MARK 13:26

Jesus said in Mark 13:26-27, “And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” Jesus had just given the signs of the end-time: 1. the abomination of desolation, 2. the Great Tribulation, 3. false Christ’s and false prophets, and 4. signs involving events taking place affecting the sun and the moon and the heavens. The great event that takes place after those signs is the Second Coming of Christ to the earth.

Jesus makes it very clear that the character and the nature of His Second Coming will be very different than his first coming. He said that His Second Coming will be with “great power and glory.” The first time that Jesus came to the earth He came as a humble servant born in a manger. He came, and men did to Him whatsoever they wanted, and He died for the sins of mankind. But the second time that He comes things will be different. Jesus will come as a King at the head of a mighty army. Shortly before Jesus was crucified He said in Matthew 26:53, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”

We will all be eternally grateful that Jesus did not call for 10,000 angels to destroy His enemies and set Him free. If He had done so, the scriptures would not have been fulfilled and all humanity would have been lost in the guilt of their sins forever. But when Jesus comes the second time, He will come at the head of a great army that will be made up of angels and believers. Remember that Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth, and that promise shall be fulfilled. Concerning the return of Jesus to the earth at the head of an army, the Bible says in Revelation 19:11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called, Faithful and true, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

If you are believer in Jesus and have never ridden a horse, then get ready. You will be riding one as you sweep across the sky and land in the plain of Meggido. Seated aboard your great white stallion, you will be one of the millions of victorious soldiers in the greatest and most powerful army ever assembled: the army of the Lord. And so human history will end with this last terrible event: terrible for those who are on the losing side. Be patient, ye His saints, your victory is coming. Your Savior, the One who saved your soul, will save the earth from all the plagues that have come upon it. The last great event of humankind will be a great war in which all who oppose God will be slaughtered. Today is the day of salvation, if you will harden not your heart; but that day will be the day of judgment.

Concerning His return to the earth, Jesus said in Mark 13:28-30, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when her branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So you in like manner, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that it is near even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” Even in nature when you see a certain thing happen, then often you know that something will follow right afterwards. For example, Jesus pointed out that when a fig tree puts forth its leaves, then you know automatically that summer will follow soon after. That is the way the world works and that is the way that life works. It’s true in nature and it’s true in prophecy especially concerning the return of Christ.

One of the things about Bible prophecy is that sometimes there are a great number of years, even centuries, between events. For example, between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth weeks of years that Daniel prophesied about have now passed two thousand years. That’s one of the things concerning biblical prophecy that the Lord has not always clearly revealed: where the gaps are and how long they are. But Jesus is making it clear in this teaching about His second coming, that once we see the signs, we can be certain that His return is very close indeed. There will be no gaps: no longer period of time from the one event to the other. That’s why Jesus said, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” The people who are on the earth and see the signs, will be the same people who will see Jesus return to the earth as King of kings.

In Mark 13:31 Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Jesus sums up everything that He has said up to this point by emphasizing the temporary nature of life on earth as we know it. It’s not going to keep going on forever. Everything that you see around you and everything that you have will end, exactly when God decides for it to end. Even though heaven and earth are temporary, there is something that is permanent: the Word of God. Jesus said, “My words shall not pass away.” How ashamed some will be when it is revealed how much they loved the things that were temporary, and how little they loved that which lasted forever: the Word of God.

In Mark 13:32-37 Jesus said, “But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take you heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch you therefore: for you know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all: Watch.”

One thing that stands out very clearly in these verses is an emphasis that Jesus makes on the immediacy of His return. There is a certain emphasis throughout the New Testament, these verses included, that presents the return of Christ as though it is imminent. In other words, the return of Christ can take place at any moment. Jesus said, “Take you heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is.” And Jesus said, “Watch you therefore: for you know not when the master of the house cometh.” He also said, “And what I say unto you, I say unto all: Watch.” Other passages in the New Testament make the same kind of emphasis. First Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” First Thessalonians 4:15-16 says, “For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” In Revelation 22:20 the Bible says, “He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

These verses and others like them indicate quite clearly that the very next thing to take place prophetically speaking is the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus might return many years from now, but also, He just might return today. It is possible. It is what the apostles looked for all of their lives. What a minute. We just saw earlier in Mark chapter thirteen that the return of Christ would not happen until after the seven year period of Great Tribulation and until after all of the signs take place during those seven years. So, the signs must happen before Jesus can return. How can we then say that the very next thing to happen is the return of Christ?

The answer to that is to view the Second Coming of Christ in two phases. The first phase of the return of Christ will evidently be at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation when Jesus will appear in the clouds to receive His believers up with Him and to deliver them from the wrath that will be showered upon the earth. We call that the rapture. That is the event that was spoken of in First Thessalonians chapter 4. This phase of the return of Christ is imminent. It can happen at any moment and at any time. Watch, so that if your Master comes, He will find you ready.

In order to take all of the passages of the New Testament concerning the Second Coming of Christ and to incorporate them into a coherent idea concerning the return of Christ; we hold to the fact that Jesus evidently will have a two-fold manifestation. The first manifestation is imminent. It could happen at any time. He will appear in the clouds before the tribulation period and receive His believers up with Him. The second manifestation of Christ will not happen until the signs happen. Then He will appear in the air riding upon a great white horse, and millions of angels and believers will be with him also on white horses, and they will ride down to the valley of Megiddo to the slaughter of the enemies of God, and the blood shall come up to the horses’ bridles. The judgment of God may appear to come slowly, but when it does come, it will come terribly.

One thing that Jesus makes extremely clear in this passage in Mark chapter 13 is that He will return to the earth. What a wonderful day that will be! Finally, all of the dark spiritual forces will be put down. The tribulation will be over. Israel will be delivered from its enemies. The King of Kings will sit upon the throne of David in Jerusalem, and the world will be ruled the way that it ought to be ruled: with a benevolent, all-powerful monarch: Jesus Christ the Righteous. Finally, truth and righteousness will not be opposed or suppressed. Instead, truth and goodness will spread across the land. All of the promises that God made to the human race will be fulfilled. “The lion shall lie down with the lamb.” “The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the land as the waters cover the sea.” There will finally be equality, justice, and peace to all men. It will happen because God will cause it to happen in the person of Jesus Christ. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish it. Now we know Him as the Savior of our souls. Then we shall also know Him as the Savior of all creation.

Notice what we are supposed to be doing until Jesus decides to return. Jesus said in Mark 13:34, “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work.” Some people think that because Jesus might return soon that they should stop everything including their work, and go up into a mountain somewhere and pray until He returns. Jesus said that until He comes back, everyone has been given work to do. One of the most important principles and purposes of life is to find out what God wants you to do and then to do it.

One of the things that He wants every believer to do is to somehow be involved in the spread of the gospel. Earlier in this chapter when Jesus was talking about what things would take place in the age in which we live, Jesus said in Mark 13:10, “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” You may not be the one who preaches the gospel, but you can help those who do. When you go to work, you do not go there just to make money. You also go there to be a testimony for the Lord, if you have the right attitude towards your work that every Christian should have.

Until the Lord returns, you have been given work to do for Him. The reason that you are capable of doing whatever work the Lord has given you is because of the other thing that is mentioned in Mark 13:34; authority. Jesus said that he “gave authority to his servants.” Sometimes we do not realize just how great is the authority that He has given to us. Your authority is as great as the one who has given you authority, and the Almighty God has given you authority to do His work. If you are doing His work, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. Hopefully while you are doing His work, you will keep one eye on the skies. Jesus will return.

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