Judgment Mark 13:24-27

Mark 13:24-27 ²⁴ “But in those days, following that distress, “‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

²⁶ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

Christ is not just coming back. He’s coming back for His elect! And we need to be ready!

The darkness in this passage is judgment. Christ will condemn the rebels after the tribulation. And He will come with the power to make everything right. The sun, moon and stars darken in the face of the true light of the world. In the final Heaven there will be no day or night; Christ will be the light, and this event nods to that.

Another time it was dark all over the earth was when Jesus died on the cross. At that time condemnation for sin was coming from God onto His Son! Jesus was paying the penalty for our sins, which we couldn’t pay. One day Christ will come back in judgment and the lights will go out again.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

This passage tells five things about the judgment that will come against those who rebel.

1. God will repay with affliction those who afflicted us. (God doesn’t appreciate those who pick on His kids!) God doesn’t judge because he’s harsh, but because He cares. He cares about the indifference toward a suffering neighbor, about people who don’t hear the Gospel.
2. God will come with His mighty angels. They will be mighty, strong and flaming with fire.
3. God will deal out retribution to those who don’t know Him. God knows us! We should know Him! If we reject His offering, His love, His gift…we will face retribution.
4. Retribution against those who do not know the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. The Gospel is a command for us to repent and believe. The gift has expectations. Jesus has done everything necessary for us to be saved. We then need to turn from sins and trust in His provision alone! These warnings are a kindness to us. They are full of mercy and grace.
5. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. People sometimes don’t want to turn to Christ right now because there’s a price to pay: dying to self, turning from sin, but the price is infinitely higher if we don’t turn to Him and all of a sudden it’s too late. A lot of people don’t believe in condemnation because they don’t think they are guilty. But we are. We all are! Everyone is going to see His return! For some it will be for the condemnation, for others for the deliverance. He will send out His angels to gather His believers together.

Romans 8:18-23 ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

There are five promises of comfort in this passage:

1.      Glory will eclipse suffering.

2.      We’re all living in futile times. That’s why bad stuff keeps happening. Expect suffering – don’t be surprised. Because we live in a fallen world!

3.      Freedom is coming! Today is hard and difficult, but persevere! It’s not far away.

4.      Creation is suffering now too. That will also change. And our bodies will be redeemed and we will be adopted as sons and daughters.

5.      We have our hope and that hope allows us to persevere.

The first time Christ came, it was private. He was born in a stable. In His ministry He was misunderstood. The next time He comes everyone will see it happen and everything will be very clear! We need to be prepared!