Jesus has just finished warning the religious leaders about the effects of their hypocrisy and their narrow view of righteousness. He now uses the nearby temple to transition into teachings on the end times.
Matt 24:1-2
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
This will happen within 40 years!
Matt 24:3-8
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."
Are we still looking to the destruction of Jerusalem? Or something much later? Or both?
Matt 24:9-14
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
This now seems to be speaking of a period much further off than 40 years after this speech.
Matt 24:15-22
"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
The quote in verse 15 is from the Old Testament book of Daniel: Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11.
The author of this book, Matthew, seems to insert the sentence, "Let the reader understand", as an alert of some kind. If Matthew is writing just after the destruction of the temple (in 70 CE) then his readers would see some of this prophecy as already fulfilled. If Matthew is writing before the destruction of the temple, then this is presumably an alert to his readers.
"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
The quote in verse 15 is from the Old Testament book of Daniel: Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11.
The author of this book, Matthew, seems to insert the sentence, "Let the reader understand", as an alert of some kind. If Matthew is writing just after the destruction of the temple (in 70 CE) then his readers would see some of this prophecy as already fulfilled. If Matthew is writing before the destruction of the temple, then this is presumably an alert to his readers.
Matt 24:23-28
At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
"So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Those inclined to pour over the first half of chapter 24, looking for special signs that fit their current history, should be discouraged by these warnings that there will be many false claims that "this is the end times!" One need only have a passing familiarity with the history of Christianity to see many many false claims, "Here he is!"
Matt 24:29-31
"Immediately after the distress of those days "`the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Verse 29 is a rough rephrasing of Old Testament prophesies in Isaiah 13:10 and Isaiah 34:4.
This is too much to comtemplate! I have tried throughout the days of my life, but find it painful as I had kids and now grandkids. Faith tells me that if I taught my kids well and get to share with grandkids---well, it will be ok...
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is "pretty heavy" (as they used to say in my college days.) Yet for most of us, Death will come long before "the sun will be darkened."
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is "pretty heavy" (as they used to say in my college days.) Yet for most of us, Death will come long before "the sun will be darkened."
ReplyDelete