Abomination of Desolation ≠ AntiChrist! [Earthquakes…Signs of the Times, 5 (Mark 13)]

April 23, 2010 By Kurt Willems 22 Comments

This is the fifth post in a series titled: Earthquakes… Signs of the Times?  I invite you to read the rest of the series here to catch up (the first post would be extremely helpful)…

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A popular phrase in the Christian subculture is “Antichrist” who is often identified as the “Abomination of Desolation” or the “Beast” who will brand sinners with his mark of “666.”  For instance, in the popular book series/ movie “Left Behind,” this figure is known as Nicolae Carpathia (see image).  This has been so embedded in our theologies that to raise any questions about our interpretation of these things often frustrates many of the faithful.  If this is you… I apologize in advance but would ask you to lay aside your presuppositions and follow my logic and interpretive scheme to see if it holds up.

The phrase that deserves some investigation is what the TNIV designates: “the abomination that causes desolation” (v. 14).  Comparatively, the NRSV renders this as “desolating sacrilege” and the NLT as “the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.”  Now, for the purposes of biblical interpretation, a question must be asked: Is this referring to a person or to an object? In many popular futurist theologies (rapture–> tribulation –> millennial reign –> eternity in brand new heavenly world as opposed to this one), it is assumed that this phrase refers to the so-called ‘Antichrist’ who will step into the holy place of the (rebuilt?) Temple; but based on Jewish history it seems more likely [Read more...]

Filed Under: (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times?, Dispensationalism, Interpretation, Olivet Discourse, Politics, Rapture, Temple, Theology, Tribulation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 22 Comments

Earthquakes…Signs of the Times, 4 (Mark 13): The End is Now!?

April 20, 2010 By Kurt Willems 35 Comments

This is the fourth post in a series titled: Earthquakes… Signs of the Times?  I invite you to read the rest of the series here to catch up, so to speak.  This is a series exploring whether or not we can say that natural disasters are indicators of the imminent return of Christ/ end times/ rapture.  My argument is no, but I’ll let you be the judge to see if the following argument holds up.  Let’s continue…

One of the biggest questions that comes up that I think can determine how we interpret this passage is the word, “end.”  As people who have been conditioned by apocalyptic books (Left Behind, Late Great Planet Earth) and movies (End of Days, Armageddon, Terminator, 2012, etc), it is easy for us to read the word “end” to mean the end of the space-time universe.  But, if we jump to this conclusion too quickly we may impose our ideas on a text that is two thousand years old.  What I am attempting to do is to look at the first century and read forward from there rather than reading from our context backwards (although that I realize that this is not possible in a pure way).  So, to what end was Jesus speaking?

This second unit of Mark 13 (v 5-27) contains Jesus’ response to the disciples’ questions.  In the previous post, I argued that [Read more...]

Filed Under: (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times?, Dispensationalism, Eschatology, Fundamentalism, Gospel, N. T. Wright, Olivet Discourse, Rapture, Temple, Tim Geddert, Tribulation Tagged With: , , , , , , , 35 Comments

Earthquakes…Signs of the Times, 3 (Mark 13): Whose Questions – Ours or Theirs?

April 17, 2010 By Kurt Willems 60 Comments

This is the third post in a series titled: Earthquakes… Signs of the Times?  I invite you to check out the rest of the series here to catch up, so to speak :-) This is a series exploring whether or not we can say that natural disasters are indicators of the imminent return of Christ/ end times/ rapture.  My argument is no, but I’ll let you be the judge to see if the following argument holds up.  Let’s continue…

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The first part of our Mark 13 text has Jesus and his disciples exiting the Temple and heading towards the Mount of Olives.  After the remarks of his disciples, Jesus comments that “not one stone will be left on another.”  This leads to the disciples questions that provide the landscape of the rest of the chapter: 1) “Tell us, when will these things happen?” 2) “And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”  Many modern interpreters have looked at these questions and supposed that Jesus extends them in such a way that they become a launching point to discuss the end of the space-time universe.  Rather than just being about the disciples’ near future, they are also about a yet-to-be fulfilled future. John MacArthur, for instance, believes [Read more...]

Filed Under: (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times?, Dispensationalism, Eschatology, Fundamentalism, Gospel, Olivet Discourse, Rapture, Temple, Tim Geddert, Tribulation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 60 Comments

Earthquakes… Signs of the End Times? Part 2: Mark 13 as it Relates to the Rest of the Book

April 6, 2010 By Kurt Willems 19 Comments

This is the second post in a series titled: Mark 13… Signs of the Times? I invite you to check out that first post to catch up, so to speak :-)   More posts to come on this topic!

Read the rest of the series here.

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We began this series by asking if we could look at natural disasters like earthquakes, as a sign that the so-called “end times” are coming all the more near.  In this post, lets explore the “literary context” of Mark 13 and continue to wrestle with the interpretive and practical implications of how we choose to read this well know biblical passage.  In doing so, perhaps the question in the back of our minds should be: Is the biblical story one that points toward hope for this world, or chaos and eventual destruction?

Mark 13 is a chapter that is often called a “little apocalypse,” although the whole of the book is gospel narrative.  That is because, this chapter is clearly written with apocalyptic tradition in mind. Jesus is speaking prophetically in this passage and is using apocalyptic language to explain the things that will mark the fulfillment of his words.  The question of “when” such a fulfillment will happen is not yet our task.

Our current task is to discern how this text relates to the rest of Mark.  In Mark 11, Jesus returns to Jerusalem and is ushered in as the true King.  Based on parallel accounts we know that this was “the first day of the week,” meaning that it was Sunday.  According to this chapter, singing broke out as Jesus rode in on a colt.  Some laid down their cloaks, while others began to wave palm branches.  Those who chose to lay down their cloaks on this dusty road and waved palm branches were acknowledging that Jesus was indeed a king.  This event has a clear connection with Zechariah 9.9 [Read more...]

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