Key Thought: Mark 13 clarifies that the prophecy goes from the time of Jesus to the time of the end, the second coming. He also teaches how to prepare for the coming trials.
September 7, 2024

1. Have a volunteer read Mark 13:1-13.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How did the disciples respond to Jesus’ statement about the temple, and how did He respond to them?
3. Personal Application: What has been your own experience with the trials that come from following Jesus? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of you relatives states, “I haven’t had any trials for being a Christian. God has protected me and kept me from trials because I have been a faithful believer. How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Mark 13:14-18, Daniel 9:26,27.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What else does Jesus give in figuring out what the “abomination of desolation” refers to?
3. Personal Application: How cann we learn to trust Him and the Bible in all its predictions? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Isn’t the prince who is to come the antichrist who causes the sacrifices and the oblations to cease in Jerusalem after the rapture to take place and the Jews rebuild the temple?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Mark 13:13.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does this refer to?
3. Personal Application: How should Jesus’ warning against the false prophets and false Christs that has been partially fulfilled already increase our trust in the word of God? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “What hope do the Christians have during the persecution? What warning does He give them at the close of the time of trouble?.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Mark 13:24-32.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What great event is described here?
3. Personal Application: Why is there confusion as to the dual application of this prophecy? Does “this” generation fit the destruction of Jerusalem, while “that” generation refers to those living at thye end of time? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/10-the-last-days-teaching-plan/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 10 – The Last Days. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-last-days-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 5th of September 2024

The great event described in Mark 13:24-32 is none other than the return of Jesus Christ in glory, preceded by signs in the sun, moon, and stars. The New Testament is full of prophecies pointing toward this wonderful event. The apostle Paul describes it in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where he speaks of those who have fallen asleep in Christ being raised to life and caught up with the living saints to meet Christ in the air. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, the apostle speaks in detail about the reality of the resurrection of the dead, which occurs at Christ’s return.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Peter describes that great day as well in 2 Peter 3:3-13, explaining that the Lord is not slow about His promise but wants all people to come to repentance. And Revelation has vivid descriptions of Christ’s return (see Revelation 1:7, Revelation 6:12-17, Revelation 14:14-20, and Revelation 19:11-21). The consistent New Testament teaching is that Christ’s return is personal, literal, visible, and audible. Everyone will see Him when He comes.

What, however, does Jesus mean by “this generation” and “that day” or “that hour”? These words have troubled many people because obviously the generation to whom Jesus spoke is long dead.

A number of solutions to this passage have been suggested. Some argue that the word “generation” can refer to a race of people, in this case the Jews. That is to say that the Jewish race would not perish before Christ returns. Another solution is to speak of the generation of people who see all the signs fulfilled as those that will not pass away before Christ returns.

But a simpler solution is to note that in Mark 13:30, Jesus uses the word “this” as in “this generation,” and in Mark 13:32, He uses the word “that” as in “that day and hour.” In Mark 13:1-37, the word “this” (houtos, hautē, touto) appears more often in verses 1–13, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem. The word “that” characterizes the latter part of the chapter.

Thus, “this generation” most likely refers to the first-century generation, which saw the destruction of Jerusalem, as Mark 13:30 describes. However, Mark 13:32 refers to the second coming of Christ, which is still future and was more distant from the first century. Consequently, Mark 13:32 uses the word “that” to speak of events more distant from the first century.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-10-the-coming-of-the-son-of-man/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 4th of September 2024

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.

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.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-10-the-great-tribulation/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Thomas R. Shepherd, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “The Beginning of the Gospel.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/10-the-last-days-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/