• The destruction of the temple and its implications

    In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus is speaking to Israel, sometimes called “The Second Sermon on the Mount” or “The Olivet Discourse.”

    We can sense that it is important because it is covered in three of the four gospels (also in Mark 13, 14; Luke 21, 22). This is Jesus’ last great utterance upon the earth (in the sense of an extended passage.) It is also probably the second most misunderstood passage (also Matthew 13).

    Jesus is greater than Moses, and Moses had two roles: Moses gave us the Law; Jesus gave us the Sermon on the Mount. Moses is also a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:1 cool and his pointing towards the Lord Jesus Christ is alluded to in Acts 3:22; 7:37. Hebrews 3:5, 6 points to Jesus as one greater than Moses, in both roles, lawgiver and prophet. (Moses’ prophecy is Deut 32.) Jesus was likewise a prophet (especially in Matthew 24, 25).

    Private answers to three questions: Four disciples ask Jesus three questions and Matthew 24, 25 and Mark and Luke’s recording together answer the three questions. Matt and Mark are silent on one of the questions and Luke answers that one.

    The context is intensely Jewish. A rabbi talking to His 12 Jewish Disciples, their background is in Judaism. He has just gotten through denouncing the leadership of Judaism (the eight Woes of Chapter 23).

    The first few verses have to do with the Temple, and the best view of the Temple is from the Mount of Olives. The Temple at that time was spectacular and one of the wonders of the world.

    Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple

    1) Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2) "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."

    Though this was an amazing prediction, especially in light of the political scene and the actual structure of the temple, Jesus' words here had an extremely literal fulfillment in 70 AD. When Jerusalem was besieged by Roman armies in that year, many Jews took refuge in the temple - the strongest building in the city. It caught fire (reportedly from a torch thrown by a drunken soldier), incinerating the people inside and melting the golden-domed roof down into the structure of the temple; Roman leaders ordered the temple literally dismantled stone by stone, to recover the gold and to utterly break the spirit of Israel. The structure was dismantled to the extent that its exact location today cannot be determined.

    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. cool 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. 1 cool 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. 2 cool 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. 3 cool 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

    4 cool 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.