– PARABLES OF JESUS –
No One Knows the Day or Hour, Second Coming
Several of Jesus’ parables focus on the impending judgment, the time of His second coming, and our need to prepare beforehand. This is the case with our text today, Mark 13:32-37. It reads:
– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Wise and Faithful Servant
The first part of Matthew 24 addresses Jerusalem’s impending destruction, while the latter portion is about the second coming of Christ – the final judgment. Signs would precede the first event (fulfilled in 70 AD), but there would be no signs for the Lord’s return (Matthew 24:36-39). Jesus said,
– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Marriage Feast
The parable of the wicked vinedressers enraged the Pharisees, for they knew that Jesus spoke of them. However, they did not lay a hand on Him, for they feared the people (Matthew 21:45-46). Immediately, He spoke another parable against them, the parable of the marriage feast.
For the past 14+ months, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a lot of restrictions and constraints. For a good part of that time, we in Ontario have been under lockdowns, shutdowns, or stay-at-home orders. When the CDC and other drug regulatory agencies across the globe began to give the green flag for vaccines from various pharmaceutical companies, there was an understandable prospect of hope, the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” At the same time, there has been skepticism and uncertainty about the safety of the vaccines, given the speed with which they were developed or the efficacy they will have on the virus variants. And then for some, there is concern that it is not just a vaccine, but could it be the mark of the beast?
There’s no shortage of teaching about the antichrist in religious circles, though the validity of what is taught is certainly questionable. Antichrist theories come and go with major world events or leaders. Many are looking for “a great antagonist expected to fill the world with wickedness but to be conquered forever by Christ at his second coming.”1 Suggestions in the recent past have included Pope Benedict XVI, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Saddam Hussein, among others. In fact, a 2011 survey by Public Policy Polling found that 13% of Americans believe President Obama is the antichrist, and another 13% are unsure.2
Predictions of the end of the world are not new. In fact, in the 1st century, some boldly affirmed that the Lord had already returned (2 Timothy 2:17-18). Some in today’s religious world still hold to this doctrine (Preterism), teaching that everything the Bible says about the end has already happened. So, is this heaven or is it hell?
The Bible reveals that the end could come at any time; there are no Bible prophecies which remain undone, save the return of Christ for the judgment of all souls, then comes eternity. Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul armed them with the mind that the Lord could return at any time (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 5:1-6). Paul did not teach them (nor did any other Bible writer) about a rapture, tribulation and millennial reign as is commonly taught today. The Bible says the Lord will return, but we do not and cannot know when He will return. There are no signs (Matthew 24:43-44; 25:13; 2 Peter 3:10).
