The Brilliance of Mark 13 and Dr. Kelly

So I learned something today that I knew I needed to share.

Have I mentioned how amazing my Life of Christ class is?

It's possibly the best course I've ever taken. Dr. Kelly is a god among men when it comes to knowing the Gospels. You know what? In the context of what I'm writing about that doesn't sound so good. I promise I'm not an idolator. The man just really knows his stuff, and I look up to him alot.

Anyways we've been talking about Passion Week these past few weeks and we're leading up to the crucifixion of Christ.

Today, we talked about the first part of Mark 13 which includes Jesus talking about the signs of the end of the age.  This, apparently, is one of the most widely misinterpreted passages of Scripture. 

It is in this passage that Jesus speaks of false teachers

and wars

and natural disasters

and persecution

and the gospel being preached to all nations.

And many people interpret this to mean signs for the 2nd coming of Christ, and this is absolutely wrong. Most people leave out the first part of the chapter which says this:

As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"

 "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?" (Mark 13:1-4)

And it is right after these verses that Jesus goes into the description of the signs of the end. But it isn't the end of the world.  Jesus is talking about the end of the temple.  It is the temple that will be destroyed and not the world. So many people today are looking at these passages and trying to apply them to 2008 and it simply does not make sense.  These things all happened before AD 70 because that is when the temple finally is destroyed.

I know that's a lot to take in, but it's not my point. Sorry.

I'm sure you were hoping for the end. haha!

I want to focus on the preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth bit.

I love my youth pastor, Jason. And he talks all the time about this particular passage and I used to agree with him.  He would say that he believed whole heartedly that once the gospel was preached to all the world, Jesus would finally come back. But after my lecture today I must choose to disagree with him.

Do I want to serve a god that is dependant on my actions?

Because when we say that Jesus won't come back until the gospel is preached to the ends of the earth, we're basically putting ourselves into a seat of power.  What we do when we say that is we put God on the sidelines.  It's as if he is twiddling his thumbs waiting to act until we've done our part. Is this right? Do I want my God  to be like this?

NO NO NO!

My God can come back at any moment. My God has absolute power and authority and can act regardless of my actions on earth. He doesn't wait for my approval. He is mighty. 

Now don't get me wrong. This doesn't mean I'm saying stop telling people about Jesus, because I'm not. I'm only saying that to have that mindset is wrong. To say that God is waiting on us takes away from his power.

Just some food for thought...

PS - Anathallo. Look them up. Especially their album Floating World. It's epic