Introduction
Jesus’ teaching on the
kingdom of God. Matthew records three teachings on this
subject--the righteousness of the kingdom (Matt. 5-7), the mystery of
the kingdom (Matt. 13)--and tonight’s subject, the coming of
the kingdom at the end of the age (Matt. 24,25; Mk. 13;
Lk. 21)--not what it will be like after the kingdom comes, but
rather the signs that will herald his coming.
This teaching was
not a lecture on eschatology--it was Jesus’ response to his
disciples’ response to a comment he made. Just days before
Jesus’ arrest and execution, Jesus and his disciples were in
Jerusalem. Read 24:1. Herod’s Temple was one of the wonders
of the ancient world. If any building seemed permanent and
immovable, it was this one. Yet Jesus responds (read 24:2).
Later, when they
were sitting across the valley from the Temple (still in full view),
the disciples ask three questions (read 24:3). They evidently
thought that these three things (destruction of the Temple, Jesus’
coming, and the end of the age) must occur at the same time. But
Jesus reveals that they are separate events, each with its own
“sign.” Matthew, Mark and Luke record different parts of
Jesus’ answer--so we have to consult all of them to get the
fullest account of his response.
“When will these
things happen?”
Luke recorded
Jesus’ answer to the first question in Lk. 21:20-24
(read). The sign that the destruction of the Temple was imminent
would be the siege of Jerusalem by foreign armies. This siege would
end in the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish
people for a long period of time. This prediction was fulfilled in
70 AD, when after a four-year siege, the Roman army (led by later
emperor Titus) breached the walls, destroyed the city and Temple, and
carried the people away. (You can read about this in Josephus’
Wars of the Jews.) Not until 1967, during the Six Day War,
did Jerusalem come back under Jewish control. (And of course, the
controversy of this event is very much with us today.)
NOTE: The accuracy
of Jesus’ short-term prediction about the destruction of the
Temple provides a sound basis for trusting his long-term predictions
will also be fulfilled (like Old Testament prophets’ short and
long-term predictions). You’ll see more of this . . .
Matthew records Jesus’ answer to the last
two questions: “What will be the sign of your coming, and of
the end of the age?” He reverses the order of their questions,
because (as we will see) the sign of “the end” comes
before the sign of his “coming.”
“What will be the
sign of the end of the age?”
Read 24:4-9.
Jesus first answer to this question is: “See to it that you
don’t get fooled about this.” Many traumatic things will
happen that people will assume are signs of the end are not
signs of the end--false messiahs, persecutions, wars (including the
one that destroys the Temple), natural disasters, and the horrible
consequences of these things (like famine). But these traumatic
events are not signs of the end. They are significant only in
that they are like birth pangs--they are the painful prelude to a
wonderful birth (Messiah’s kingdom). They will characterize
the entire time between Jesus’ two comings--maybe (like birth
pangs) increasing in intensity and frequency.
Why can’t
more Christians get this! Why is it that every time there is a
wicked “messiah” (religious like bad popes or political
like Nero or Mussolini or Hitler) or a major war or a big natural
disaster, there are Christians proclaiming that these things prove
that the end has come? Why is it that Christians make millionaires
of silly authors who claim that contemporary events prove that the
end has come? Jesus specifically said that these events do not
mean that the end is near!
But why must
humanity wait so long and endure so much suffering before the end of
the age? Is it because God doesn’t care? No--it is because
God cares that he waits so long--read 24:14. When Jesus returns, he
will bring God’s judgment to a humanity that is alienated from
him. But because God loves humanity, he sent his Son first to die
for our sins so we can be forgiven--and he is prolonging history so
that the world can have the opportunity to hear the good news about
the gift that Jesus has given to them.
This is an
amazing, polarizing statement! What kind of person insists that his
followers will take the good news about him to every people-group in
the world, and that this mission is the determining factor in the
duration of human history? Statements like this show why you can’t
call Jesus merely a religious leader or moral teacher. He is either
a deluded egomaniac, a lying cult-leader--or the Lord of human
history!
Even more amazing
is the fulfillment of this statement. By human odds, this
pathetically weak movement should have evaporated like
hundreds of other small religious sects. Yet 20 centuries later, the
expansion of the world-wide Christian movement is the best kept
secret in human history!
(CHRISTIANS IN EVERY POLITICAL NATION; GROWING FASTEST IN NON-WHITE,
NON-WESTERN WORLD; CHINA AS EXAMPLE IN GROWTH & MISSIONS GOALS;
INDIA GOSPEL LEAGUE’S GROWTH).
NOTE: The
incredibly accurate fulfillment of Jesus’ predictions thus far
(destruction of Jerusalem; tenor of world history; expansion of world
Christian movement) give us a solid basis for believing that the rest
of this prediction will also be fulfilled.
Now we come to the
“sign of the end of the age”--read 24:15-22. The
specific event that marks the beginning of the final chapter of
history as we know it is “the abomination of desolation”
(24:15). Jesus reminds us that this event was predicted by the
prophet Daniel, and that it involves someone “standing in the
holy place.”
Jesus is referring
to the emergence of a ruler who will succeed for a short time in
actually gaining control over the whole world. He is known in
Daniel’s visions as “the little horn,” “the
prince who is to come,” and the “the king”
(Dan. 7,9,11). He is known by the New Testament authors as “the
antichrist” (1 Jn. 2), “the man of lawlessness”
(2 Thess. 2), and “the beast” (Rev. 13). He will be
a demonically inspired ruler, the fulfillment of other wicked rulers
like Alexander, Nero, Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin--who will (for a
brief time) accomplish what they wanted to accomplish but were unable
(world domination).
At the pinnacle of
his power and arrogance, he will go into the Temple of God in
Jerusalem (not yet rebuilt) and claim to be God--the only object of
allegiance for all humanity. Paul describes this same event in
straightforward language in 2 Thess. 2:1-4 (read).
This act of
monstrous arrogance and blasphemy will
result in a short period of unparalleled suffering as this ruler
persecutes God’s people, others rebel against him, and God
begins to judge him and all who follow him. Jesus calls this the
“great tribulation”--so horrible that all of humanity
would be destroyed unless Jesus intervenes to judge this ruler and
rescue his own followers (24:21,22). (You can read snap-shots of
this period in Rev. 6-18.)
SUMMARY: This will be an unmistakable event, and
it hasn’t happened yet (in part because the Temple has not been
rebuilt since it was destroyed in 70 AD). When it happens, the “end
of the age” (Great Tribulation) will break out, and will be
terminated shortly thereafter by Jesus’ return . . .
“What will be the
sign of your coming?”
Read
24:26,27--although the Antichrist comes to power by stealth and
secrecy, Jesus’ second coming will be anything but secret. The
“sign of his coming” will be absolutely unmistakable
(like lightening that lights up the whole sky. Read 24:29--the
entire natural order will be displaced. Read 24:30,31--all of
humanity will literally see Jesus returning to gather his followers,
defeat his enemy and establish God’s kingdom over all the
earth. (Read Rev. 19-22 if you want to learn more about what
this will be like.)
Jesus summarizes
his answer to their questions with three important promises:
Read 24:32-34.
Just as the leafing of the fig tree heralds the imminent coming of
summer, so also the generation that witnesses “all these
things” (in context, the horrible signs of the Abomination of
Desolation and the great tribulation) will also witness the wonderful
coming of Jesus to establish God’s kingdom.
Read 24:35.
Jesus’ prediction of these events is absolutely trustworthy,
because he is sovereign Lord of history. As noted earlier, we are
even more certain of this because of the historical fulfillment of
the first part of this prediction.
Read 24:36. We
cannot know when this final chapter of this age (“that day or
hour”) will happen, because even Jesus doesn’t know when
it will happen! When you hear Christians or others claiming to know
when the end will come, you know by definition that they are wrong!
Therefore, it is a foolish waste of time to speculate on when the end
will come!
That’s why Jesus changes the question at
this point! He shifts the focus from “When will this happen?”
to “How should we live in the meantime?”
“How
should this affect our lives?”
Read Mark 13:33-37
(summarizes Matt. 24:37-51). Precisely because we do
know that Jesus is coming and because do not know when he is
coming, we should keep watch (be ready) at all times. We should be
on the alert so that whether he comes sooner or later than we expect,
we will be ready.
What does it look
like to “be ready?” That’s a big question, and the
rest of the New Testament provides a very detailed answer to what
this looks like (see below). But Jesus tells a parable in Matt. 25
that tells us the most important way to “be ready”--the
parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (summarize 25:1-13).
To be ready
involves establishing a personal relationship with Jesus before
he returns. The five bridesmaids were foolish because they were not
ready when the bridegroom came--and the reason they were not ready
was that he didn’t know them. Jesus is saying that when he
returns at the end of the age, only those who have a personal
relationship with him before he returns will be admitted into
his kingdom.
It is so easy to
do this--just open the you’re your of your heart and ask Jesus
to come and begin a relationship with you (Rev. 3:20). If you
want Jesus to open the door to his kingdom when he returns, you must
open the door of your heart to him before he returns. Have you done
this? If not, why delay it?
FOR Q & A:
What else is involved in being ready?
New Testament answers include:
Matt. 25:14-30
- using all the resources God has entrusted to you to advance his
kingdom during his absence
Acts 1:6-8 being
Jesus’ witness throughout the whole world (cf. Matt. 28:19,20)
Rom. 13:11-14
- being committed to a lifestyle of love instead of selfish
sensuality
1 Cor. 7:29-31
- keeping a light hold on material possessions (cf. Phil. 3:18-21)
1 Pet. 4:7-11
- being prayerful and committed to hospitality and ministry
2 Pet. 3:9-13
- sharing Christ with others and pursuing sanctification (cf. 1
Jn. 2:28-3:3)
1 Thess. 5:1-11
- being alert and sober, hopeful and loving/building up one another
1 Cor. 15:58
- being steadfast and immovable, and abounding in God’s work
Eph. 5:14-21
- being wise, making the most of the opportunity, understanding what
God’s will is, being filled with the Spirit
1 Pet. 1:13
- girding minds for action, being sober in spirit, fixing hope
completely on the grace that will be given when Jesus returns
Footnotes
Copyright 2004 Gary DeLashmutt