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Mark 13:13 (NKJV)
13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
In the Bible, there are more parallel passages related to this one (Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:13, and Luke 21:16–19), which all have the same context and meaning. The latter is especially relevant because it gives more light on the nature of endurance and salvation:
Luke 21:16–19 (NASB95)
16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.
18 Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
These passages are often used to argue that only those who continue in faith and good works to the end of their lives will receive salvation or prove that they were genuinely saved in the first place. However, these verses cannot be adequately understood apart from the context. It’s clear they speak about the state of things during a difficult period in time, probably right before Jesus Christ returns. The way the word “end” is used in any of these parallel passages makes it evident that the end of one’s life is not in view here. Beginning with the disciples’ question about the “end of the age” in Mark 13:4, Matthew 24:3, and Luke 21:7, Jesus gives information about it, mentioning it in Mark 13:7 and Matthew 24:6, 14. It’s clear Jesus refers to the time before the end of the age. Though some may be killed, those who survive and endure these perils until the end, will be delivered (“saved”) from their enemies, who are the nations that hate them. This is simply an occasion where the word “saved” refers to deliverance from danger, not deliverance from hell. Hell is not even mentioned in any of the passages and would be out of place. The text in Luke 21:19 proves this fact in an even more relevant way by specifying clearly the preservation of the physical body during those times in phrases like “not a hair of your head will perish” and “by your endurance you will gain your lives.”
The endurance spoken of in Mark 13:13 refers to persisting in faith through that period of severe suffering and persecutions. Those who stand firm and live to the end will see a glorious “salvation.”
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Session 5 – Many Will Fall Away (Saved for Eternity) – November 1st, 2023
