Wednesday: The Great Tribulation

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 4th of September 2024

Read Mark 13:19. What does this verse refer to?

Mark 13:14, regarding the abomination of desolation, is the fulcrum around which the chapter pivots (see Tuesday’s study). Mark 13:19 marks a transition point, as well. It refers to a great tribulation that does not have an equal since the creation of the world. This portends a greater or more extensive persecution than had occurred at the fall of Jerusalem. Mark 13:19 also shifts to the future tense, pointing toward events more distant from Jesus’ time.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

Just as Mark 13:14 echoes the prophecy of Daniel 9:1-27, the great persecution described here in Mark 13:19-23 echoes the prophecies of Daniel 7:1-28 and 8:1-27, where the little-horn power persecutes the people of God for “a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25, NKJV). This prophetic period of 1,260 days is equal to 1,260 literal years (Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6). This time extended from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798. In A.D. 1798, Napoleon sent his general to take the pope captive. During this time period of 1,260 years, the little-horn power persecuted and killed those who did not agree with its system of church governance.

Read Mark 13:20-23. What hope does God offer His people during the time of persecution, and what warning does He give them as it closes?

Mark 13:20 speaks of persecution being shortened for the sake of God’s people. Historically, the fires of persecution did lessen after the rise of the Protestant Reformation, shortening the time of distress. As the little horn’s power waned, more people joined the reforms. But the little horn would rise in power again, as the prophecy of Revelation 13:1-18 indicates.

In Mark 13:21-23, Jesus warns of another threat: that of false prophets and false christs, who will arise before He comes back. Jesus warns His followers to beware of them.

At the time Jesus warned about false christs, His movement had barely even begun, and yet, He was able to make such an amazing prediction, which has come true (even today people claim to be Jesus). How should this prediction increase our trust in the Word of God?