"But he who endures to the end will be saved." (v. 13)

We regard this chapter as the Little Apocalypse - a section that refers to the conclusion of history, similar to what we read in Daniel and Revelation. It is a grim piece, uncomfortable, unsettling. It may have been written as a warning of the impending fall of Jerusalem, which indeed took place in A.D. 70.

Why would this passage be incorporated in Mark? Why not omit such jarring predictions? In truth, most of us do not care to be troubled about catastrophes over which we have little power. I was speaking at a college chapel and referred to scientists who predict a new ice age will come within the next 5 to 10,000 years, covering North America with a glacial mass several hundred feet thick. One student shuddered, "I wish he wouldn’t …