The Olivet Discourse
Again we have a chapter which continues a story which begins in the previous chapter.
He has just declared the curse on
the temple, “See, your house is left
to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me
again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Matt 23:38-39 (ESV)
Chapter 24 begins a teaching or some believe a series of teaching which our 3 gospel writers summarize in what is known as the Olivet Discourse. We must keep in mind who wrote each gospel and who they were writing to. Matthew was a Jew writing to Jews. Mark is basically giving Peter’s version. Luke is a Greek writing to gentiles, Greeks and Hellenistic Jews who had converted to Christianity. Matthew was an eyewitness to many of the events although not part of the inner circle. Peter (Mark) was an eyewitness and part of the inner circle of himself, James and John. Luke was not an eyewitness or one of the original disciples. Luke was a medical doctor, traveling companion of Paul, and to some extent an investigating reporter, much like a Geraldo Rivera of his day. He interviewed the eyewitness and was extremely accurate in the description and landmarks and topography.
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. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” Matt. 24:1-2
1. What things were Jesus referring to and what is this thing about stones?
Luke adds more context. And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5-6 (ESV)
Jesus and His disciples left the temple complex and proceeded east toward Bethany where Jesus was spending His nights during the Passover season. However before they had left the temple area the disciples commented to Jesus about the magnificent temple buildings.
The road from Jerusalem to Bethany, where Jesus and his disciples stay each evening, takes one alongside the Mount of Olives, which affords a spectacular view of the temple in the distance.
The temple buildings. This temple was begun by Herod the Great in 20 b.c. and was still under construction when the Romans destroyed it in a.d. 70. At the time of Jesus’ ministry, the temple was one of the most impressive structures in the world, made of massive blocks of stone bedecked with gold ornamentation. Some of the stones in the temple complex measured 40x12x12 ft. and were expertly quarried to fit perfectly against one another. The temple buildings were made of gleaming white marble, and the whole eastern wall of the large main structure was covered with gold plates that reflected the morning sun, making a spectacle that was visible for miles. The entire temple mount had been enlarged by Herod’s engineers, by means of large retaining walls and vaulted chambers on the S side and SE corner. By this means the large courtyard area atop the temple mount was effectively doubled. The whole temple complex was magnificent by any standard. The disciples’ conversation here may have been prompted by Jesus’ words in 23:38. They were undoubtedly wondering how a site so spectacular could be left “desolate.” not one stone here … left upon another. These words were literally fulfilled in a.d. 70. Titus, the Roman general, built large wooden scaffolds around the walls of the temple buildings, piled them high with wood and other flammable items, and set them ablaze. The heat from the fires was so intense that the stones crumbled. The rubble was then sifted to retrieve the melted gold, and the remaining ruins were “thrown down” into the Kidron Valley. MSBN
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?” Matt. 24:3
2. What kind of question is this?
Actually this is 3 questions.
A. When will the temple be destroyed and no stones will be left upon each other?
B. What will be the sign of you coming?
C. When will be the end of the age?
We have to keep in mind that this is a conversation, the Olivet Discourse, which took place as Jesus and the disciples walked from the temple down into the Kidron Valley and then up to the top of the Mount of Olives. We have no idea how many disciples began the journey, how long they took, and how many were up on the top of the hill. Luke chapter 21 has the story from the gentile perspective. Both of the other Gospels have many similarities and some differences which we will attempt to examine.
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Luke 21:37-38 (ESV)
There is a good possibility that this was an ongoing teaching that had begun in the temple with a large group of believers and this would explain some of the differences between Matthew and Luke with respect to this discourse. Some of what Matthew speaks of in this chapter, is duplicated in Luke chapter 17 at a time before Jesus came to Jerusalem. Matthew, a Jew is bringing out things which will pertain to Jews at the end of the Church Age, notice he never records anything about Jesus answering their question about the destruction of the temple. Luke is more focused on things which will happen just before the destruction of Jerusalem 38 years from that time. Mark’s account which is basically Peter’s version is very similar to Matthew.
It seems clear that this part of the teaching takes place privately up on the mount with the small inner circle of followers. Notice Luke mentions nothing about this private conversation up on the Mount of Olives.
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Matt. 24:4-5
And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand! Luke 21:8 (ESV)
Take heed that no man deceive you: deception will be a sign of this period of time.
Millions believe in evolution, Almost a billion Muslims, hundreds of millions of Hindus and Buddhist, all being deceived into believing their philosophy is the correct explanation. Add to that millions of atheists who reject God and the many liberal churches which do not take the bible literally.
This is where epistemology comes into play. How do we know anything is true and what process do we use to establish truth.
How do we know anything? Traditional View of Knowledge
Philosophical tradition going back as far as Plato characterizes a proposition as known where it is, at a minimum:
1) Believed
2) The belief is "justified”, we have adequate evidence.
3) It is true.
3. If Jesus is warning against deception, what does that mean?
It means deception is possible and we have a responsibility to discern the truth for ourselves and not fall into false teaching. You are required and commanded to know how to interoperate scripture. It is not optional. You cannot depend on other people to tell you the truth. You need to find it yourself.
I am Christ - I am the Messiah. The Messiah was expected at that time, Many would lay claims to being the Messiah, and, as He was universally expected, multitudes would easily be led to believe in them. There is abundant evidence that this was fully accomplished. Josephus informs us that there were many who pretended to divine inspiration; who deceived the people, leading out numbers of them into the desert. “The land,” says He “was overrun with magicians, seducers, and impostors, who drew the people after them in multitudes into solitudes and deserts, to see I the signs and miracles which they promised to show by the power of God.” Among these are mentioned particularly Dositheus, the Samaritan, who affirmed that He was Christ; Simon Magus, who said He appeared among the Jews as the Son of God; and Theudas, who persuaded many to go with him to the river Jordan, to see the waters divided. The names of 24 false Messiahs are recorded as having appeared between the time of the Emperor Adrian and the year 1682.
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. Matt 24:6-8
When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately." 10 Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:9-11 (NASB)
3. What are birth pangs like?
They begin weakly and over a period of time increase in intensity. They also alternate between periods of intensity and periods of almost normalcy.
4. Haven’t we always had wars?
No period has
witnessed the escalation of wars as has the 20th Century. The Red Cross has
estimated that over 203 million people have been killed in wars or as a result
of the consequences of wars since the 20th Century began. Up until 1914, war had
never been universal, but in both World War I & II, total war was waged.
Since World War II, the war that was supposed to make the world safe for
democracy, there have been numerous
major wars & hundreds of rebellions &
revolutions. The death toll in conflicts since the end of World War II has now topped 23
million. The opening of the Berlin Wall symbolizes the end of the
Cold War between the Superpowers...But instead of the expected peace, more
"wars & rumors of wars" raged around our planet. In 1993 a
record 29 major wars were fought.
Earthquakes: Back in 2001, the world had 1361 earthquakes of magnitude-5.0 or greater. This year, we are on pace to have over 2800. In fact, the number of major earthquakes this year is going to be the highest number we have seen during this past decade by far. The overall frequency of annual earthquakes has grown by five times since 1970.There have been more earthquakes above 6.5 on the richter scale in the last 10 decade, than the previous 80 years put together. US Geological Service
Famine: Presently every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger. It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Some of this is brought on by natural causes, but much of it is man and politically caused.
The largest famine of the 20th century, and almost certainly of all time, was the 1958–61 Great Leap Forward famine in China. The immediate causes of this famine lay in Mao Zedong's ill-fated attempt to transform China from an agricultural nation to an industrial power in one
huge leap. The 1958–61 famine is estimated to have caused excess mortality of about 36 to 45 million.
The Hunger Plan, i.e. the Nazi plan to starve large sections of the Soviet population, caused the deaths of many. The Russian Academy of Sciences in 1995 reported civilian victims in the USSR at German hands, including Jews, totaled 13.7 million dead, 20% of the 68 million persons in the occupied
USSR.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized countries waste 222 million tons of food annually, or almost as much as sub-Saharan Africa's 230 million tons of net food production per year. Decreasing food waste makes it possible to feed people across the planet without increasing agricultural production.
Notice Luke does not mention the birth pangs. Maybe we are beginning to see Luke is referring to a different time. It sounds like he is focused on things that will happen before all these bad things start.
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 the one 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 Matt. 24: 9-14
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted”—who is the you? Obviously, He is not addressing the church but the nation Israel. The affliction He is talking about is anti-Semitism on a worldwide scale.
At this point let me inject an important fact for Christians in our day. As long as the true church is in the world, there could not be worldwide anti-Semitism because the church would resist it. No genuine believer in the Lord Jesus could hate the Jews; it is an impossibility. It is my feeling that the liberal wing of the church is presenting a false front to the Jews and that in the final analysis it will turn against them. But as long as the true church is in the world, there won’t be worldwide anti-Semitism; it will break out after the church has been removed at the Rapture. JVM
6. “Hated by all nations” What does this sound like?
A time during of the Diaspora, that period of time beginning with the destruction of the Temple along with the dispersal of the Jews from their homeland to other parts of the world and ends with the reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. Matthew is focused on all that the Jews would go through for all the centuries and then time after the church is gone from the earth and worldwide anti-Semitism increases.
“And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, ………………… And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Deut 28:64-66 (ESV)
Notice Luke begins to talk about something that will happen before the nation against nation thing and the earthquakes.
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives. Luke 21:12-19 (ESV)
“Before all this” is the key and he mentions being persecuted for Jesus name sake.
Only Christians are persecuted for Jesus sake. Luke is referring to the persecution of the Jerusalem church up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. I will give you a mouth and wisdom. This speaks of the Holy Spirit which came upon the church on the day of Pentecost. There was persecution of the new believers at the hands of the Jews. Paul was commission to hunt down imprison and execute Christian. Stephen was stoned to death, James the brother of John was killed.
The gospel must be preached to all nations is an obvious reference to the end times, but the reference to the Holy Spirit is a sign of the church.
7. What does Jesus mean that not a hair of your head will perish?
In approximately 69 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero decided he had enough with the Jews, their constant rebellion and the resources it was taking to keep them under control. He ordered the Roman General Vespasian, along with his son Titus to destroy Jerusalem. As the Roman legions moved on Israel and Jerusalem in particular news came that Nero had died. This caused a halt in the campaign before the Roman armies were able to completely encircle the city. During the next year there was much upheaval in Rome as one emperor after another was assassinated or fled in the power struggle developed over who would rules the empire. Eventually Vespasian went back to Rome and defeated the opposition and became the emperor or the Roman Empire. During this year long lull in the action the Christians heeding the words of Jesus, left Jerusalem and fled to the area of Pela, where they were safe. In 70 AD after a long siege in which the Roman Legions encircled the city, cut off all food and supplies to the Jews causing widespread starvation and even cannibalism, breached the walls and slaughter 1.1 million Jews. There is no mention from the historians of the day of any Christians being killed in the fall of Jerusalem.
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— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their 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. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. Matt. 24: 15-21
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24
8. What are the differences here between these accounts?
9. Well then what is this “abomination that causes desolation” thing which was first spoken of by Daniel the prophet?
In order to get an accurate understanding of this we have to go back into history over 500 years to see what Daniel saw.
Alexander the Great came from Greece, which was to the “west” of both Babylon and Persia. without touching the ground. Alexander conquered the mighty Persian Empire with amazing speed, from 334–331 b.c. (He is also represented as a leopard with four wings in 7:6.) he was enraged. Alexander’s father was king of Macedonia (a land north of Greece) and brought all of Greece under his control by 336 b.c.
Alexander was only 20 when his father was murdered, but managed to consolidate his hold on Greece and to unify the Greeks with “rage” over the
meddling in their affairs for the previous two
The Abomination of Desolation
Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a Syrian king who came to power about 175 BC. He is one of the Selucids, who in succession to Alexander the Great built a realm in Syrian and adjacent lands. Epiphanes’ name means “God made manifest.” He sought to force Greek custom on the Jews. In imposing Hellenism, he was but following out the intentions of his predecessor, Alexander the Great, whose dream was to create an empire by culture. This had a measure of success, but there was a core of priests and people who refused to abandon the faith of their forefathers and be Hellenized. By his Hellenism, Epiphanes tried to put an end to the Jewish religious community. The events were the cause of the Maccabean struggle.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, heeding the advice of Hellenized Jews, believed that the majority of the Jewish nation was ready to accept GREEK CULTURE. Antiochus decided to turn the temple at Jerusalem into a Greek temple of Zeus or Dionysus. The strong resistance of the people led to the FIRST KNOWN INSTANCE OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN HISTORY: worship of God was forbidden and the Jews were forced to worship other Gods.
Antiochus sent Apollinius (167 BC) with twenty two thousand soldiers to destroy Jerusalem. Apollinius slew multitudes, dismantled and pillaged the city. They then, from a fortress they had built commanding the temple, fell on and slew the devout Jews worshipping at the temple; so that temple services were discontinued. Antiochus decreed that all should conform to Hellenism. The temple was consecrated to Zeus - Dionysus. Identifying himself with that god, WITH FANATICAL HAUGHTINESS HE SOUGHT TO MAKE WORSHIP OF HIMSELF UNIVERSAL (1 Maccabees 1:41; 2 Maccabees 6:7).
Some 30 cities in Palestine had the status of “polis,” the Greek ideal city, and had become Hellenized. This pagan Hellenizing caused a major culture war and a split among the Jews. Jews who chose to live according to the laws of their forefathers vs apostate liberal Jews who adopted Hellenist culture, and who collaborated with King Antiochus. A classic conservative vs liberal polarization.
The Jewish high priests, up to this point, were successors of the line of Zadok since the time of David and Solomon. However, Antiochus appointed Menelaus, someone not of the line of Zadok. Menelaus had Onias, the rightful high priest of the line of Zadok, assassinated. Menelaus was in complete collaboration with Antiochus’ subversive agenda.
He erected a statue of Zeus-Dionysus at the temple altar. He further desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. It was in an utter abomination to devout Jews, and brought a desolate or defiled condition to the Temple, now no one would come to worship at it. Thus, the abomination of desolation which Daniel the Prophet had predicted over 300 yrs before who and Jesus, some 200 yrs later referred back to as a type of an evil figure to come.
Shrines were built throughout Palestine to Zeus-Dionysus. Jews were forbidden to keep the religion of their forefathers upon pain of death, particularly the observance of the Sabbath and circumcision – the identifying marks of the Old Covenant.
This caused a massive resistance by devout Jews, and massive persecution and martyrdom of them by Antiochus – in collaboration with the apostate Jews. A persecution that continued for 3 ½ years. It is said that he killed 80,000 Jews, imprisoned 40,000, and sold another 40,000 as slaves.
Amidst massive martyrdom, the faithful Jews continued their fight against pagan hellenization. Chief of which, were the Maccabees of the Hasmonean clan, a succession of freedom fighters who were strong and did great exploits, ultimately defeating the hellenizers militarily, delivering Israel from their oppressors.
Then it happened: "On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" (verse 54, TEV), which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple (verse 54, KJV). This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the God of the Hebrews simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.
Shrines were built throughout Palestine to Zeus-Dionysus. Jews were forbidden to keep the religion of their forefathers upon pain of death, particularly the observance of the Sabbath and circumcision – the identifying marks of the Old Covenant.
This caused a massive resistance by devout Jews, and massive persecution and martyrdom of them by Antiochus – in collaboration with the apostate Jews. A persecution that continued for 3 ½ years. It is said that he killed 80,000 Jews, imprisoned 40,000, and sold another 40,000 as slaves.
Amidst massive martyrdom, the faithful Jews continued their fight against pagan hellenization. Chief of which, were the Maccabees of the Hasmonean clan, a succession of freedom fighters who were strong and did great exploits, ultimately defeating the hellenizers militarily, delivering Israel from their oppressors.
Then it happened: "On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" (verse 54, TEV), which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple (verse 54, KJV). This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the God of the Hebrews simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.
We are further told: "Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns. On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered pig sacrifices on the pagan altar of Zeus erected on top of the altar in the Temple" (verses 55-59, TEV). Indeed, pigs, declared unclean in God's law.
Deuteronomy 14:8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
The account in 1 Maccabees continues: "Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death" (1:60, TEV).
Yet, as horrible as this was, some still resisted. In fact, 1 Maccabees reports: "But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Very great wrath came upon Israel" (1 Maccabees 1:62-63
Yet many in the resistance lived. The account continues with the rise of the
Hasmonean priestly family of Mattathias, including his son and successor Judas Maccabeus (Maccabeus was a nickname meaning The Hammer), who would not compromise with paganism. It seems the Syrians mess with a Jewish version of Rambo. In the end, the efforts of these patriots and their followers were in large measure responsible for eventually pushing the Syrians out.
Three years to the day after the temple was defiled with the pig, it was cleaned and rededicated to the Lord. The Jews still celebrate this ceremony as Hanukah.
10. Where does Daniel the prophet mention the Abomination of Desolation that Jesus is referring to?
He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. 13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” Dan 12:9-13 (ESV)
Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Dan 9:26-27 (ESV)
Much of this happened during the time of Antiocus Epiphanies, 200 years before Christ, but to a greater degree it will be totally manifested at a point midway through the 7 year tribulation period. 7 Jewish years equals 2520 days, 1260 days is the halfway point, the time, times and a half of time, and then soon after we see the abdominal thing offered in the temple and some at 1335 days something blessed will happen.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. 26 But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Dan 7:25-27 (ASV)
Notice Luke does not mention this abomination of desolation, only the desolation brought by the Romans as they destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD. So clearly we have two different warning, one by Matthew focused on the Jews and the events which will happen after the wars, famines and earthquakes, and then the future Desolation of Abomination in a 3rd temple at the end of the age. Then we have Luke the gentile focused on events which will affect Christian believers up to the destruction of Jerusalem, no mention of the great tribulation (I wonder why) and then the events just prior to the return of Christ.
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. Matt. 24:22
Here Jesus telling us that the death and destruction would be so great that if the days we not shortened all mankind would be wiped off the face of the earth. This is paralleled by the judgments in Revelation Chapter 6
And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. Rev 6:4 (ESV)
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. Rev 6:8 (ESV)
23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ 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. Matt. 24:23-27
11. Who is this Antichrist person we always hear about?
Again we have a warning concerning deception and false Messiah or false Christ. Remember antichrist does not mean against Christ it means false or imposter of Christ.
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.2 Thess 2:1-12 (ESV)
12. What rebellion is Paul talking about and what is restraining the Lawless One?
G646 ἀποστασία apostasia (ap-os-tas-ee'-ah) n.
1. defection from truth (properly, the state)
2. "apostasy" KJV: falling away, forsake
This period will be marked by a great falling away from orthodoxy. On one
hand you have the name it and claim it, gab it and grad it crowd, the Joel Osteens telling us you can have what you want as longs as you believe in yourself. Then on the other hand you have the Bishop Spongs of the Episcopal Church teaching that there was no actual crucifixion, no resurrection, the bible is just a bunch of myth and stories, and how we just need to be nice to each other.
Bishop Spong is well known for ordaining practicing homosexuals, denying the bodily resurrection and virginal conception 1 of Christ, and for deriving his moral code from modern human experience rather than the Bible.
Spong and liberal scholars usually argue that the Gospels were written long after the events they claim to record. Therefore they cannot be trusted to be reliable, because no eye-witnesses were around to correct false reports. http://creation.com/whats-wrong-with-bishop-spong
Remember this not some cult leader here. This is a major theologian and spokesman of a major denomination.
Dispensationalist interpreters (e.g., C. I. Scofield, L. S. Chafer, and J. Walvoord) have identified the restrainer as the Holy Spirit, a view supported by the fact that the Spirit may be described in both neuter and masculine genders. Removal of the Spirit takes place when the Church, his temple, is raptured. WBC
Paul says that before the Day of the Lord begins there must first come a removing. There are two kinds of removing that are going to take place. First, the organized church will depart from the faith—that is what we call apostasy. But there will be total apostasy when the Lord comes, and that cannot take place until the true church is removed. The Lord asked, “… when the Son of man cometh [to the earth], shall he find [the] faith …?” (Luke 18:8). When He says “the faith,” He means that body of truth which He left here. The answer to His question is no, He will not find the faith here when He returns. There will be total apostasy because of two things: (1) the organization of the church has departed from the faith—it has apostatized and (2) there has been another departure, the departure of the true church from the earth. The departure of the true church leads into the total apostatizing of the organized church. The Day of the Lord cannot begin—nor the Great Tribulation Period—until the departure of the true church has taken place.
And where does the Holy Spirit reside today? ..............In the believers…………When the believers are removed from the world the Holy Spirit, the restrainer, is also removed.
28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Matt. 24:28
13. What is the carcass and who are the vultures?
This is a very controversial verse with many different interpretations.
Carcase. The spiritually dead and decaying mass of the wicked. Eagles. The term included birds that feed on carrion; hence, vultures, the agents of divine judgment. —WBC
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." Rev 19:17-18 (NKJV)
There the vultures will gather. The location of a carcass is visible from great distances because of the circling carrion birds overhead. Similarly, Christ’s return will be clearly evident to all near and far. The same point is made by the lightning in v. 27. The vulture-dead body imagery here also speaks of the judgment that will accompany His return. MSBN
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 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And 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. Matt: 24: 29-31
14. Is this the end of the age?
The Coming of the Son of Man. Immediately after the
tribulation of those days. The words
describe the actual return of Christ to end the Tribulation and establish the
Messianic reign. The sun be darkened. These accompanying astral
phenomena are foretold also in Joel
3:15
and Isa
13:9,
10.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger. Isaiah 13:9-13 (NKJV)
The sign of the Son of man. Interpreters are not agreed on the identification of this sign. Lange's explanation of it as the Shekinah or glory of Christ is followed by many scholars. Whatever its exact form, its appearance will cause the Jews (all the tribes) to mourn as they recognize their Messiah (cf. Zech 12:10-12).
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, Zech 12:10-11 (NKJV)
Clouds of heaven, power, and great glory describe the same scene in Dan 7:13, 14; 2 Thess 1:7, 9. 31.
13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Dan 7:13-14 (NKJV)
and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe 2 Thess 1:7-10
The angels who gather his elect are the same who are described in 13:30, 41-43 as removing the tares from the wheat, that the wheat might then be gathered into the barn.—WBC
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "………………..
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matt 13:30,39-43 (NKJV)
All the “elect” from heaven and earth are gathered and assembled before Christ. This is the culmination of world history, ushering in the millennial reign of Christ. MSBN
Luke Version is somewhat different.
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:25-28
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon. If the preceding verses in Luke predict the fall of Jerusalem and the final destruction of the Jewish commonwealth, the following verses must deal with the time of the end, and with the signs of Christ's appearing. 26. Men's hearts failing them for fear. The political and social crises, together with the physical disturbances in the world, will be more than men can endure.
Matthew Chapter 24-25, Mark Chapter 13, Luke Chapter 21
Daniel Chapter 9
Again we have a chapter which continues a story which begins in the previous chapter.
Matt 23:38-39 (ESV)
Chapter 24 begins a teaching or some believe a series of teaching which our 3 gospel writers summarize in what is known as the Olivet Discourse. We must keep in mind who wrote each gospel and who they were writing to. Matthew was a Jew writing to Jews. Mark is basically giving Peter’s version. Luke is a Greek writing to gentiles, Greeks and Hellenistic Jews who had converted to Christianity. Matthew was an eyewitness to many of the events although not part of the inner circle. Peter (Mark) was an eyewitness and part of the inner circle of himself, James and John. Luke was not an eyewitness or one of the original disciples. Luke was a medical doctor, traveling companion of Paul, and to some extent an investigating reporter, much like a Geraldo Rivera of his day. He interviewed the eyewitness and was extremely accurate in the description and landmarks and topography.
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. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” Matt. 24:1-2
1. What things were Jesus referring to and what is this thing about stones?
Luke adds more context. And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5-6 (ESV)
The road from Jerusalem to Bethany, where Jesus and his disciples stay each evening, takes one alongside the Mount of Olives, which affords a spectacular view of the temple in the distance.
2. What kind of question is this?
Actually this is 3 questions.
A. When will the temple be destroyed and no stones will be left upon each other?
B. What will be the sign of you coming?
C. When will be the end of the age?
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Luke 21:37-38 (ESV)
There is a good possibility that this was an ongoing teaching that had begun in the temple with a large group of believers and this would explain some of the differences between Matthew and Luke with respect to this discourse. Some of what Matthew speaks of in this chapter, is duplicated in Luke chapter 17 at a time before Jesus came to Jerusalem. Matthew, a Jew is bringing out things which will pertain to Jews at the end of the Church Age, notice he never records anything about Jesus answering their question about the destruction of the temple. Luke is more focused on things which will happen just before the destruction of Jerusalem 38 years from that time. Mark’s account which is basically Peter’s version is very similar to Matthew.
It seems clear that this part of the teaching takes place privately up on the mount with the small inner circle of followers. Notice Luke mentions nothing about this private conversation up on the Mount of Olives.
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Matt. 24:4-5
Millions believe in evolution, Almost a billion Muslims, hundreds of millions of Hindus and Buddhist, all being deceived into believing their philosophy is the correct explanation. Add to that millions of atheists who reject God and the many liberal churches which do not take the bible literally.
How do we know anything? Traditional View of Knowledge
Philosophical tradition going back as far as Plato characterizes a proposition as known where it is, at a minimum:
1) Believed
2) The belief is "justified”, we have adequate evidence.
3) It is true.
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. Matt 24:6-8
When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately." 10 Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:9-11 (NASB)
3. What are birth pangs like?
They begin weakly and over a period of time increase in intensity. They also alternate between periods of intensity and periods of almost normalcy.
4. Haven’t we always had wars?
5. What’s the difference between a nation and a kingdom?
G932 βασιλεία basileia (bas-il-ei'-ah) n.
1. (properly) royalty 2. (abstractly) rule 3. (concretely) a realm KJV: kingdom, + reign
G1484 ἔθνος ethnos (eth'-nos) n.
1. a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe 2. (specially) a foreign (non-Jewish) one, Gentiles 3. (usually, by implication) pagan KJV: Gentile, heathen, nation, people
Ethnos, ethnic groups killing each other. Thousand of Catholics and
Protestant Christians killing each other in N. Ireland, The Rwanda Genocide 800,000 Hutu and Tutsi murder each other, the Holocaust 6 million Jews, 1 out of every Jew in the world by the Nazi. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia 3 million out of population of 7 million murdered. 50 million murdered by Mao in china during the cultural revolution. 1.5 million Armenians buy the Turks. Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1932-39) 23,000,000 (the purges plus Ukraine's famine), Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44) 5,000,000 (civilians in WWII). These are just the worst in the 20th century, there are many others.
G932 βασιλεία basileia (bas-il-ei'-ah) n.
1. (properly) royalty 2. (abstractly) rule 3. (concretely) a realm KJV: kingdom, + reign
G1484 ἔθνος ethnos (eth'-nos) n.
1. a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe 2. (specially) a foreign (non-Jewish) one, Gentiles 3. (usually, by implication) pagan KJV: Gentile, heathen, nation, people
Ethnos, ethnic groups killing each other. Thousand of Catholics and
Earthquakes: Back in 2001, the world had 1361 earthquakes of magnitude-5.0 or greater. This year, we are on pace to have over 2800. In fact, the number of major earthquakes this year is going to be the highest number we have seen during this past decade by far. The overall frequency of annual earthquakes has grown by five times since 1970.There have been more earthquakes above 6.5 on the richter scale in the last 10 decade, than the previous 80 years put together. US Geological Service
Famine: Presently every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger. It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Some of this is brought on by natural causes, but much of it is man and politically caused.
The largest famine of the 20th century, and almost certainly of all time, was the 1958–61 Great Leap Forward famine in China. The immediate causes of this famine lay in Mao Zedong's ill-fated attempt to transform China from an agricultural nation to an industrial power in one
huge leap. The 1958–61 famine is estimated to have caused excess mortality of about 36 to 45 million.
The Hunger Plan, i.e. the Nazi plan to starve large sections of the Soviet population, caused the deaths of many. The Russian Academy of Sciences in 1995 reported civilian victims in the USSR at German hands, including Jews, totaled 13.7 million dead, 20% of the 68 million persons in the occupied
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized countries waste 222 million tons of food annually, or almost as much as sub-Saharan Africa's 230 million tons of net food production per year. Decreasing food waste makes it possible to feed people across the planet without increasing agricultural production.
Notice Luke does not mention the birth pangs. Maybe we are beginning to see Luke is referring to a different time. It sounds like he is focused on things that will happen before all these bad things start.
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 the one 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 Matt. 24: 9-14
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted”—who is the you? Obviously, He is not addressing the church but the nation Israel. The affliction He is talking about is anti-Semitism on a worldwide scale.
At this point let me inject an important fact for Christians in our day. As long as the true church is in the world, there could not be worldwide anti-Semitism because the church would resist it. No genuine believer in the Lord Jesus could hate the Jews; it is an impossibility. It is my feeling that the liberal wing of the church is presenting a false front to the Jews and that in the final analysis it will turn against them. But as long as the true church is in the world, there won’t be worldwide anti-Semitism; it will break out after the church has been removed at the Rapture. JVM
6. “Hated by all nations” What does this sound like?
A time during of the Diaspora, that period of time beginning with the destruction of the Temple along with the dispersal of the Jews from their homeland to other parts of the world and ends with the reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. Matthew is focused on all that the Jews would go through for all the centuries and then time after the church is gone from the earth and worldwide anti-Semitism increases.
Notice Luke begins to talk about something that will happen before the nation against nation thing and the earthquakes.
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives. Luke 21:12-19 (ESV)
Only Christians are persecuted for Jesus sake. Luke is referring to the persecution of the Jerusalem church up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. I will give you a mouth and wisdom. This speaks of the Holy Spirit which came upon the church on the day of Pentecost. There was persecution of the new believers at the hands of the Jews. Paul was commission to hunt down imprison and execute Christian. Stephen was stoned to death, James the brother of John was killed.
The gospel must be preached to all nations is an obvious reference to the end times, but the reference to the Holy Spirit is a sign of the church.
7. What does Jesus mean that not a hair of your head will perish?
In approximately 69 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero decided he had enough with the Jews, their constant rebellion and the resources it was taking to keep them under control. He ordered the Roman General Vespasian, along with his son Titus to destroy Jerusalem. As the Roman legions moved on Israel and Jerusalem in particular news came that Nero had died. This caused a halt in the campaign before the Roman armies were able to completely encircle the city. During the next year there was much upheaval in Rome as one emperor after another was assassinated or fled in the power struggle developed over who would rules the empire. Eventually Vespasian went back to Rome and defeated the opposition and became the emperor or the Roman Empire. During this year long lull in the action the Christians heeding the words of Jesus, left Jerusalem and fled to the area of Pela, where they were safe. In 70 AD after a long siege in which the Roman Legions encircled the city, cut off all food and supplies to the Jews causing widespread starvation and even cannibalism, breached the walls and slaughter 1.1 million Jews. There is no mention from the historians of the day of any Christians being killed in the fall of Jerusalem.
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— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their 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. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. Matt. 24: 15-21
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24
8. What are the differences here between these accounts?
Matthew is highlighting the warning by Jesus concerning the
“the
abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet
Daniel” and events in a time that would be great distress,
unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled
again. The greatest time of danger and peril for the Jewish people of
all times is what is being referred to. This is a period worse than the
holocaust or the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
This period is sometimes what the prophet Jeremiah calls the Time of Jacobs Trouble, Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. Jer 30:7 (ASV) or the Great Tribulation. Also notice Matthew cautions about fleeing on the Sabbath. Jews are concerned with the Sabbath not Christians. We do not observe the Sabbath.
This period is sometimes what the prophet Jeremiah calls the Time of Jacobs Trouble, Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. Jer 30:7 (ASV) or the Great Tribulation. Also notice Matthew cautions about fleeing on the Sabbath. Jews are concerned with the Sabbath not Christians. We do not observe the Sabbath.
Luke doesn’t mention the “Abomination of Desolation”. I wonder why?
9. Well then what is this “abomination that causes desolation” thing which was first spoken of by Daniel the prophet?
In order to get an accurate understanding of this we have to go back into history over 500 years to see what Daniel saw.
The ram, later identified as representing the kings of Medo-Persia, has two horns. The first
horn would be Media and the second Persia, coming later than the first and
being more powerful. The directions in which these kings extend their dominion
is revealed in verse 4 and confirmed by history.
Alexander the Great came from Greece, which was to the “west” of both Babylon and Persia. without touching the ground. Alexander conquered the mighty Persian Empire with amazing speed, from 334–331 b.c. (He is also represented as a leopard with four wings in 7:6.) he was enraged. Alexander’s father was king of Macedonia (a land north of Greece) and brought all of Greece under his control by 336 b.c.
Alexander was only 20 when his father was murdered, but managed to consolidate his hold on Greece and to unify the Greeks with “rage” over the
way the Persians had been attacking them and
centuries.
The goat became exceedingly great.
Alexander the Great’s kingdom extended all
the
way to India, exceeding any kingdom before it
in size (approx. 1.5 million square miles).
“There came up four conspicuous horns”.
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c., ultimately, after serious internal
struggles, four of his generals divided his kingdom into four parts. ESVN
The Abomination of Desolation
Alexander the Great the Macedonian king
and general conquered the majority of the known world. His empire stretched from Greece to
India. Alexander died in Babylon in 323
BC, at the age of 33, after two days of drinking and celebrating his victories.
Ultimately his empire was divided between his 4 generals. One of those generals
was Seleucus who gained control of the section of the empire from the
Mediterranean Sea to the border of India.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a Syrian king who came to power about 175 BC. He is one of the Selucids, who in succession to Alexander the Great built a realm in Syrian and adjacent lands. Epiphanes’ name means “God made manifest.” He sought to force Greek custom on the Jews. In imposing Hellenism, he was but following out the intentions of his predecessor, Alexander the Great, whose dream was to create an empire by culture. This had a measure of success, but there was a core of priests and people who refused to abandon the faith of their forefathers and be Hellenized. By his Hellenism, Epiphanes tried to put an end to the Jewish religious community. The events were the cause of the Maccabean struggle. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, heeding the advice of Hellenized Jews, believed that the majority of the Jewish nation was ready to accept GREEK CULTURE. Antiochus decided to turn the temple at Jerusalem into a Greek temple of Zeus or Dionysus. The strong resistance of the people led to the FIRST KNOWN INSTANCE OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN HISTORY: worship of God was forbidden and the Jews were forced to worship other Gods.
Antiochus sent Apollinius (167 BC) with twenty two thousand soldiers to destroy Jerusalem. Apollinius slew multitudes, dismantled and pillaged the city. They then, from a fortress they had built commanding the temple, fell on and slew the devout Jews worshipping at the temple; so that temple services were discontinued. Antiochus decreed that all should conform to Hellenism. The temple was consecrated to Zeus - Dionysus. Identifying himself with that god, WITH FANATICAL HAUGHTINESS HE SOUGHT TO MAKE WORSHIP OF HIMSELF UNIVERSAL (1 Maccabees 1:41; 2 Maccabees 6:7).
Some 30 cities in Palestine had the status of “polis,” the Greek ideal city, and had become Hellenized. This pagan Hellenizing caused a major culture war and a split among the Jews. Jews who chose to live according to the laws of their forefathers vs apostate liberal Jews who adopted Hellenist culture, and who collaborated with King Antiochus. A classic conservative vs liberal polarization.
The Jewish high priests, up to this point, were successors of the line of Zadok since the time of David and Solomon. However, Antiochus appointed Menelaus, someone not of the line of Zadok. Menelaus had Onias, the rightful high priest of the line of Zadok, assassinated. Menelaus was in complete collaboration with Antiochus’ subversive agenda.
He erected a statue of Zeus-Dionysus at the temple altar. He further desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. It was in an utter abomination to devout Jews, and brought a desolate or defiled condition to the Temple, now no one would come to worship at it. Thus, the abomination of desolation which Daniel the Prophet had predicted over 300 yrs before who and Jesus, some 200 yrs later referred back to as a type of an evil figure to come.
Shrines were built throughout Palestine to Zeus-Dionysus. Jews were forbidden to keep the religion of their forefathers upon pain of death, particularly the observance of the Sabbath and circumcision – the identifying marks of the Old Covenant.
This caused a massive resistance by devout Jews, and massive persecution and martyrdom of them by Antiochus – in collaboration with the apostate Jews. A persecution that continued for 3 ½ years. It is said that he killed 80,000 Jews, imprisoned 40,000, and sold another 40,000 as slaves.
Amidst massive martyrdom, the faithful Jews continued their fight against pagan hellenization. Chief of which, were the Maccabees of the Hasmonean clan, a succession of freedom fighters who were strong and did great exploits, ultimately defeating the hellenizers militarily, delivering Israel from their oppressors.
Then it happened: "On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" (verse 54, TEV), which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple (verse 54, KJV). This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the God of the Hebrews simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.
Shrines were built throughout Palestine to Zeus-Dionysus. Jews were forbidden to keep the religion of their forefathers upon pain of death, particularly the observance of the Sabbath and circumcision – the identifying marks of the Old Covenant.
This caused a massive resistance by devout Jews, and massive persecution and martyrdom of them by Antiochus – in collaboration with the apostate Jews. A persecution that continued for 3 ½ years. It is said that he killed 80,000 Jews, imprisoned 40,000, and sold another 40,000 as slaves.
Amidst massive martyrdom, the faithful Jews continued their fight against pagan hellenization. Chief of which, were the Maccabees of the Hasmonean clan, a succession of freedom fighters who were strong and did great exploits, ultimately defeating the hellenizers militarily, delivering Israel from their oppressors.
Then it happened: "On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" (verse 54, TEV), which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple (verse 54, KJV). This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the God of the Hebrews simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.
We are further told: "Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns. On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered pig sacrifices on the pagan altar of Zeus erected on top of the altar in the Temple" (verses 55-59, TEV). Indeed, pigs, declared unclean in God's law.
Deuteronomy 14:8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
The account in 1 Maccabees continues: "Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death" (1:60, TEV).
Yet, as horrible as this was, some still resisted. In fact, 1 Maccabees reports: "But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Very great wrath came upon Israel" (1 Maccabees 1:62-63
Yet many in the resistance lived. The account continues with the rise of the
Three years to the day after the temple was defiled with the pig, it was cleaned and rededicated to the Lord. The Jews still celebrate this ceremony as Hanukah.
He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. 13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” Dan 12:9-13 (ESV)
Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Dan 9:26-27 (ESV)
Much of this happened during the time of Antiocus Epiphanies, 200 years before Christ, but to a greater degree it will be totally manifested at a point midway through the 7 year tribulation period. 7 Jewish years equals 2520 days, 1260 days is the halfway point, the time, times and a half of time, and then soon after we see the abdominal thing offered in the temple and some at 1335 days something blessed will happen.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. 26 But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Dan 7:25-27 (ASV)
Notice Luke does not mention this abomination of desolation, only the desolation brought by the Romans as they destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD. So clearly we have two different warning, one by Matthew focused on the Jews and the events which will happen after the wars, famines and earthquakes, and then the future Desolation of Abomination in a 3rd temple at the end of the age. Then we have Luke the gentile focused on events which will affect Christian believers up to the destruction of Jerusalem, no mention of the great tribulation (I wonder why) and then the events just prior to the return of Christ.
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. Matt. 24:22
Here Jesus telling us that the death and destruction would be so great that if the days we not shortened all mankind would be wiped off the face of the earth. This is paralleled by the judgments in Revelation Chapter 6
And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. Rev 6:4 (ESV)
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. Rev 6:8 (ESV)
23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ 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. Matt. 24:23-27
11. Who is this Antichrist person we always hear about?
Again we have a warning concerning deception and false Messiah or false Christ. Remember antichrist does not mean against Christ it means false or imposter of Christ.
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.2 Thess 2:1-12 (ESV)
12. What rebellion is Paul talking about and what is restraining the Lawless One?
G646 ἀποστασία apostasia (ap-os-tas-ee'-ah) n.
1. defection from truth (properly, the state)
2. "apostasy" KJV: falling away, forsake
This period will be marked by a great falling away from orthodoxy. On one
Bishop Spong is well known for ordaining practicing homosexuals, denying the bodily resurrection and virginal conception 1 of Christ, and for deriving his moral code from modern human experience rather than the Bible.
Spong and liberal scholars usually argue that the Gospels were written long after the events they claim to record. Therefore they cannot be trusted to be reliable, because no eye-witnesses were around to correct false reports. http://creation.com/whats-wrong-with-bishop-spong
Remember this not some cult leader here. This is a major theologian and spokesman of a major denomination.
Dispensationalist interpreters (e.g., C. I. Scofield, L. S. Chafer, and J. Walvoord) have identified the restrainer as the Holy Spirit, a view supported by the fact that the Spirit may be described in both neuter and masculine genders. Removal of the Spirit takes place when the Church, his temple, is raptured. WBC
Paul says that before the Day of the Lord begins there must first come a removing. There are two kinds of removing that are going to take place. First, the organized church will depart from the faith—that is what we call apostasy. But there will be total apostasy when the Lord comes, and that cannot take place until the true church is removed. The Lord asked, “… when the Son of man cometh [to the earth], shall he find [the] faith …?” (Luke 18:8). When He says “the faith,” He means that body of truth which He left here. The answer to His question is no, He will not find the faith here when He returns. There will be total apostasy because of two things: (1) the organization of the church has departed from the faith—it has apostatized and (2) there has been another departure, the departure of the true church from the earth. The departure of the true church leads into the total apostatizing of the organized church. The Day of the Lord cannot begin—nor the Great Tribulation Period—until the departure of the true church has taken place.
And where does the Holy Spirit reside today? ..............In the believers…………When the believers are removed from the world the Holy Spirit, the restrainer, is also removed.
28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Matt. 24:28
13. What is the carcass and who are the vultures?
This is a very controversial verse with many different interpretations.
Carcase. The spiritually dead and decaying mass of the wicked. Eagles. The term included birds that feed on carrion; hence, vultures, the agents of divine judgment. —WBC
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." Rev 19:17-18 (NKJV)
There the vultures will gather. The location of a carcass is visible from great distances because of the circling carrion birds overhead. Similarly, Christ’s return will be clearly evident to all near and far. The same point is made by the lightning in v. 27. The vulture-dead body imagery here also speaks of the judgment that will accompany His return. MSBN
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 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And 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. Matt: 24: 29-31
14. Is this the end of the age?
15 The sun and moon
will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. Joel 3:15 (NKJV)
The sign of the Son of man. Interpreters are not agreed on the identification of this sign. Lange's explanation of it as the Shekinah or glory of Christ is followed by many scholars. Whatever its exact form, its appearance will cause the Jews (all the tribes) to mourn as they recognize their Messiah (cf. Zech 12:10-12).
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, Zech 12:10-11 (NKJV)
Clouds of heaven, power, and great glory describe the same scene in Dan 7:13, 14; 2 Thess 1:7, 9. 31.
13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Dan 7:13-14 (NKJV)
and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe 2 Thess 1:7-10
The angels who gather his elect are the same who are described in 13:30, 41-43 as removing the tares from the wheat, that the wheat might then be gathered into the barn.—WBC
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "………………..
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matt 13:30,39-43 (NKJV)
All the “elect” from heaven and earth are gathered and assembled before Christ. This is the culmination of world history, ushering in the millennial reign of Christ. MSBN
Luke Version is somewhat different.
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:25-28
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon. If the preceding verses in Luke predict the fall of Jerusalem and the final destruction of the Jewish commonwealth, the following verses must deal with the time of the end, and with the signs of Christ's appearing. 26. Men's hearts failing them for fear. The political and social crises, together with the physical disturbances in the world, will be more than men can endure.
Ironically Matthew focuses on the Jews who will mourn for their Messiah, and here we have Luke focusing on the unbelieving world and the terror they will experience when confronted with the terrible judgment they will face.
The powers of heaven shall be shaken. The spiritual world will be in an upheaval as Satan is and his evil demons are defeated.
Wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; Eph 2:2 (ASV)
John’s version of the tribulation and the coming of Christ is laid out in the Book of the Revelation.
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Rev 6:12-17 (NKJV)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. Rev 20:1-3 (NKJV)
27. Coming in a cloud. A cloud of luminous glory will bring Christ back to earth, making an unmistakable "sign" of his coming. 28. And when these things begin to come to pass. The language implies a process that will extend over a period of time, giving warning to those who are able to interpret the signs. Redemption is deliverance, the completion of the salvation of God. WBC
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 Truly I tell you, 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. Matt. 24:32-35
15. Is there some connection to the mention of fig tree in chapter 21 and its mention here?
When the fig branch “puts forth its leaves,” only a short time remains until summer. Likewise, when the final labor pains begin, Christ’s return “is near, right at the door” MSBN
The fig tree. A frequent Biblical symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer 24; Joel 1:6, 7; Hos 9:10). Jesus also had used this figure previously (Lk 13:6). The peculiar trait of the tree mentioned earlier (21:19, 20) is that fruit and leaves appear at about the same time; when leaves are present, summer is near. Jesus thus associated a revitalized nation with the approach of these eschatological events. WBC
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Luke 21:29-33 (NKJV)
Again Luke seems to be saying the same thing as Matthew, but when you look close it is different. : "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.” It would seem he is not so concerned with the sign of individual nation of Israel, possibly his reference is to those Christians who are saved out of the tribulation and are waiting expectantly for the return of Jesus.
This generation. This cannot refer to the generation living at that time of Christ, for “all these things”—the abomination of desolation (v. 15), the persecutions and judgments (vv. 17–22), the false prophets (vv. 23–26), the signs in the heavens (vv. 27–29), Christ’s final return (v. 30), and the gathering of the elect (v. 31)—did not “take place” in their lifetime. It seems best to interpret Christ’s words as a reference to the generation alive at the time when those final hard labor pains begin (see note on v. 14). This would fit with the lesson of the fig tree, which stresses the short span of time in which these things will occur. MSBN
This generation shall not pass away. To explain generation (genea) here as the lifetime of the disciples obligates one to seek the fulfillment of all these events by a.d. 70. But that is manifestly impossible unless one spiritualizes the second coming of Christ. However, genea also can mean "race" or "family," and this yields good sense here. In spite of terrible persecution, the Jewish nation will not be exterminated, but will exist to share the blessings of the Millennial reign. In support of this view, Alford points out that Christians of ancient times continued to expect the Lord's coming even after the apostles and their contemporaries had passed away—WBC
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 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. 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. Matt. 24:36-41
16. What were things like in the days before the flood?
And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:5 (NKJV)
34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. 38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. Luke 21:34-38 (NKJV)
It’s interesting that Luke tells about this thing with Noah in chapter 17 before he gets to Jerusalem as Jesus answers question by the Pharisees
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ……………….26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ………………… 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." 37 And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Luke 17:20-36
17. So is this the rapture, one taken and the other left?
I can hear someone saying to me, “Well, preacher, you have finally painted yourself into a corner. You said the church and the Rapture are not in the Olivet Discourse, but here they are. Two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.”
Well, my friend, He still is not talking about the Rapture. After all, what is our Lord talking about here? “As the days of Noah were.” Who was taken away in the days of Noah? “They knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” They perished in the Flood. This is not referring to the Rapture when the church will be taken out of the world. Rather, this pictures the removing from the earth by judgment those who are not going to enter the millennial kingdom. JVM
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. Matt. 24:42-44
18. So who is the owner of the house and who is the thief?
In this case Satan is the owner of the house.
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. John 12:31 (ESV)
Jesus is the thief in the respect of coming unexpectedly to take the possessions (the world) from the house owner, the Devil.The point of this parable is that if a homeowner knows the general time when a thief will break in he will prepare accordingly. The signs of the times during the Tribulation that Jesus revealed will enable believers to know the general time He will return. Consequently believers in the Tribulation should prepare themselves. This concludes the emphasis on vigilance that marks the first part of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples anticipating His return and the end of the present age.
“Jesus used Noah to warn that men will not know the day, and He used the picture of the burglar to warn that they will not know the hour.” CN
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 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 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. Matt. 24:45-51
19. How does the metaphor of the wicked servant manifested in our present world?
The idea of accountability for our lifestyle is laughed at by the secular world. The ancient philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die is still active. I live my life and am a good person, and then I die and become plant food. That’s all there is.
“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.” Richard Dawkins.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to
use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Joseph Goebbels
· ESVN………….ESV Study Bible Notes
· MSBN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
· NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes.
· JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
. ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
· BN …..Barnes Notes
· WBC…… Wycliffe Bible Commentary
· CN …… Constables Notes
· IC……….Ironside Commentary
· NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
· JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
· VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
· + CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
· BDB………….. Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
· Darby………..John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT
· Johnson………Johnson's Notes on the New Testament.
· NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark.
·
The powers of heaven shall be shaken. The spiritual world will be in an upheaval as Satan is and his evil demons are defeated.
Wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; Eph 2:2 (ASV)
John’s version of the tribulation and the coming of Christ is laid out in the Book of the Revelation.
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Rev 6:12-17 (NKJV)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. Rev 20:1-3 (NKJV)
27. Coming in a cloud. A cloud of luminous glory will bring Christ back to earth, making an unmistakable "sign" of his coming. 28. And when these things begin to come to pass. The language implies a process that will extend over a period of time, giving warning to those who are able to interpret the signs. Redemption is deliverance, the completion of the salvation of God. WBC
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 Truly I tell you, 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. Matt. 24:32-35
15. Is there some connection to the mention of fig tree in chapter 21 and its mention here?
When the fig branch “puts forth its leaves,” only a short time remains until summer. Likewise, when the final labor pains begin, Christ’s return “is near, right at the door” MSBN
The fig tree. A frequent Biblical symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer 24; Joel 1:6, 7; Hos 9:10). Jesus also had used this figure previously (Lk 13:6). The peculiar trait of the tree mentioned earlier (21:19, 20) is that fruit and leaves appear at about the same time; when leaves are present, summer is near. Jesus thus associated a revitalized nation with the approach of these eschatological events. WBC
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Luke 21:29-33 (NKJV)
Again Luke seems to be saying the same thing as Matthew, but when you look close it is different. : "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.” It would seem he is not so concerned with the sign of individual nation of Israel, possibly his reference is to those Christians who are saved out of the tribulation and are waiting expectantly for the return of Jesus.
This generation. This cannot refer to the generation living at that time of Christ, for “all these things”—the abomination of desolation (v. 15), the persecutions and judgments (vv. 17–22), the false prophets (vv. 23–26), the signs in the heavens (vv. 27–29), Christ’s final return (v. 30), and the gathering of the elect (v. 31)—did not “take place” in their lifetime. It seems best to interpret Christ’s words as a reference to the generation alive at the time when those final hard labor pains begin (see note on v. 14). This would fit with the lesson of the fig tree, which stresses the short span of time in which these things will occur. MSBN
This generation shall not pass away. To explain generation (genea) here as the lifetime of the disciples obligates one to seek the fulfillment of all these events by a.d. 70. But that is manifestly impossible unless one spiritualizes the second coming of Christ. However, genea also can mean "race" or "family," and this yields good sense here. In spite of terrible persecution, the Jewish nation will not be exterminated, but will exist to share the blessings of the Millennial reign. In support of this view, Alford points out that Christians of ancient times continued to expect the Lord's coming even after the apostles and their contemporaries had passed away—WBC
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 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. 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. Matt. 24:36-41
16. What were things like in the days before the flood?
And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:5 (NKJV)
34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. 38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. Luke 21:34-38 (NKJV)
It’s interesting that Luke tells about this thing with Noah in chapter 17 before he gets to Jerusalem as Jesus answers question by the Pharisees
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ……………….26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ………………… 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." 37 And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Luke 17:20-36
17. So is this the rapture, one taken and the other left?
I can hear someone saying to me, “Well, preacher, you have finally painted yourself into a corner. You said the church and the Rapture are not in the Olivet Discourse, but here they are. Two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.”
Well, my friend, He still is not talking about the Rapture. After all, what is our Lord talking about here? “As the days of Noah were.” Who was taken away in the days of Noah? “They knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” They perished in the Flood. This is not referring to the Rapture when the church will be taken out of the world. Rather, this pictures the removing from the earth by judgment those who are not going to enter the millennial kingdom. JVM
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. Matt. 24:42-44
18. So who is the owner of the house and who is the thief?
In this case Satan is the owner of the house.
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. John 12:31 (ESV)
Jesus is the thief in the respect of coming unexpectedly to take the possessions (the world) from the house owner, the Devil.The point of this parable is that if a homeowner knows the general time when a thief will break in he will prepare accordingly. The signs of the times during the Tribulation that Jesus revealed will enable believers to know the general time He will return. Consequently believers in the Tribulation should prepare themselves. This concludes the emphasis on vigilance that marks the first part of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples anticipating His return and the end of the present age.
“Jesus used Noah to warn that men will not know the day, and He used the picture of the burglar to warn that they will not know the hour.” CN
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 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 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. Matt. 24:45-51
19. How does the metaphor of the wicked servant manifested in our present world?
The idea of accountability for our lifestyle is laughed at by the secular world. The ancient philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die is still active. I live my life and am a good person, and then I die and become plant food. That’s all there is.
“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.” Richard Dawkins.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to
· ESVN………….ESV Study Bible Notes
· MSBN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
· NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes.
· JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
. ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
· BN …..Barnes Notes
· WBC…… Wycliffe Bible Commentary
· CN …… Constables Notes
· IC……….Ironside Commentary
· NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
· JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
· VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
· + CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
· BDB………….. Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
· Darby………..John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT
· Johnson………Johnson's Notes on the New Testament.
· NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark.
·
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- Net Bible
- Answers in Genesis Ministries
- CNS News
- E-Sword bible software
- The Word.Net bible software
- lumina.bible.org/bible/ bible study website
- biblestudytools.com Bible study resource
- Theopedia.com/ Encyclopedia of theology
- Apologetics Press.org
- Creation.com/ YEC Creationist science and theology site
- Worthynews.com/ Christian news service
- Apologiaway.wordpress.com
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