The It is sometimes said that history repeats itself, but the Bible does

ultimately describe a linear pattern in human history that will reach an end point of sorts when Jesus returns.

So when will that be and how should we prepare for it?

Alistair Begg provides answers today on Truth for Life.

He's teaching from the closing verses of Mark 13 we might justifiably refer to as a wake-up call

for a wake-up call is certainly what is given here from the lips of Jesus

to the four who are immediately listening to him, the ones who have been involved in this discourse from the very

beginning of the chapter and as we'll see in verse 37 through them to all of us.

Now what we realize is as we said last time that in Jesus the

kingdom has come in the preaching of the gospel the kingdom is coming and in the

return of Jesus Christ the kingdom will come in all

of its fullness. There is going to be an end that's what we've been dealing with in

chapter 13 and now as we've come to these concluding verses, let me make these four observations. Number one, let us be absolutely clear that we are ignorant about the time of Christ's return. That's what Jesus says in verse 32, we ought not to feel bad about that because we're in good company.

Actually, we're in a large company to begin with because he says that no one knows. So I don't know that anybody

is left out of that group, do you? No, we're in a big company and we're in good company.

We're in the company of the to desire that we who creep on the earth should know more than is permitted to the angels in heaven.

Pride and wicked covetousness, and we who creep upon the earth print books explaining that we know what the angels don't know.

Print books and produce CDs and DVDs and dramatic videos

to heighten the tension of everybody to create major

agitation with the speculative fences of mine's fertile imaginations

despite the fact that Christ himself says and by the way I don't know.

Now that pretty well puts the axe at the root doesn't it? Some people might try and do an end

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