The Temple
Will Be Destroyed!
These men
would very likely think that although things may change, the
Temple would never go away. This prophecy had to strike them as
being extremely unlikely. He is obviously prophesying about the
destruction of Jerusalem, which is to occur 38 years later by
Titus Vespasian and four Roman Legions. They lay siege to
Jerusalem and level it, slaughtering 1,600,000 inhabitants. They
set fire to the Temple, which causes the gold to melt, so the
Roman soldiers to recover the enormous wealth of gold dismantled
the Temple stone by stone. Thus, the prophecy was very literally
fulfilled, not one stone was left upon another of the Temple.
(Don’t confuse the Temple with the Temple Mount, the retaining
wall, which is still there.)
The literal
fulfillment of this prophecy establishes the tone for the rest
of the prophecies in the chapter; we should expect a literal
fulfillment for these as well.
Jesus'
prediction brings up two questions in the minds of His disciples
3) 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?"
The first question: when will these things
(that is, the destruction of temple) be? Matthew does not record
Jesus' answer to this first question, but Luke does in
Luke 21:8-23.
The first
question, “When shall these things be?” seems to imply His
remark in verse 2; i.e., the destruction of the Temple. In this
account in Matthew this is not dealt with very intensely,
however in Luke responds clearer (Luke 21:20-24). While this
question is not answered very thoroughly, for us it is a matter
of history as this prophecy has been fulfilled. Also, perhaps it
is left vague purposely, as it would be easy for us to mix up
this last Temple with the one that will be present in the last
days.
Matthew 24 &
25 presumes that one understands Old Testament prophecies. This
is not a Church age question. It would be very surprising to
find a mention of the Church in Matthew 24 & 25, because the
Church had not been revealed yet. The Church doesn’t surface as
a concept until Acts 2. Study these chapters with the
possibility that the Church will have been introduced and be
gone during the interval between the time Matthew 24 is
presented and the time it is fulfilled. Thus, recognize the
essential Jewishness of this passage. We can get into deep
trouble if we input into this passage Church ideas.
Matthew 23:38:
The Lord had just told them, regarding Israel,
“Behold, your
house is left unto you desolate.” He then prophesied the
destruction of the Temple. And He is going to give them a pun
that has several interpretations, “this generation shall not
pass away until these things are fulfilled.” The generation that
rejected Moses in the wilderness, did not survive. The same
thing happened in Babylon (see Jeremiah). So the generation that
rejected Him will experience the destruction of the Temple.
There are other meanings to this saying which we will discuss.
The second
question is answered in the remainder of the chapter: what will
be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? This question
was asked perhaps as they remembered the events surrounding the
last temple's destruction: the temple was destroyed in the
context of national judgment and exile.
Thoughts on
the nature of prophecy (eschatology): Why does prophecy seem so
vague? Why are there so many differences of thought?
Perhaps it was
so each age would have reasons to be ready for Jesus return;
because we should not think of Jesus' return as an event far off
on a time line, but something we have been running parallel with
since the day of Pentecost.
Some have
suggested that God's intention was to keep the future somewhat
vague and clouded for the Devil, even as the resurrection of the
Messiah was vague in the Old Testament.
Though some
prophetic interpretations are different, we are sure of this: He
is coming again.
The flow of
history until Jesus' return
Jesus
describes general world conditions during the period between His
Ascension and the time immediately preceding His second coming
4) Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one
deceives you. 5) For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am
the Christ, ' and will deceive many. 6) 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. 7) Nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places. 8) All these are the
beginning of birth pains.
Things like
false messiahs, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes have
certainly marked man's history since the time of Jesus'
Ascension; in effect, Jesus is saying "Catastrophes will happen,
but these will not signal the end". Man has often thought that
such things would mean the end, but Jesus will point out a more
specific sign to look for.
However, Jesus
does describe these calamities as the beginning of sorrows,
which is literally the beginning of labor pains; the idea is
both of giving birth to a new age, and perhaps implying an
increase of intensity and frequency in these calamities.
The beginning
of Jesus’ predictions:
How do you
prevent someone from deceiving you? You stay in the Word,
remember Acts 17:11.
Whose primary
mission involves deceiving? Satan. While Satan has many goals,
his strategy in achieving them is to deal in counterfeits. Satan
is attractive in his ability to weave enticing doctrines. There
is only one way to avoid being trapped by enticing doctrines,
and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
No hope in
intellect or head knowledge, only your walk with the Lord and
guidance by the Spirit in the Word of God.
Jesus
describes what His disciples must expect during the time between
His Ascension and second coming
9) "Then you
will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you
will be hated by all nations because of me. 10) At that time
many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each
other, 11) and many false prophets will appear and deceive many
people. 12) Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold, 13) but he who stands firm to the end will
be saved. 14) 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.
They should
expect to see persecution, false prophets, and the general
degeneration of society.
But Jesus also promises that before the
end, the gospel will go out to the whole world. The church is to
take this seriously as their duty. However, God assures that it
will happen: I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on
the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue and people - saying
with a loud voice. "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour
of His judgment has come" (Revelation
14:6-7).
The point:
these things (catastrophe, persecution, and so forth) will come,
but they are not the sign of Jesus' coming.
This verse
applies to three groups of people:
1) Them:
Peter, James and John. They did in fact get delivered up to be
afflicted and were hated and killed.
2) You and I:
As followers of the Lord Jesus, in what we call as the Church
period. Indeed there are Church leaders that have been delivered
up to be afflicted (even today) and killed.
3) Israel:
Israel will fulfill her mandate which she has not yet fulfilled.
She was called by God, in the Old Testament, to be a witness of
Himself to the world. From Revelation 7 and 14 we know that the
day will come when Israel will be an effective witness, this
occurs after the Church is completed (Paul in Romans11 deals
with this issue).
Jesus
describes the sign of His coming and the end of the age
The sign: the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
15) "So when
you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes
desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the
reader understand--
Essentially,
the abomination of desolation speaks of the ultimate desecration
of a Jewish temple, the erection of an idolatrous image in the
holy of holies itself, which will inevitably result in the
judgment of God - it is the abomination which brings desolation.
When Jesus
describes the abomination of desolation, there is the
presupposition of an operating temple, and of the Jewish
occupation of the land of Judea.
The mention of the abomination of
desolation is taken from
Daniel 11:31: They shall defile the
sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily
sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation; this
describes a complete desecration of the temple, prefigured by
Antiochus Epiphanies in the inter-testament period. Paul
elaborates on the future fulfillment of this in
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 - That day will
not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin
is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts
himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so
that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God.
Daniel 12:11 gives additional insight
- And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and
the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,290
days (until the end); when this sign is set up, the end may be
determined - almost three and one-half years to go.
In a sense,
Jesus is telling us nothing new here; He is simply calling us
back to what was prophesied in Daniel. The comment whoever
reads, let him understand, could have been said by Jesus Himself
instead of inserted by Matthew.
Jesus warns
what should be done when the abomination of desolation appears:
get out of there!
16) then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17) Let no one on
the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
18) Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19) How
dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing
mothers! 20) Pray that your flight will not take place in winter
or on the Sabbath.
These are
warning specifically addressed to Israelites (Judea, housetops,
and Sabbath all speak to a Jewish milieu).
This is
because at the appearance of the abomination of desolation, the
desolation will first be poured out at Judea, and because the
church will not be a factor at this time, having already been
caught up to meet Jesus in the air (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Coming on the
heels of the abomination of desolation: great tribulation
21) For then
there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of
the world until now--and never to be equaled again. 22) If those
days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the
sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23) At that time
if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he
is!' do not believe it. 24) For false Christ’s and false
prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to
deceive even the elect--if that were possible. 25) See, I have
told you ahead of time.
26) "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. 27) For as lightning that comes from the east is
visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of
Man. 28) Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will
gather.
Jesus said
that this will be the most awful time in all of human history (a
sobering statement), when God pours out His wrath on a God
rejecting world.
No one should
be deceived about the nature of Jesus' coming; it will not be
secret or private; in the midst of such tribulation, there will
be a temptation to look for false messiahs.
For wherever
the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together is a
difficult statement; the meaning is probably "when judgment is
ripe, it will surely come".
The People of
the Prince That Shall Come:
The “people of
the Prince that shall come” many people confuse with the prince
of verse 25. Verse 25 speaks of the Meshiach Nagid, Jesus
Christ. “The Prince that shall come” is yet some future ruler;
his people will destroy the city and the sanctuary. We do know
from history that the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian
destroyed the city and the sanctuary. In that sense, the future
leader is a Roman, he could be a Western European.
The last
verse, verse 27, deals with the Seventieth Week of Daniel.
This period is
documented more than any other period in the Bible. It is 7
years of 360 days each. It is defined in verse 27, referred to
in Matthew 24:15 and it is amplified in Revelation 6 -19.
“And he shall
confirm” - who? The Prince that shall come. This is not Jesus
Christ, as his people were not the Romans who did destroy the
city.
“Shall confirm
the covenant”: “confirm” really means “enforce” with “the many,”
which implies Israel.
“In the midst
of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease.” In order to cease, it must be going, in order to have
the sacrifices there must be a Temple. This is how we know the
Temple must be rebuilt. It is generally presumed that the treaty
that he deals with is over the Temple, it might, and it might
not.
Abomination
Which Maketh Desolate
“The
Abomination which maketh Desolate”: “Abomination” in the Old
Testament refers to idol worship. Idol worship is an abomination
to the Lord.
This phrase is
a superlative in the Hebrew, the ultimate that one can think of.
It has happened once before in history. Antiochus Epiphanes
wanted to offend the Jews. He slaughtered a sow on the altar in
Jerusalem and
sprinkled the blood in front of an idol of Zeus in the Holy
Place. This started the Maccabean Revolt. The Temple was
rededicated in 135 B.C. (now commemorated by Hanukkah). This was
prior to Christ. Therefore when Jesus says in Matthew 24:15,
“when ye see..” is saying that it will happen again!
We do know
that in the middle of the week he violates the Treaty and
violates the Temple.
The Church vs.
Israel:
It is
important to understand the difference between the things that
deal with Israel and the things that deal with the Church. God
has a different plan for Israel than the one He has for the
Church. Israel will have a ministry, a witness. Israel was
originally called out by God to be His witness to the world, and
it failed utterly. The whole Old
Testament
narrative is, candidly, an indictment of Israel’s performance as
a witness, through the wanderings in the wilderness where they
were sentenced for forty years because they blew it among
themselves as well as to the world, all the way through we see
their continual stumbling before idols finally leading to their
captivity. (Don’t be too smug because there but for the grace of
God go you and I. We survive and prosper only by the grace of
God.)
Israel does
have a destiny to be a witness to the world successfully.
When will she
do this? When she gets her next chance. In the period of
Israel’s trouble there will be a remnant being a witness. People
that are saved by that witness stand before the thrones before
the Father.
The church
sits on those thrones; there is a distinction between the saved
of this era and the saved of that era. Just as there is a
distinction between the saved of the Old Testament period and
this period.
God’s dealings
with Israel and God’s dealings with the Church are mutually
exclusive. I believe that the 70th Week of Daniel cannot start
while the Church is on the earth. Just as God did not introduce
the Church until after the 69th week was finished. God
established an interval between the 69th and 70th week of
Daniel, we know that it has lasted at least 38 years, but more
than that it has endured for 1900 years!
On the heels
of great tribulation: the return of Jesus Christ
29)
"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.'
30) "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. 31) 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.
Cryptically, Jesus says that the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in heaven; it is difficult to say
exactly what this sign is, since this seems to precede His
return as described in
Revelation 19:11.
Perhaps this
sign is somehow related to the incredible cosmic disturbances
that will precede this.
Jesus speaks
more regarding the timing of these events
32) "Now learn
this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender
and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33) Even
so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near,
right at the door. 34) I tell you the truth; this generation
will certainly not pass away until all these things have
happened. 35) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will
never pass away.
The fig tree
has a regular pattern; the leaves appear, and then summer
follows; when you see the leaves, you know summer is near.
Jesus assures us that when these signs
appear as He as foretold (the abomination of desolation,
followed by great tribulation, followed by signs in the
heavens), His return to the earth will follow. Really, it was
just as Daniel prophesied in
Daniel 12:11; the end will come 1,290
days after the abomination of desolation. Jesus is assuring that
the agonies of the great tribulation will not continue
indefinitely; they will have an end.
What
generation is Jesus speaking about, the generation that will by
no means pass away till all these things take place? It cannot
be the generation of the disciples; it is undoubtedly the
generation which sees these signs; these events and Jesus'
return won't be on some 1,000 year timetable, but will happen in
succession.
Review:
There will be
catastrophes and persecutions, but the end will not be yet.
There will be
a pivotal sign: the abomination of desolation. Remember the
presuppositions of this sign: a working Jewish temple and a
regathered national presence in the land of Israel. When the
abomination of desolation appears, there are warnings to Israel
to flee after the abomination.
Then, on the
heels of the abomination of desolation, will come great
tribulation, and cosmic disturbances.
In
culmination, there will be the return of Jesus Christ to the
earth.
More on His
coming, but from a different approach
Jesus says
that the day and hour of His return is unknowable by men, and
even unknowable by angels
36) "No one
knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father.
Here, Jesus is
referring back to the original question of what will be the sign
of Your coming? Yet, His answer is somewhat unexpected.
Based on what He had told us about the
abomination of desolation, we might have expected that the exact
day and hour could be known - after all, Daniel set the day of
Jesus' return as being exactly 1,290 days after the abomination
of desolation (Daniel
12:11).
How can Jesus'
coming be both completely unknown by day and hour and knowable
to the day according to Daniel 12:11?
Jesus says
that His coming will be when the world is as it was in the days
of Noah
37) As it was
in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of
Man. 38) For in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day
Noah entered the ark; 39) and they knew nothing about what would
happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
He explains
what this means: eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage; in other words, life will be business as usual;
reprobate perhaps, but usual. However, the days of Noah were
also marked by violence and demonic oppression.
Though the
people in the days of Noah were warned, judgment eventually came
- and to those who had ignored the warnings, it came suddenly
and unexpectedly.
Don’t
misunderstand what He is saying. There is nothing wrong with
marrying or eating. His point is that things were business as
usual.
Noah did not
just build the Ark; he had it sitting in his driveway for over
120 years! The ark stood as a witness to the world that a flood
was coming! Jesus’ point here is that they ignored the signs.
There was
indeed something very supernatural going on in the Days of Noah
between the B’nai Elohim (the Sons of God, the Old Testament
term for angels) and the daughters of men (Gen 6:1-5).
They had
unnatural offspring called “the Fallen Ones.” Apparently, the
strange creatures that this gave rise to be entrapped in our own
myths and legends (the Demi-gods of ancient Greek mythology,
etc.).
Some believe
that this will happen again in the end times from this and other
passages. The intervention of the occult in the end times would
be consistent with this view of the days of Noah. Cf. Luke
17:26, 27 and continuing through verse 37. The story of Lot is
in Genesis 18, 19.
How can Jesus
come to a "business as usual" world, and a world that is
experiencing the worst calamities ever seen on earth?
Jesus cautions
His disciples to be ready for an unexpected coming
40) Two men
will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41)
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken
and the other left.
42) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day
your Lord will come. 43) But understand this: If the owner of
the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,
he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into. 44) So you also must be ready, because the Son of
Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
He points to a curious disappearance; to a
catching away of some at the coming of the Son of Man (as also
described in
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Since the day
and hour of this coming is unknowable, Jesus' followers must be
on constant guard for His coming.
The second
coming dilemma: is it at an unexpected hour or is it positively
predicted? Is it business as usual or world wide cataclysm? Is
it meeting Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
or is He coming with the saints (Zechariah
14:5)?
The dilemma is
resolved by seeing that there are actually "two" second comings;
one in the air, for the church (rapture); one to the world, with
the church (second coming); the "contradictions" in Matthew 24
(and the much of the rest of prophecy) are often solved by
seeing them as speaking of "two" second comings.
We must not
escape the emphasis: we must be ready; His coming for us is
without warning at all.
Jesus now
tells parables to drive home this very point.
Parable of the
two servants
The faithful
servant
45) "Who then
is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in
charge of the servants in his household to give them their food
at the proper time? 46) It will be good for that servant whose
master finds him doing so when he returns. 47) I tell you the
truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Jesus tells us
that we are to carry on with diligence while the Lord is gone;
we are to be that faithful and wise servant.
Jesus also
promises that we will be rewarded for that diligence.
The evil
servant
48) But
suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master
is staying away a long time,' 49) and he then begins to beat his
fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50) The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not
expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51) He will cut
him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus warns us
of the attitude which says my master is delaying his coming; we
must live in constant anticipation of Jesus' return, and that
means being about our business for Him now. The most dangerous
lie is not "There is no God", not "there is no hell"; but the
most dangerous lie of Satan is "there is no hurry".
The evil
servant is "rewarded" for His wickedness; he has the portion
with the hypocrites he has deserved.
Chapter
25
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