Waiting for the Lord's Return...

Here we have the final verses of Mark 13, Jesus' words about being ready for the time He comes.

28 "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
29 "Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
30 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
31 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
32 "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33 "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
34 "It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.
35 "Therefore, be on the alert--for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning--
36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep.
37 "What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'"

Of course, the most important words are the final ones in the chapter: "Be on the alert!" or, as the KJV has it, "Watch!"

I've been doing a video commentary on Revelation, which some of you have watched; I'm now to the end--two more videos to go--and I believe that that final verse of Mark 13 is one of the most important passages in the entire Bible. We MUST be ready. So many things will happen so fast that we have to be very aware of world, national and local conditions. The Lord IS coming back.
So, first off:
Jesus gives three time reference points to help us understand several important factors about the end.

• There will be warning: 28 "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 "Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. In other words, we will know WHEN (only in outline) by the trends in the world. Just as summer is around the corner once the trees are all in leaf, we know that Jesus' return is also around the corner when we see the beginnings of things He's discussed in the rest of the chapter.
• Once things begin, they will end quickly: 30 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. "This generation" is the generation watching the "beginning" of the events Jesus describes. The book of Revelation concurs in this; the entire period of the Great Tribulation (from the end of Revelation 11 on) takes just 3-1/2 years. That's 3-1/2 years from the point the Antichrist sits in the Temple, displaying himself as "god," to his being cast into the Lake of Fire. The Antichrist comes to power as a result of the world's upheavals (see Revelation 6-10), which takes about 3-1/2 years, and then takes his full power. So the Antichrist's rise to power is meteoric, and his descent from power is the same--3-1/2 additional years from his murdering the two witnesses in Revelation 11 and his assumption of ultimate power, he is in the Lake of Fire.
• Finally, there is no information about when all this will start. In fact, Jesus indicates that it might be a very long time from the time he gave the sermon: 31 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. This is intended to give us the understanding that the process of His return could begin today, or it could wait for many years. We don't know. Conversely, he tells us that knowing "when"  is "hidden information:" 33 "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. God has intentionally hidden this information. He has set this as one of His mysteries, which will remain unknown until the events begin to unfold. This fact is extremely important because every so often, somebody claims to have unraveled the secret, and gives us a "date." The Jehovah's Witnesses did this nearly 100 years ago; Harold Camping did it in 2011, and others have done so as well. In light of this, everyone should read what Jesus said: "NOBODY KNOWS THE DAY or THE HOUR..."  In fact, Mark 13:33 says, "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. The word translated "Time" in that verse is a word that usually means "season," such as winter or summer. In other words, He's saying, that with the exception of seeing things actually begin, even trying to know the general time is an exercise in frustration and failure. He has intentionally hidden these things from us so that we will keep watching, rather than saying, "Oh, He's coming in 20 years. That gives me 18 years of partying, and 2 years to clean myself up." That's not the way it is. Start watching NOW.

All this leads to the following conclusion: the single most important thing you can do in your spiritual life is to "watch" or "be on the alert." Jesus put it like this: Luke 12:35 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37"Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. (and you definitely should read the rest of the passage).

LISTEN to what Jesus says. Put aside things that keep you from watching for Him (I'm not talking about ordinary activities--Jesus actually tells us to keep up with those in another passage), focus on His return, and expect Him. These words from Jesus are both commands and warnings.