Quote for the Day

We have a right to come before the throne of God because of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ accomplished for us at Calvary. However, it is the Holy Spirit who takes us there. It is the Spirit who gives us actual access. Mark Virkler

Reflection on Mark 13:1-17

Lord, this passage is hard to understand in some ways. What would you say to me about this?

Keith, this is not an end time prophecy. It is all about AD 70. After the crucifixion and resurrection, the Jews, my people, rejected me as their Messiah, and they continue to do that today.

The tearing of the veil in the temple was the sign they had been waiting for, but religious tradition won the day in their hearts. On that day, you could walk into the Holy Place and see that the dividing wall between man and God had been torn from top to bottom. The Ark of the Covenant, my dwelling place was gone.

The sacrificial system was done away with. I died and paid the price for all sins. No animals need to die anymore.

But they persisted in the old ways. The temple became a source of pride and arrogance, even though I had demonstrated that it is no longer useful.

In 70 AD, I let the Roman army in to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. I warned people to flee from the city, but some would not go. “The Lord will save us,” they said. No, I was the one who brought the disaster on them. I came with fire and brimstone, wrath and judgment.

The physical temple is dead and buried. I have a new temple and a new Jerusalem. My church is my temple. My people are the living stones that make it up.

The new Jerusalem is situated in the hearts of my people. They need no light, no sun or moon because I am their light.

Quote for the Day

All our praying is to be in the Spirit (inspired, guided, energized, and sustained by the Holy Spirit), otherwise, we are praying in the flesh (see Eph. 6:18). Some of our praying is to be with the Spirit, which is in tongues and some is to be with the mind, which is in our native language (see 1 Cor. 14:14-15). Mark Virkler