What does Jesus mean to say about "guard" which he said to Desciples in Mark-13:33?

[bibleverse]

What does Jesus mean to say about "guard" which he said to Desciples in Mark-13:33?

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. - Mark 13:33

Post your comments about Jesus Sentence "Guard".

 

[Enquirer]

The word Greek word "agrupneo" is made up of two words, "not" and "asleep" which also means "to be circumspect,
attentive and ready".
So how does this translate to the ordinary Christian ?

I look at it as "staying in close fellowship to God on a daily basis" because you don't know the "hour" when Christ will return.
so to keep watch would mean a number of things like,

The signs of the times (political etc.)
The rise of false prophets
The increased sin of mankind as laid out by the Holy Spirit in Timothy, etc.

Also Paul said in Romans 12:11and 12,

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

A person who is not "watchful" or "awake" is not doing those things, they are sleeping.

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

What does Jesus mean to say about "guard" which he said to Desciples in Mark-13:33?

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. - Mark 13:33

Post your comments about Jesus Sentence "Guard".

Your answer is in verse 30. Some Christians are so tuned into apocalyptic prophesy that they miss the fact that Jesus spend much of his ministry prophesying about a very near event, God's wrath being poured out on Israel for their rejection of the Messiah. Even some of his last words, his advice to the Daughters of Jerusalem, were specifically tied to what would happen 37 years later. Much of Matthew 24 was devoted to the destruction of the temple and using apocalyptic language to describe the sheer destruction that would befall the city. Jesus said "Be on guard" because he didn't want his followers to be caught off guard any more than Lot and his family before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

" Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

 

[Dani]

Your answer is in verse 30. Some Christians are so tuned into apocalyptic prophesy that they miss the fact that Jesus spend much of his ministry prophesying about a very near event, God's wrath being poured out on Israel for their rejection of the Messiah. Even some of his last words, his advice to the Daughters of Jerusalem, were specifically tied to what would happen 37 years later. Much of Matthew 24 was devoted to the destruction of the temple and using apocalyptic language to describe the sheer destruction that would befall the city. Jesus said "Be on guard" because he didn't want his followers to be caught off guard any more than Lot and his family before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

" Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

Hi. I have heard that view and pondered it but was wondering what Jesus then meant here:

[13] But he who endures to the end will be saved.
[14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.

[21] For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

[30] then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
[31] and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Jesus seems to be talking about the whole world; and there are other verses in other books such as Peter and Paul which speaks about the coming of Christ and the end of the world.

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

Dani, it's definitely a huge source for debate. The apostles were just told that the massive temple they were looking at, the most fantastic architectural wonder for thousands of miles around, would be destroyed utterly. They were astonished and asked two questions. What will be the sign of this destruction and what will be the sign of your return? The monologue that followed answered both questions, but which detail applied to which event is a question that has occupied Christians for 2000 years. To the apostles, the return of Jesus and the destruction of the temple would be simultaneous events, for they believed that the Lord would return in their lifetime. But when the first part of the prophesy came true in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, it became clear that there was a divergence between Christ's prophesy of near events and his prophesy of his ultimate return. So when I say your guess is as good as mine, I'm not being dismissive. I'm saying that your take on which prophesies apply to which event are as valid as mine are.

Much of the apocalyptic language used, in my opinion, is to illustrate what would happen to Jerusalem and there's a reason that in both Mark and Matthew's account of this sermon, "This generation shall not pass until all these things have happened" is said as a summary after the full prophesy is given. It must not be missed that he said, "all these things", which tells me everything spoken of applies to that generation, but then again, it also has a future application. Studying the Messianic prophesies better demonstrates how Biblical prophesy works. Each prophesy of Christ had an immediate application when it was written that had nothing to do with Christ, but then it had a future application where it foretells the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. When you understand how Messianic prophesies work, it helps you to understand how apocalyptic prophesies work; an immediate application, and then a final application.

I hope I wasn't confusing.

 

[KingJ]

What does Jesus mean to say about "guard" which he said to Desciples in Mark-13:33?

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. - Mark 13:33

Post your comments about Jesus Sentence "Guard".

33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Fact 1: Master = Jesus.
Fact 2: The Master is not currently with us.
Fact 3: Because of fact 2, the Master is still to come vs 36....duh ^_^
Fact 4: NOBODY can calculate or has a clue as to when He will return.

Conclusion: Be ready to meet your maker every minute of the day. Keep your guard against ''sleeping'' up.

Dani, it's definitely a huge source for debate. The apostles were just told that the massive temple they were looking at, the most fantastic architectural wonder for thousands of miles around, would be destroyed utterly. They were astonished and asked two questions. What will be the sign of this destruction and what will be the sign of your return? The monologue that followed answered both questions, but which detail applied to which event is a question that has occupied Christians for 2000 years. To the apostles, the return of Jesus and the destruction of the temple would be simultaneous events, for they believed that the Lord would return in their lifetime. But when the first part of the prophesy came true in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, it became clear that there was a divergence between Christ's prophesy of near events and his prophesy of his ultimate return. So when I say your guess is as good as mine, I'm not being dismissive. I'm saying that your take on which prophesies apply to which event are as valid as mine are.

Much of the apocalyptic language used, in my opinion, is to illustrate what would happen to Jerusalem and there's a reason that in both Mark and Matthew's account of this sermon, "This generation shall not pass until all these things have happened" is said as a summary after the full prophesy is given. It must not be missed that he said, "all these things", which tells me everything spoken of applies to that generation, but then again, it also has a future application. Studying the Messianic prophesies better demonstrates how Biblical prophesy works. Each prophesy of Christ had an immediate application when it was written that had nothing to do with Christ, but then it had a future application where it foretells the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. When you understand how Messianic prophesies work, it helps you to understand how apocalyptic prophesies work; an immediate application, and then a final application.

I hope I wasn't confusing.

Fact is Jesus has not yet returned and vs 35 and 36 says He will. So, it simply doesn't matter how we want to interpret the rest of the passages around those two. It is completely pointless imho in light of the obvious.

 

[Dani]

Dani, it's definitely a huge source for debate. The apostles were just told that the massive temple they were looking at, the most fantastic architectural wonder for thousands of miles around, would be destroyed utterly. They were astonished and asked two questions. What will be the sign of this destruction and what will be the sign of your return? The monologue that followed answered both questions, but which detail applied to which event is a question that has occupied Christians for 2000 years. To the apostles, the return of Jesus and the destruction of the temple would be simultaneous events, for they believed that the Lord would return in their lifetime. But when the first part of the prophesy came true in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, it became clear that there was a divergence between Christ's prophesy of near events and his prophesy of his ultimate return. So when I say your guess is as good as mine, I'm not being dismissive. I'm saying that your take on which prophesies apply to which event are as valid as mine are.

Much of the apocalyptic language used, in my opinion, is to illustrate what would happen to Jerusalem and there's a reason that in both Mark and Matthew's account of this sermon, "This generation shall not pass until all these things have happened" is said as a summary after the full prophesy is given. It must not be missed that he said, "all these things", which tells me everything spoken of applies to that generation, but then again, it also has a future application. Studying the Messianic prophesies better demonstrates how Biblical prophesy works. Each prophesy of Christ had an immediate application when it was written that had nothing to do with Christ, but then it had a future application where it foretells the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. When you understand how Messianic prophesies work, it helps you to understand how apocalyptic prophesies work; an immediate application, and then a final application.

I hope I wasn't confusing.

Hi, thank you for your reply.
No, I understand and I'll think about that.