Take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand

 "So when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  For in those days there will be tribulation, such has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.   Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven."

- Mark 13:14-27

We are currently reading through the events of Holy Week in the Gospel of Mark.  On Saturday, we read that as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, "I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows.  But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

 "So when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  For in those days there will be tribulation, such has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.   Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.  But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven."  Jesus continues His warning and prophecy to the apostles.  Events concerning both the fall of Jerusalem (particularly the destruction of the great temple) and the end of the age are mixed in this discussion, as the questions of the disciples included both (see Saturday's reading, above).  Here Jesus refers to the prophecy of Daniel (see Daniel 11:31, 12:11) and the "abomination of desolation" included in that prophecy.  This is considered to have happened during the Siege of Jerusalem, when the Roman general Titus entered the Holy of Holies.  After the near-total demolishing of the temple (with the exception of the Western Wall), the entire sacrificial system was ended, as was the Sanhedrin.   The destruction of the temple and the city, and the devastation of the people was unthinkable.  Heeding Christ's warnings, the early Church survived, earlier fleeing Jerusalem according to the signs He indicated.  There were those who claimed false christs, and false prophets, but we recall Jesus' words as He wept over Jerusalem, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42).  The "abomination of desolation" works as a kind of type, as this had occurred centuries earlier when the First Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, and Jews were sent into captivity, changing the nature and emphasis of the practice of the faith.  The tribulation described here is also a sort of type, and extends to the entire age, as it refers not only to what happened then in Jerusalem, but to the entire Christian era -- and not merely the final years before the return of Christ.

What is tribulation?  We have to "take heed" of the difficulties that are put before us in Christ's prophecy and warning about "end times."  As we wrote in Saturday's commentary, and also above, end times does not just describe the immediate years before Christ's return, although the term has been popularly used as such.  But we live today in "end times," and these times -- or this era -- began with Christ's ministry into the world.  It is in these times of the end that we await His Return.  We live in a time of conflict and tribulation in the sense not only of the upheavals and violence and difficulties that we may witness and also experience, but in the sense that we are all faced with a choice, all the time.  Mentioned before in this blog is this book by Fr. Stephen Freeman.  Today I'd like to cite something he's recently written on his blog (Glory to God for All Things), in this recent post titled "Before the Judgment Seat of Christ."  Fr. Freeman wrote, "Peter’s judgment is instructive: The one who had denied Christ is not upbraided about that three-fold incident. He is asked, 'Do you love me?' It was doubtless the most searching question that could have been spoken. It is the likeliest form that the judgment will take for us all. Many times each day."   Jesus has taught us (in Thursday's reading) the greatest commandments: love of God and love of neighbor.  This love -- including its infinite potential expressions -- is the choice with which we are faced, and the choice at the center of tribulation and difficulties.  Jesus' words in His lament as He wept over those who did not know "the things that make for your peace" echo for us as well.  It is this question, "Do you love Me?" that contains in it the center of peace, as all things reconcile in Christ.  For this reason, He said that He brought a sword and division, and not peace (see Matthew 10:34-39).  Peace is something we answer for; it is not forced upon us.  God does not compel us to love God, to return God's love.  This is up to us.  Into this great cosmic mystery Christ tells us that our job during this entire period of the end is to "take heed."  We are to beware, and we are not to be deceived.  We are to endure as faithful servants and friends and those who will answer, "Yes, Lord."   This is what makes for our peace, even in the middle of tribulation or tough choices.  Let us make note that while Jesus was daily disputing in the temple in the readings of Holy Week that we have just been through, He found ways to respond to His questioners that avoided the traps that were set for Him.  He confounded their aims.  Life is like that, too.  We may find ourselves, in effect, between a rock and a hard place seemingly offered by the world.  But turning to our love for Christ finds us a way through, one we may not have expected -- with patience and endurance and forbearance, carrying our own cross.  We may not be equipped to change the world, nor the minds of anyone else.  But we are equipped for this choice of love.  This is His way, and He has told us all things beforehand.