UBF Daily Bread

ON CLOUDS OF GLORY

Passage: Mark 13:14~27

Key verse: 26

¹⁴“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’^[a]^(A) standing where it^[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. ¹⁶Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁷How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^(B) ¹⁸Pray that this will not take place in winter, ¹⁹because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world,^(C) until now—and never to be equaled again.^(D)

²⁰“If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. ²¹At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.^(E) ²²For false messiahs and false prophets^(F) will appear and perform signs and wonders^(G) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³So be on your guard;^(H) I have told you everything ahead of time.

²⁴“But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
²⁵the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[c]^(I)

²⁶“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds^(J) with great power and glory. ²⁷And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.^(K)

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Footnotes

Mark 13:14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
Mark 13:14 Or he
Mark 13:25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

1. For the sake of the elect (14-20)

The 'abomination that causes desolation' stands for the inversion of creation order. The defiling of the temple is a vivid expression of this (Da 9:27; 168 BC). Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed and the streets of Jerusalem ran with blood. This event was a portent of the end, when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. There will be a time of tribulation at the end of the age, but God, who has ultimate control of history, will shorten the time for the sake of his elect.

2. The Son of Man will come (21-27)

The worst danger to God's people is not physical or even psychological suffering. It is the subtle cleverness of those who deceive. Satan is a deceiver. He still tries to deceive God's people. So we must be on our guard. We must not put our hope in anyone or anything except Jesus. Jesus will come in glory, with the holy angels. Everyone will know it. We must not give our hearts to anyone but him.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be ready to welcome you when you come again. Guard my heart from the deceptions of the world.

One Word: Jesus will come in glory

Daily Bread

ON CLOUDS OF GLORY

Passage: Mark 13:14~27

Key verse: 26

Footnotes

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