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THY KINDGOM CAME - CHAPTER III
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Some of the strongest language to ever come from Jesus was directed to the leaders of the Jewish nation in Matt. 23. In the last few verses of this chapter Jesus speaks of the pending doom of the Jewish nation that was to come upon their generation. As Jesus leaves the area of the Temple His disciples come up to point out the buildings of the Temple. Jesus responds with what must have been a startling statement. “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” (Matt. 24:2.) They walk together to the Mount of Olives. The statement of Jesus must have weighed heavily upon their minds. Finally they ask, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3b.)
Some have viewed this as a two part question, others as a three part question, but viewed consistently with other scriptures this is just one question. The answer to this question would be the events that would take place in AD 70. The destruction of the Temple, the second coming of the Lord, and the end of the Jewish age.
Before we look at the signs that Jesus gives the disciples which follow their question we need to look at a familiar phrase or two that are used through out scripture. The end of the age, sometimes just stated as “the end.” and the “last days” or “latter days”. These two phrases are tied together as one in the Book of Hebrews.
“Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb. 9:26.)
1 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (Heb. 1:1,2.)
These two phrases speak of a specific time period. The time was the first century when Jesus was manifested to put away sin, and when God spoke to us through Him. This period of the end of the ages, the last days, was also foretold by the prophets. They spoke not only of the time period, but what would take place in that specific time period.
“ Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it”. (Isa. 1:2.)
The prophet Micah would use almost the exact same wording, but notice the verse preceding the words in Micah’s prophecy. In this verse we are told of a picture of destruction that would be apart of this period called the “last days”.
12 “Therefore, on account of you (corrupt rulers of Israel) Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest. 1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.” (Micah 3:12-4:1.) The destruction of the Jewish nation would accompany the coming Kingdom to be established.
Now note the prophet Daniel as he gives insight as to when the “last days” would come. “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.” (Dan. 10:14.)
The three prophets spoke of the “last days” as being in the future. The Hebrew writer says they were coming to a close in the first century. Yet today in the 21st. Century we hear people speak of living in the last days as if they were the here and now. They were future to the prophets, but they were reality to the first century Christians. Paul will settle the matter once and for all. Listen as he uses the Old Testament Israel and their mistakes as an lesson for New Testament Christians, “Now these things happened to them
as an example, and they were written for our instruction, >b>upon whom the ends of the ages have come”. (I Cor. 10:11.)
If that age, period of last days, was coming to an end, is anything said about the age to follow? Listen to Jesus in Matt. 12:32, “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Before we speak of the signs that Jesus would give of the end of this age and the coming Kingdom note the following:
Acts. 2:17-21 Peter quotes the prophet Joel who speaks of the out pouring of the Spirit in “the last days,” and Peter says what you see is a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
James 5:1-3 James admonishes the rich for their hoarding “in the last days”.
I Peter 4-5, 20 speaks of a salvation ready to be revealed “in the last time”; and speaks of Christ’s appearing in the “last times:.
Read closely Jude 17,18; I John 2:18 the last days have become the last hour.
The count down is on. The destruction of the Jewish nation and the coming of the Lord in His Kingdom are close, very close. The signs that Jesus gave His disciples would keep them from being caught up in the coming blood bath. The Romans made no clear distinction between the Jews and the Jewish followers of Christ. This is why the signs would be paramount to their survival.
Now lets return to where we began, Matt. 24 and the question asked by the disciples, and the signs that Jesus would give them concerning the impending destruction of the Jewish nation and His second coming.
From this point on we want to look, not only at Matthew 24, but also the companion accounts of this discourse found in the Gospel of Mark and Luke. We will look at the words of Jesus a section at a time to make it easier to merge these three account together as one. What we have is one message, seen from three different vantage points, all being guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You might liken it to three different news reporters giving a report on a news event. Each looking at what happened
from their vantage point.
Matt. 24:4-14; Mark 13:5-10; Luke 21:8-19
Remember as you read these accounts WHO ask the question that Jesus is answering? Notice how many times Jesus will say YOU. Note He is not speaking of events to happen some 2000 + years in the future. He is speaking of life and death matters as it applies to them in their day. Jesus speaks of false prophets coming, wars and rumors of wars, (Matt. 24:6), “but that is not yet theend.” There is that word again. Remember the context of its use from the beginning of this chapter. He says there will be famines and earthquakes. How often have you heard these very words used as signs of a coming kingdom in the 21st Century? You can hardly turn on a religious TV program without hearing about a recent earthquakes and talk of present day famines as signs of the return of Christ within our day. These were THEIR signs, not ours. We are reading their mail.
Lets look at these signs for a moment. First of all “false Messiaha”. Josephus mentions many claiming to the “the Christ” or at least a “representative of Christ.” Many antichrists had already come at the time John wrote his letters. John’s letters written around A.D. 65 were only a few short years from the coming destruction.
Jesus also mentions wars, famines, pestilence and earthquakes. Although the Roman Empire was experiencing peace during the time Jesus spoke, there was a time of many wars and widespread political unrest ahead. After the death of Nero in A.D. 68, in addition to being involved in the war with Israel, the Roman empire had numerous others wars erupt, especially in Europe. Famine was soon to become a severe problem as well. A severe famine was mentioned in Acts 11:28.
There were also many earthquakes during that time, just as Jesus had predicted. The most famous was at Pompeii and Napes on February 5, A.D. 63. Pompeii was later buried by the volcano Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
He continues speaking of a tribulation period in which many will be killed, they would become hated for being Christians. Christians would betray each other. Many would lose their faith. As you read through the book of acts you see the fulfillment of Jesus’ words. The apostles were beaten and put in prison. The great persecution agains the church mention in Acts 8. James was beheaded Acts 12:1. Some of those working with Paul did lose their faith and forsook him II Tim. 4:10-15. From what we can tell historically, all the Apoltles, except John, were dead before A.D. 70.
Then in (Matt. 24:14), “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” This verse is a major verse for those who hold to a yet future Kingdom and second coming. We have to remember that the world then, was not the world now. Did they carry out the great commission during the first century? Jesus said they would before
THE END WILL COME.
On the day of Pentecost when Peter preaches the first sermon of this commission, Jews for all over the then known world were present. Those who became Christians on that day carried the message back to where they lived. In Act 8 we are told how Paul persecuted the Christians, consenting to their death, (as in the case of Stephen), and putting them in prison. Paul was a part of the tribulation period spoken of by Jesus in Matt. 24:9. Then in Acts 8:4 Luke says, “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”
Philip went down to Samaria, and they heard the word. He also touched the life of the Ethiopian from Africa. The Ethiopian would have carried this good news back to his people and his nation. But we not only have these accounts of the gospel going into the then known world, we have the testimony of the Apostle Paul that the great commission was accomplished. 5. “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6. which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruitand increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;” (Col. 1:5,6), and again, 23. “if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” (Col. 1:23.).
Jesus says that once the commission is completed, then the end shall come. The great commission was to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles. Paul makes this clear three time in his letter to the Romans. (Rom. 1:16; 2:19,20). The Message of John the Baptist was to the Jews only. The message of Jesus was to the Jews only. Now under the great commission to Jew first, and then to Gentiles. Why such an emphasis on the Jews. IT WAS THEIR LAST HOPE! God was calling His chosen nation one last time before the destruction. For many, it would be the last call from God they would ever hear. These were the last days, and the coming of the end of the age of Gods tolerance. Judgment would be next, and it would be final.
Matt. 24:15-34; Mark 13:14-22; Luke 21:20-36
In the opening verses of this section Matthew and Mark refer to the “abomination of desolation spoken of through Daniel. Here are Daniel’s words, “Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.” (Daniel 11:31), and again, “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11.) We will deal with the 1,290 later in this study, but for now lets look at this “abomination of desolation”. Remember, who is Jesus speaking to? Who ask the question that He is now answering? Here is where a “harmony” of the Gospel accounts is so important. Notice Luke's account.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the 7 mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written
will be fulfilled” (Luke 21:21-22.)
Notice that Jesus is sending everyone away from the city of Jerusalem. Why? These are the days of vengeance. Remember the words of Jesus in (Matt. 23:34-36), “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” The stored up vengeance of the Lord is about to be poured out in a “baptism of fire” that John the Baptist had warned about. Added to that vengeance would be the rejection of Jesus and His death on a cross.
Remember also the Parable Jesus told of the Landowner in Matthew 21:33-46. Every time he would send slaves to get his produce they would be beaten, tortured or killed. Three times, and the slaves were not able to bring back produce. Then the Landowner sends his son, and they killed him also. Then the Landowner says, 43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, theyunderstood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.” (Matt.21:43-46.)
Yes, God’s vengeance would be on “this generation”, not some generation 2000+ years later. Even the chief priest and the Pharisees understood who Jesus was speaking about. Why is it so hard for people today to see what they saw?
What would they see, when the “abomination of desolation” that Daniel had prophesied came to pass? It is a historical fact that when Rome marched against Jerusalem in AD 70, that they went for the throat. They marched right into the temple, and raised their standard in the Holy of Hollies, but for some reason unexplained in history, they then pulled back for a period before continuing the siege. Let me share with you a quote from Foy Wallace’s Book, “God’s Prophetic Word.” “It is remarkable but a historical fact that Cestius Gallius, the Roman general, for some unknown reason, retired when they first marched against the city, suspended the siege, ceased the attack and withdrew his armies for an interval of time after the Romans occupied the temple, thus giving every believing Jew the opportunity to obey the Lord’s instructions to flee the city. Josephus the eye-witness, himself an unbeliever, chronicles this fact, and admitted his inability to account for the cessation of the fighting at the time, after a siege had begun.” (page 252 par2.)
Gentiles, standing where God met the High Priest only once a year with the blood sacrifice for sins, raising their standard, would have been the ultimate “abomination” that would accompany the “desolation” to follow. There is no time left, it is time to flee. Listen to the instruction to follow.
If you are on top of the house don’t even go back inside flee! In the field, forget you coat, there is no time, flee! What a challenge for a nursing mother, running from the city with a new born baby headed up into the mountains, but you still must flee! Pray that it not be in winter. The cold, the snow, maybe without a coat, living in the mountains, your home left behind, but you still must flee! What ever you do don’t get caught in the city on the Sabbath. They lock the gates and no one comes or goes from the city on the
Sabbath.
Do you see how physically important these signs were to prepare the Jewish Christians for the coming tribulation? If these verse were truly intended for us in the 21st Century, what in the world would these disciples, who ask the original question, have thought?
Jesus now says in Matt. 24:22, that those days of vengeance will be cut short for the sake of the “elect.” Those who had escaped would be spared by the shorting of the period of time. He also warns not to follow the “false Christ's” that will arise. It is as if He is saying, you have the signs, don’t be side tracked or tricked by those who claim to be me or from me. V:27, just as sure as you know the direction of lightning that flashes here, you know the signs to follow. Then in V:28, look for the vultures, for they always gather where there is death. During the Roman campaign again Jerusalem over 1,100,000 were killed, 97,000 captured, tortured and sold as slaves. Starvation was so bad that Josephus tells of a woman that was actually driven to eat the flesh of her own dead child. Bodies and disease were everywhere.
In Matt. 24:29-31 Matthew gives a description of this period of devastation and the coming of Jesus in His Kingdom. The language used in verse 29, is common figurative language of destruction that can be found through out the Old Testament. The picture in verses 30 and 31 is of Jesus coming “on the clouds”, “with power and glory”, “sending forth His angels”. Remember the words of Jesus to Caiaphas? “Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” (Matt. 26:64.) YOU - Caiaphas - WILL SEE. Jesus says Caiaphas will see me coming back!
It is the same picture of Matt. 16:27,28; Matt. 25:31-46 and others through out the letters of the New Testament. We are going to deal with these and many other scripture in a later chapter as we discuss in some detail the Coming of the Kingdom. But for now, if you could have been standing at a distant point taking in a view of what was happening, this is what you would have seen. You would have seen the Roman Army bringing destruction on Jerusalem. What you would not have been able to see was Jesus directing that army on it’s mission. Nor would you have been able to see Hades and Sheol being emptied, and God gathering His saved through out the endless ages home to Himself, (Matt. 24:31.) No longer would dead saints have to wait in “Abraham's Bosom”. From now on “to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.” (I Cor. 5:8.) (We will cover this in more detail in a later chapter.)
In Matt. 24:32,33, Jesus gives a parable. You know how to read the signs of nature, so when you see these signs know “HE” is near, right at the door.
The final verse in this section is verse 34. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place”. Did the disciples understand that Jesus was speaking of their generation? How could they have understood anything else. They had ask the question that began the discourse. Jesus constantly referred to “you” through out this text. He gave examples of physical problems related to their fleeing the city. Without a question, they understood He was speaking to them. In fact, it was a part of the message they preached during the period between the ascension and the destruction in AD 70. Listen to the charges place against Stephen, “for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:14.). The signs that Jesus gave the disciples were passed on as a part of the message to be preached.
I want you to think about something for a moment. If the section of scripture was not written for the purpose of warning the first century Christians, and was to be fulfilled thousands of years in their future, how would they have known to flee the city and escape being caught up in the destruction of the Jewish nation? Also, how would this have been an answer to the disciples question that brought on this discourse by Jesus? To take these words of Jesus and apply them to the 21st. Century violates even the very basic rules of Biblical intrepetration.
In the following chapter we will look at some of the Parables Jesus gave concerning His coming Kingdom. In this next chapter we will build upon the foundation we have laid, and will see that the Parables add even more evidence of a “soon” coming Kingdom.
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