But he who endures to the end shall be saved

 

 Then 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."

 

- Mark 13:1–13 

 

 Yesterday we read Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 

Then 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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans during the Siege of Jerusalem.

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."  Jesus' response regarding end times begins here and continues through verse 23 (which will be in Monday's reading).  My study Bible notes for us that the account in Mark is given in reverse parallel form (also called chiastic, meaning cross-wise in its shape, deriving from the letter chi in Greek which resembles an X).  That is, the topics which are mentioned in the first half of the passage are repeated and amplified in reverse order in the second half.  This structure is characteristic of many important ancient documents, including, for example, the Old Testament and the literature of Homer.  Therefore, my study Bible notes, this passage -- and its second half which will be in Monday's reading --  both begins and ends with a warning to take heed about false christs.  The second warning here is about wars.  Then the second-to-last is about tribulation (in verse 19, on Monday).  A third warning here concerns being delivered up to councils, while the third-to-last warning is also about being delivered up, this time by family members (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).  At the very center of this discourse, Jesus gives the prophecy that the gospel must first be preached to all nations -- the heart of the apostolic ministry and mission of the Church (Matthew 28:19-20).  

Since Jesus' words have, at their very heart, the prophecy that the gospel must first be preached to all nations, "end times" must give us a rather fluid sense of time.  That is, a need to accommodate Christ's words with an understanding of their very permeable construction.  "End times" cannot be traced down to a particular year and a particular linear development, as the chiastic construction of these words itself would indicate to us by its image.  Since the time of Christ, and the earliest apostolic missions of the Church and His immediate disciples, efforts have unceasingly been made to preach the gospel to all nations, and those efforts actively continue today in each way possible.  Therefore, to read "end times" as those times which will happen somehow immediately before the end of all things is a mistake.  We have, indeed, been experiencing "end times" since the time of Christ; it is the Incarnation that initiated the end times, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was, as at the Incarnation itself, the birth of end times.  Christians began, from the start of the Church, to experience the advent of false christs, wars, tribulation, betrayals, persecution, etc.  And these things continue for the Church around the world, even as her apostolic ministry and mission continue of preaching the gospel to all nations.  Individual Christians may also experience these things in their own personal lives, rather than on a collective basis as a movement against the Church by organized forces.  Jesus gets right to the heart of the personal when He speaks of family betrayals.  Most intriguing are Jesus' words regarding testimony:  "But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit."  He speaks in terms directly applicable to the disciples to whom He speaks:  "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."  But in various countries around the world, Christians are experiencing new persecutions even where Christianity has long been established, such as across the Middle East and in Africa.  In various ways, there are even movements in the West which are hostile to the Church, and on one level to another, seek to shut down or curb its activities or public representations.  What is important is not that we take notice and great alarm at these things which we may experience on a small personal scale, or even a larger and organized one.  What remains of the greatest importance is that we understand we have been warned by Christ about these things, and although the period of martyrdom of the early Church is now passed, we are still to conduct ourselves as He has said here.  We are still to be prepared to give our own testimonies as the occasion might demand.  We are still to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us do so.  We still might face betrayals of one sort or another by family members or friends for our faith.  We might face hatred for our faith.  But the most important word is what He teaches us:  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  So when we read about end times, the really important thing is to remember His teaching about our disposition through it all:  we must endure to the end.  Our choice must be to endure.  We bear all things as we also take up our crosses, as He has taught.  Whatever comes, we rely on God, just as Jesus has taught in today's reading that one must rely on the Holy Spirit at moments when we're called to give testimony.  There are all kinds of ways in which we might experience the "trauma" of end times, both personally and collectively.  But it is our job to endure in our faith, to bear what comes, and to live as He has taught us even through the things about which we've been warned.  The disciples to whom He speaks would endure it all.  Let us follow in their footsteps and endure through all things.  In the journey of faith, Jesus keeps us all looking ahead, on His road, His "way."  For we all go forward, and let us not look back (Luke 17:31-33).   Let us consider that to "endure" is not to be unduly aggressive.  For His is also known as the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15, Ephesians 6:15).  Throughout His ministry, Jesus has been protective of His flock.  He teaches the disciples to "watch out for yourselves."  The byword with which He begins is "take heed that no one deceives you."  In all ways, Jesus' words teach us about prudence, not about being conventional conquering heroes, nor about inventing new methods of self-promotion, but to endure -- with all the attitude that goes with this choice of words.  It is entirely in keeping with His words in Matthew chapter 10, when He sends the disciples out on their first apostolic mission: "Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  We remain sheep in the midst of wolves; let us conduct ourselves as He declares we must, with eyes wide open and our mission in our hearts.