This past Sunday, we looked at the entirety of Mark 13.  Many have taken this passage to be a proof text for the end times, as if Jesus was laying out a scene by scene movie of what will happen.  This interpretation, though relatively new in the scope of church history (i.e. the 19th century), has become the dominating view of modern Evangelicalism.   And unfortunately, it's created a lot of fear and panic among Christians.  

It's led to a justification for war in the Middle East because "God is on Israel's side” and it "has to happen" for the end to come.  Or, we spend our days trying to predict the end of the world, and we live with a fearful, escapist mentality and don't see what we do now as important as a way to care for the poor and contribute to human flourishing, or we don't see the need to care for the earth because it's “going to all burn anyway”.   

But what if Jesus wasn't talking about the end times?  And what if his intention wasn't to create fear for the present, but hope for the future?  

Teacher: Caleb Sprinkle

Text: Mark 13