Mark 13.1-4: 1 And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" 2 And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down." 3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will these things [ταῦτα] be, and what will be the sign when all these things [ταῦτα... πάντα] are going to be fulfilled?"
Mark 13.28-31: 28 Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, you too, when you see these things [ταῦτα] happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things [ταῦτα πάντα] take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Mark 13.28-31: 28 Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, you too, when you see these things [ταῦτα] happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things [ταῦτα πάντα] take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Our first instinct probably ought to be to equate "these things" and "all these things" in verse 4, by way of Hebraic parallelism, since the text provides only one antecedent for the both: the destruction of the temple complex ("these great buildings"). This equation works pretty well, with the first question emphasizing the destruction itself and the second question emphasizing the sign that will mark its occurrence.
Our first instinct for verses 29-30, therefore, probably ought also to be to equate "these things" and "all these things." But this maneuver actually backfires, since verse 29 has two parts: (A) "these things" which we are to see and (B) something or someone (it is unclear in the Greek) which is at the gates when those things are seen to happen. In other words, "these things" cannot both be the sign leading up to the person or thing at the gates and be inclusive of the person or thing at the gates, whereas "all these things" virtually by definition has to refer to everything under consideration. So "all these things" literally covers more ground than "these things." The two cannot be equivalent in verses 29-30 as they are able to be in verse 4.
"These things" + the person or thing at the gates = "all these things." So who or what is at the gates? My suggestion is to ignore verse 4 for the time being and to connect "when you see these things happening" in verse 29 back to "when you see the abomination of desolation" in verse 14, with the tribulation inaugurated by the abomination of desolation being part of "these things." In this case, then, "all these things" in verse 30 would naturally include the coming of the son of man, as well, and of course then, quite naturally, it is either the son of man himself or his coming which is at the gates. The sense is this: when you see "these things" which have to do with the abomination of desolation happening, know that he (the son of man) or it (the coming itself) is near, at the gates; "all these things," including both "these things" and the coming of the son of man (as well as the beginning of the birth pangs in verses 7-8), will happen within this generation.
But what does this interpretation do to verse 4? Well, the first question is fine; "these things" refer back to the destruction of the temple buildings, as expected, to which, in the final redaction of this chapter, the abomination of desolation corresponds. But "all these things" in the second question have no actual antecedent unless they mean exactly the same thing and extend exactly as far as "these things," which would create an imbalance between verse 4 and the obviously parallel verses 29-30, in which (as we have seen) "these things" and "all these things" are not coextensive. My suggestion, then, is that verse 4 was modeled upon verses 29-30, with its meaning already squarely in mind, and our author or editor either did not notice or did not care that he or she had forgotten to create an antecedent for "all these things" in verses 1-2. As Ken Olson has written:
Exactly so. The phrase "all these things" gives latitude for whatever may happen during the rest of Mark 13; to my mind, then, it was composed with the rest of the chapter already in mind, and it is, in fact, the rest of the chapter that provides the "antecedent" for "all these things," albeit awkwardly, after the fact. The intent was to create an inclusio, but an antecedent for part of the first frame of the inclusio was forgotten along the way.Ken Olson wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:37 pmThe disciples' question has two parts: 13.4 "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?" The second part of the question doesn't seem to have a referent in what Jesus had said in 13.1-2, but it does seem to give latitude for an answer on the scale of the Little Apocalypse that follows.
There is more. In the final redaction of this chapter, at least, it seems to me that "that day or hour" in verse 32 may well be referring back specifically to the coming of the son of man. The purpose would be to make the coming of the son of man an immediate exception to the statement that "all these things" would happen within a living generation of Jesus' own time. Essentially, "all these things" are going to happen within that time span, with the single exception of the coming of the son of man (compared to a returning master in verses 33-37), of which the timing is unknown. This strategy of carving out an exception to the generational prophecy was very effective from an apologetic point of view, and is still in use today.
So now I present the entirety of Mark 13 with these observations in mind. The color coding is meant to distinguish which parts of the chapter are being referred to by which phrase ("these things" or "all these things"). Both the phrase "these things" and anything referred to by it are boldfaced and colored red. Anything not covered by "these things" is boldfaced and colored blue. Red + blue = purple, so the phrase "all these things" is boldfaced and colored purple. I have not boldfaced verses 5-6 and 21-23, since I am not sure how they fit into the chapter yet. Nor have I boldfaced verses 9-13, since verse 10 I believe to probably be an early scribal harmonization from Matthew and verses 9 and 11-13 I tend to regard as intrusive. But I have colored verses 5-6 and 9-13 blue, since those passages would all hypothetically belong to what is not being referred to by "these things." The single phrase "after that tribulation" I have chosen not to boldface, either, because I regard it as being a possible gloss. Verse 20, however, though I regard it, too, as being a possible gloss, has to be colored red, since it is part of the tribulation period being referred to by "these things." The same goes for verses 21-23. "That day or hour" and the coming of the son of man I have enclosed in a double tilde (~) to mark their correspondence. Finally, I have fully colored only the parts in between the horizontal lines, since those parts are the ones which carry the chronology, such as it is, forward from the beginning ("of the birth pangs") to the end; the parts outside of those horizontal lines are introduction and conclusion, and are meant to comment on what is going on with the predictions themselves. Besides, verses 32-37, as mentioned above, I regard as an addition, one meant to blunt the force of the generational prediction.
Here is the chapter:
Mark 13.1-37:
1 And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" 2 And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down." 3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?"
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5 And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 6 Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he should not be — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 And let him who is on the housetop not go down, or enter in, to get anything out of his house; 16 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. 17 But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter. 19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21 And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'Behold, He is there,' do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. 23 But take heed; behold, I have told you all things in advance.
~ 24 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 that are 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 forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. ~
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28 Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He/it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
32 But of ~ that day or hour ~ no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 33 Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. 34 It is like a man, away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 Therefore, be on the alert — for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning — 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: 'Be on the alert!'"
1 And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" 2 And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down." 3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?"
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5 And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 6 Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he should not be — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 And let him who is on the housetop not go down, or enter in, to get anything out of his house; 16 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. 17 But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter. 19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21 And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'Behold, He is there,' do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. 23 But take heed; behold, I have told you all things in advance.
~ 24 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 that are 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 forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. ~
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28 Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He/it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
32 But of ~ that day or hour ~ no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 33 Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. 34 It is like a man, away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 Therefore, be on the alert — for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning — 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: 'Be on the alert!'"
I did my level best to coax this structure out of the text itself, without caring whither the investigation might lead. Every exegetical move was meant to be the most natural one available to me. Reaching a dead end meant stepping back and trying a different route.
I know I have a lot of passages and phrases marked out as possible additions or glosses, but I think my exegesis of "these things" and "all these things" actually works even if those passages are considered original. For example, it is possible that a single author composed the generational prophecy, apparently including everything already discussed under its chronological umbrella, before immediately turning around and undermining that prophecy with the motif of the unknown hour. I myself think that two different hands are at work here (either that or the same hand at two very different times), but my interpretation of the structure of the chapter, based on "these things" and 'all these things," is well and truly independent of that hypothesis of mine, and can work even if it is incorrect.
Thoughts?
Ben.