Of that hour and day no one knows - Mark 13 as an apocalypse? (Theology in Africa)

Many researchers accept that Mark 13 functions as an apocalypse. But does this assumption reflect the purpose of the eschatological discourse that the evangelist places in Jesus' mouth? The present work investigates Mark 13 in order to answer the question whether the evangelist also utilizes Jewish apocalypticism as the matrix to answer the four disciples' question, When will the Temple be destroyed, and what sign will there be that it is all about to take place? The study concludes that the Markan Jesus employs apocalyptic language but turns his discourse into anti-apocalyptic to address the overheated eschatological expectations of disciples at the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.