Kata Markon

[George Young <webber_young AT yahoo.com>]

Dear Kata Markan Group:

I was recently reading through Mark chapter 13 and
came upon Jesus' well known (but difficult to
understand) teaching regarding the Abomination of
Desolation. For it is at this point in the chapter
that Jesus tells Peter, James, John and Andrew, "But
when you see the abomination that causes desolation
setup (perf. passive) where it ought not to be, then
flee...."  As we all know, this is a very well known
and yet difficult passage ot understand, yes?  And
many who specialize in prophecy tend to highlight this
verse as a sort of landmark to organize, not only the
chapter, but also various projections of future
events.  
(E.g, I have heard it said that the abomination that
causes desolation was when a Roman sacrificed a pig
upon the altar in Jerusalem sometime before 70 AD.
[Forgive my lack of precision at this point.] And that
this is what caused the uproar leading to its
destruction.  Moreover, Mark could not have known this
unless he wrote about it after the fact.)
Anyway, the question that I would like to pose to the
list is somewhat complex, so please bear with me as I
first explain the assumptions to my question.

First Assumption: Certainly no one in their right mind
would suppose that Jesus was a scholar, and I
certainly do not maintain this assumption.  On the
contrary, my assumption is that Jesus was a mystical
person and his disciples would have believed this
about Him and thus so would have the author of Mark IN
THIS CHAPTER.

Second Assumption:  If the above be true, then Jesus
saw the world and everything in it differently than we
do.  For lack of a better term, he saw the world and
humanity through spiritual eyes.  

Third Assumption: Mark chapter 13 uses apocalyptic
type language, and Mark 13:14 has a verbal allusion to
Daniel 9:27 - true - but also to the destruction of
Sodom and the Flight of Lot and his two daughters from
that doomed city (among other things).

Finally, my fourth assumption is that these words were
spoken to Peter, James, John, and Andrew (this is a
critical assumption to my question). 

Question:  Could it be that the Abomination that
Causes Desolation is a spiritual phenomenon that
happens to every true believer in Jesus Christ?  I
raise that question because there are several
conditional clauses that seem to suggest that it is
NOT a singular event per se, but a re-ocurring
phenomenon that happens in different places to
different people at different times (e.g., vv.15, 16,
17, 18-23).  Moreover, I wonder if vv. 24-27 are not
describing the end of the world per se, but rather
what the world looks like to one who is converted to
Jesus as God's Christ?  

Anyway, any comments by those on the list would be
welcomed.

Sincerely,

Webber Young.

  
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