Reading the Signs of the Times Text: Mark 13:28-32
Introduction: Eschatological Hysteria
There is a peculiar brand of prophetic agitation that has afflicted the modern church for the better part of two centuries. It is a nervous, feverish obsession with newspaper headlines, blood moons, and the machinations of globalist bogeymen, all frantically cross-referenced with charts and timelines that look more like the schematics for a nuclear submarine than a simple reading of Scripture. This kind of end-times hysteria treats the Olivet Discourse not as a sober prophecy delivered by our Lord, but as a collection of cryptic clues for a scavenger hunt where the prize is knowing the secret date of the rapture.
This approach is not only exegetically bankrupt, but it is pastorally disastrous. It produces Christians who are so busy scanning the skies for a secret escape that they are of no earthly good. It breeds a spirit of escapism, not dominion. It fosters a ghetto mentality, not a conquering faith. And worse, it makes our Lord out to be a false prophet. For if Jesus was talking about our generation, the one two thousand years removed, then His solemn pronouncements about "this generation" not passing away were a spectacular failure.
But Jesus is not a failed prophet, and the Scriptures are not a collection of riddles designed to induce panic. The Olivet Discourse is one of the most stunningly fulfilled prophecies in all of Scripture. But to see this, we must do something that has become strangely unfashionable. We must read the text for what it actually says, and we must believe what Jesus says. He was not speaking to us in the twenty-first century. He was speaking to His disciples in the first century, answering their very specific questions about the destruction of that magnificent Temple they had just been admiring. When will these things be, and what will be the sign? Jesus answers them directly, and in our text today, He tells them precisely how to interpret the signs He has given them. It is a lesson in paying attention, not a license for frenzied speculation.
The Text
"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. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
(Mark 13:28-32 LSB)
The Obvious Analogy (v. 28-29)
Jesus begins with a simple illustration from the world of agriculture.
"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. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door." (Mark 13:28-29)
The parable of the fig tree is not a deep, mystical symbol for the re-establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948, as some of our dispensationalist friends would have it. That is to read the morning paper back into the eternal Word. The meaning is right on the surface, as plain as day. Jesus is saying, "Use your common sense." When you see a fig tree budding, you do not need a special prophetic gift to know that summer is coming. It is an observable, predictable reality. The signs are clear.
In the same way, Jesus says, when you see "these things" happening, you are to recognize that the end He has been describing is near, "right at the door." What things? The things He just spent the entire chapter describing: the rise of false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, the persecution of the saints, the preaching of the gospel to the known world (the oikoumene), and the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. These were not vague portents for some far-flung future; these were the specific, observable signs that would precede the utter destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple.
When the Roman armies under Titus surrounded Jerusalem, when the Zealots committed their atrocities within the Temple precincts, these were the budding leaves. The disciples who were paying attention were to see this and know that the "summer" of God's judgment on apostate Israel was not just coming, it was at the very door. This was a call for sober observation, not for panicked flight to the mountains of Petra. Those who heeded this warning, like the Christians who fled to Pella before the final siege, were saved. Those who did not, perished in the most horrific tribulation that nation had ever known.
The Unmistakable Time Stamp (v. 30)
Lest there be any confusion about the timeframe, Jesus nails it down with a statement of absolute, unambiguous clarity.
"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (Mark 13:30 LSB)
This verse is the rock upon which all futurist interpretations of this chapter are dashed to pieces. Our Lord, with a solemn "Truly I say to you," puts a non-negotiable time limit on the fulfillment of "all these things." He says "this generation." Not "that generation" thousands of years from now. Not some figurative "generation of the end times." He meant the generation of men standing there, listening to His voice. A generation in the biblical sense is roughly forty years. Jesus spoke these words around A.D. 30. The Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Forty years. "This generation" did not pass away until every last detail of His prophecy concerning that Temple came to pass.
To twist this verse to mean anything other than what it plainly says is to engage in exegetical gymnastics of the highest order. It is an attempt to save a faulty theological system at the expense of the clarity of Christ's own words. We must not do this. If we believe the Bible, we must believe this verse. Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem within forty years, and it happened exactly as He said. This does not embarrass the faith; it establishes it. Our Lord is a true prophet, and His Word is sure.
The Unshakable Word (v. 31)
Jesus then underscores the absolute certainty of His prophecy with a staggering comparison.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Mark 13:31 LSB)
Here again, we must be careful to read with first-century Jewish ears. The phrase "heaven and earth" was often used in the Old Testament as apocalyptic language to describe the collapse of a covenantal world order, not the annihilation of the physical cosmos. For example, when God judges Babylon in Isaiah 13, He says, "I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place." This was the language of covenantal collapse.
The "heaven and earth" of the old covenant system were centered on the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was the place where heaven and earth met. Its destruction was not just the leveling of a building; it was the end of an entire world, an entire age. The Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial system, the whole structure of old covenant Judaism, all of it was about to be shaken and removed. Jesus is saying that this entire covenantal cosmos will be dismantled, but His words about it will remain, steadfast and true. The old world of shadows and types was passing away, making way for the new covenant reality which could not be shaken (Hebrews 12:26-27). The permanence of Christ's Word is greater than the permanence of the entire Mosaic order.
The Necessary Distinction (v. 32)
And now, having given them clear signs and a definite timeframe for the judgment on Jerusalem, Jesus makes a crucial pivot. He changes the subject.
"But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Mark 13:32 LSB)
Notice the shift. He has been talking about "these things," which will happen within "this generation," and for which there are clear, observable signs, like a budding fig tree. Now, He speaks of "that day or hour," singular, which no one knows. This cannot be the same event. You cannot have clear signs for an event that is utterly unknowable.
Jesus is now looking beyond the A.D. 70 judgment to the final, ultimate Day of the Lord, the day of His personal, physical, and glorious return to judge the living and the dead. For the destruction of Jerusalem, there were signs. For the final Second Coming, there are no signs. For the destruction of Jerusalem, the timing was imminent, within a generation. For the final Second Coming, the timing is a guarded secret, known only to the Father.
This is a glorious truth that should liberate us from all prophetic anxiety. We are not supposed to be looking for signs of the final end. We are supposed to be busy about our Father's business, taking dominion, discipling the nations, and building a civilization for the glory of Christ. The A.D. 70 judgment was a vindication of Christ's enthronement at His ascension. It was His coming in judgment against those who pierced Him. But "that day" is still future. It is the day when He will return not in judgment upon one apostate city, but in final judgment and consummation for the entire world.
The fact that the Son, in His humiliation, did not know this day, is a profound statement of His genuine humanity. He willingly veiled the exercise of His divine attributes in His state of humiliation, submitting entirely to the will of His Father. This is not a denial of His divinity, but a demonstration of His perfect, humble obedience as the second Adam.
Conclusion: Watch and Work
So what is the takeaway for us? The Olivet Discourse is not a puzzle book for end-times hobbyists. It is a settled historical fact that authenticates the prophetic office of the Lord Jesus Christ. It demonstrates that His Word is utterly reliable. The old covenant world passed away, just as He said. The Temple was thrown down, just as He said. And it all happened in that generation, just as He said.
Because His words about the past were proven true, we can have absolute confidence in His words about the future. He has promised to return on a day and hour that we cannot know. Therefore, our calling is not to speculate, but to occupy. It is to watch and pray, which means to watch our hearts and lives, not the headlines. It is to be found faithful when the Master returns, whether that is in our lifetime or a thousand generations from now.
The judgment that fell on Jerusalem in A.D. 70 is a type, a miniature model, of the final judgment that will fall on the whole unbelieving world. Just as there was no escape for those who rejected the Son of God then, there will be no escape for those who reject Him on that final day. But for us who are in Christ, that day holds no terror. It is the day of our final vindication. Until then, we have work to do. The fig tree of the Great Commission has put forth its leaves, and we know that the summer of Christ's global kingdom is advancing. Let us therefore be about the task He has given us, confident that not one of His words will ever pass away.