrow dictionary definition.
j The idea is that they are his representatives, delivering his message or carrying out his work.
k Traditionally, ‘saved.’ The word has a range of translations, including ‘healed,’ ‘protected,’ ‘restored,’ ‘preserved,’ ‘rescued,’ and ‘liberated.’
l Traditionally, ‘Abomination of Desolation”
m Literally, ‘no flesh’ meaning no one alive
n Traditionally, ‘Christ.’ Both the words ‘Christ’ and ‘Messiah’ are not actual translations and serve to take the letters of the Greek word christos and the Hebrew word meshiah and transform them into English words without translating them. Both christos and meshiah mean ‘anointed,’ that is, ‘something or someone that has oil or ointment applied to it.’ In this context, it was referring to someone who was indicated to be chosen by God for a particular calling, most notably a royal calling, but it was also used for priests and prophets. The word ‘Messiah’ was chosen here rather than ‘Christ’ to reflect the Jewish authorship and original audience of this book.
o Plural of meshiah
p The word for ‘sun’ had three meanings. The literal meaning of the sun was one. It was also used symbolically to refer to Caesar. It is the word Helios which is also the name of the Greek god of the sun.
q The word for ‘moon’ had at least two meanings. The literal meaning of the moon was one. It is the word Selene which is also the name of the Greek goddess of the moon.
r Asteres literally means ‘stars’ but could also symbolize important people of status and power in the Greco-Roman world.
s Or ‘will be the ones who fall’
t Or ‘forces’
u ‘The heavens’ could refer to three ideas. The first is the literal meaning of ‘sky.’ The second is often assumed to be the meaning, the symbolic use to refer to wherever the divine presence is, the source of the Life-breath. The third is symbolic of social hierarchies, where ouranos ‘the heavens’ referred to the powerful while the earth referred to the common people. Sometimes, like in Paul’s letters, it’s divided even further from top to bottom as ‘highest heavens,’ ‘heavens,’ ‘air,’ ‘earth,’ and ‘below the earth,’ referring to the various socio-economic and power/status levels in the culture at the time.
v Reference to Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 and Joel 2:10.
w Reference to Daniel 7:13
x Traditionally, ‘angels.’ The word angelos means ‘messenger,’ possibly used for spirit beings, but also used for human agents of God (or other people) and sometimes even for natural phenomena. It conveys the meaning of someone authorized to speak—or act—on behalf of another. If the reader wants to read these messengers (acting on God’s behalf) as celestial beings, great. If as humans, great. Of note, the text referred to prophets in verse 1, which seems likely to indicate that human prophets are the messengers in view; however, spirit-being messengers could also be in view. The word angelos, even for spirit-beings, is a job title, not a ‘species’ classification. The work of Michael S. Heiser is a great source of information on this topic.
y Essentially, this verse is saying ‘from everywhere, across the four directions of the map and bottom to top.’
z Literally, ‘he.’ ‘Son of humanity’ is added for clarity referring to verse 26.
aa Traditionally, ‘generation.’ ‘Generation’ is one of several meanings, and is often not the best one to use in context. It may be applicable here, but it is difficult to say. It can mean ‘lineage,’ ‘family,’ ‘ethnicity,’ ‘gender,’ ‘class,’ ‘generation,’ or ‘lifetime.’ It can mostly mean any defining characteristic of shared origin.