Daniel 12: 1-3 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)
Mark 13: 1-8 (Common English Bible)
The Gospel reading from Mark was written very close to the events of the Jewish rebellion against the Roman occupation of Judea. Ultimately Rome won and they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Jesus predicts the Roman siege of Jerusalem and how terrible it will be. In is his warning, Jesus says, when you see the first signs of the Roman army heading toward Jerusalem you must flee immediately to the mountains. Unfortunately, the Jewish people did just the opposite. They crowded into Jerusalem and eventually ran out of food and water. The city was surrounded by thousands of Roman soldiers. The Roman siege had terrible consequences for those who were trapped within Jerusalem. Some people were even reduced to cannibalism to survive. Thousands of the Jewish people were killed and thousands more were taken to Rome as slaves.
Countless “wars and rumors of war” (Mark 13:7) have broken out during the past 2,000 years. There have also been “earthquakes and famine” during the centuries. Yet, the day of Christ’s return has not come. This apocalyptic reading in Mark’s gospel is full of signs and images of what his disciples should look for in anticipating the end times. Christians throughout history have tried to decode these symbols to point to particular events in their current times that signal the Second Coming. Isaac Newton, a theologian besides a scientist, said the end would happen in 2060. I guess his prediction is as good as any other prophet before or after him.
One way of looking at the end-times is climate change and the rising ocean temperatures that threatens the well-being of the entire planet. This fact is an awakening to the seriousness of this crisis.
Jesus mentions that many false prophets will arise and try to deceive you. Now a false prophet doesn’t necessarily mean it has been about religion. During the COVID crisis just a few years ago, many people were led astray and encouraged to avoid vaccines and wearing a mask. Some of the fundamentalist Christians said covering your face was a sin because it covers the image of God. Funny, if God is spirit as the Bible says then God has no face. Some even said Jesus’ blood was the only protection against COVID. But I believe that Jesus works through doctors. Conspiracy theories can be deadly and certainly bad theology.
Conspiracy theories are an example of the Accuser, alias Satan at work. America had more than a million citizens die from COVID, a larger number than any other nation. But it didn’t have to be. People who spout conspiracy theories are like the individuals Jesus called “false prophets.”
Jesus mentions “war and rumors of war.” Jesus recognizes war as one of the greatest sins. This is because people are not totally won over to Christ and not completely transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus talked about earthquakes and famine. We continue to see the devastation caused by natural disasters. We have been warned of the impending crisis brought on by climate change. But too many people ignore this fact, like the Jewish people ignored Jesus’ warning to leave Jerusalem before the Roman invasion.
When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed it was a symbol of the end of the old order of things. The Kingdom of God will not be built with marble and stone, but by the hearts of people ready to change the world into a better place.
When our own world is falling apart, God will not abandon us. Things that we regard as permanent in our lives are only temporary. Material goods can be taken away and our life is brief. We are just traveling spirits passing through to arrive at a better destination. Our true home is God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
God’s answer to trouble is trust, especially during times of war and economic depression. But faith is the link between heaven and earth. This world is a place where our faith will be refined and where our hope will rest in eternal life. We might not understand it now, but eventually we will.
The reading from Mark was not intended to make us worry about the future. It was written to offer support to 1st century believers who were struggling to make sense of their world. A true prophet speaks both to their own generation and to future generations. When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the fate of the Temple, he was speaking of the folly of material things that were built to last forever. We live now between Christ’s ascension and Christ’s return, and during this interim we will experience the same circumstances that Jesus told his disciples. We too will experience war and false prophets and we already have the latter in high places today.
The destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple was not the end. But was the beginning of the end. It is about a new beginning of faith. A building can be destroyed but the place where God dwells cannot be destroyed. God lives in our hearts and minds as the true way to live.
We are living in difficult times in our nation and world. There is political restlessness here and abroad. Mark’s text calls on us to choose leaders with wisdom rather than those with conspiracy theories. It takes faith and spiritual strength to resist the politics of greed and lies. Doing so unveils creative possibilities for peace, justice and love.
The book of Daniel can be considered as an apocalyptic writing, with a lot of symbols and metaphorical writings. The author of this book was looking backwards to a time of crisis which was during the time of the Babylonian captivity when Daniel confronted King Nebuchadnezzar. And this happened around the year 621 BC.
Flash forward to several hundred years and the Jewish people are in another crisis. Judea was taken over by a Seleucid king named Antiochus Epiphanes who was determined by force if necessary to convert the Jewish people to the Greek religion. In 169 BC Antiochus had a pig sacrificed in a temple at Jerusalem. Needless to say the Jewish people were enraged by this and started a rebellion. This is where the term the Abomination of Desolation was used. I believe some here might be familiar with that word. Many Jewish people rebelled against Antiochus and his violent attempts to convert the Jews to the Greek religion with its many gods.
Resistance, even non-violent resistance was met by torture and death from Antiochus. This led to the idea, those who suffered and killed for God’s truth, should be rewarded in the next life and those who brought this suffering should be punished in the next life. As it says in Daniel chapter 12, verse 2, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt.”
This is the first mention of an afterlife in the Bible, and the only statement in the Old Testament about existence after death. The Bible doesn’t say much about an afterlife but I feel confident there will be one. Jesus gives us this hope with his statement in John chapter 14, verse 2, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”
AMEN
