0124 HOW IT ALL ENDS

HOW IT ALL ENDS

The end is coming for Jerusalem and the temple. The kingdom is coming for Christ. The end of the age is in the near future. Jesus said so shortly before his death around 30 AD, and Matthew wrote it down somewhere before 70 AD.

I should start with Two Warnings: #1. This is intriguing to some people, and completely boring to others. #2. This will answer a lot of questions for some people, and come across as heresy to others.

With those two warnings, I want to open up Matthew 24 and see what Jesus says about how it all ends. Let’s follow the text of the entire discourse here and make just a few comments.

“Jesus left the temple . . . Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

It is indisputable that what Jesus predicted literally happened just about forty years later. The Romans completely wiped out the city of Jerusalem, tearing down the temple to the ground, forcing Jews to move out, and renaming the city Capitolina and the region Palestine (referring to the Philistines, rather than the Israelites). [In case you’re wondering, what is known as the Wailing Wall today is not a wall of the temple. It’s actually some of the foundation. The other side of the wall is below ground level.]

“ . . . the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

They ask three related questions, which are all related. And Jesus is about to give direct answers to the matters of time and events. Jesus answers first by saying that there will be wars and there will be people claiming to be the Christ, but that is not yet the end. He also says that his followers will be hated, while false prophets arise and the love of many will grow cold, while the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. Then the end will come.

One way or another, most scholars are in agreement that everything Jesus has said so far was fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem. But then Jesus gives other details that bring confusion.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Has this all happened yet? It doesn’t seem so. So, has the time been postponed for all these centuries? Or was the event not literal, so that it was fulfilled in a way that is not recognized?

After all, Jesus in his first coming was expected to fulfill all of the prophecies, including the end of the world and the conquest of Israel’s enemies. But Jesus came only to fulfill the first set of prophesies about bearing sins, not about coming in power. Is it possible that his return was also missed, as people were expecting a literal return on the clouds and military vengeance.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

This seems like a very firm promise, doesn’t it? This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Shall we assume, then, that all these things would happen within 40 years of that moment?

Do you remember that fig tree a few chapters ago? The one that Jesus cursed, saying, “May no one ever eat figs from you again!” And the tree withered and died that day. 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. . . .  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

All of this leads to a very important question: What is the status of Israel now? Has God turned his back on Israel? If the end of the age was near in the first century, why have we not seen it happen yet? Is Jesus coming on the clouds to be literally seen by everyone? And, especially,

Are you and I ready for that return?