David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings are Mark 13-14, Psalm 7. I hope you will join me in reading these passages.

Mark 13:24-27

[Jesus says,] “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

There is a fascination among some Christians with the End Times. Some of that fascination is healthy. Some of it is not.

The unhealthy fascination tends to revolve around speculation — about the nation of Israel, the red heifer, timelines, and tribulation charts. When such speculation overshadows Jesus’ clear and urgent call, “Repent and believe the Good News!”, something has gone badly wrong. At times, I fear that it has.

At the same time, there are faithful teachers — including a former seminary classmate of mine and now a retired professor — who rightly insist that the End Times do matter. Not because they invite speculation, but because they are bound up with the resurrection of the body and the promise of eternal life. The End Times are not about escaping creation, but about its renewal — the new heaven and the new earth — where we will be fully human, body and soul, without sin.

When I read passages like Mark 13:24–27, I am reminded how often these words are pressed into service to support a particular end-times scheme. But if we fail to hear these words against their Old Testament background, we will miss Jesus’ point altogether.

The image of the Son of Man coming in the clouds sounds, at first glance, like a description of Jesus’ second coming to the earth. But in the Old Testament — especially Daniel 7 — the Son of Man comes to the Ancient of Days to receive dominion, glory, and authority. This is not descent, but exaltation. It echoes Jesus’ own words after the resurrection: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

And when Jesus speaks of sending out his angels to gather the elect, we need not imagine a distant future only. Think of Pentecost. Think of Acts, where persecution scatters believers — and everywhere they go, they preach the Word. God gathers his people not by fear, but by the Gospel. Not by threats of judgment, but by the promise of forgiveness and life in Christ.

God is indeed to be feared — but he is also to be loved and trusted above all things. And Jesus is describing events that have, in fact, brought blessing upon blessing to countless people through the ages.

For the message of repentance and faith has gone out. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been brought to faith, gathered to Christ, and saved.