Matthew 24:29-51
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Evening Service.
Were there any questions from this morning’s sermon?
So this morning, my goal was to keep from getting too bogged down in the arguments with regard to the end times.
Matthew 24 is a hard text, and so I really don’t want to cause any confusion for anyone.
But you may have noticed this morning, that there were several things that I did not address specifically, but I aim to do so tonight.
First, I think its really important that we really remember what started this whole discourse to begin with.
Why is Jesus talking about this?
We find the answer to that in the first three verses.
1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
So they come to Jesus pointing out the buildings.
Jesus says, you see all these… talking about what? The temple buildings…
He says— There will not be one stone left upon another.
And so what is the natural question?
When is that going to happen?
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, 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 want to know:
When will these things be?
The temple destruction.
And so last week, we dealt with verses 15-28.
And verses 15-26 speak of what I believe is the destruction of that temple.
I believe that Jesus is answering their question.
He is telling them when the temple is going to be destroyed.
He is telling them, when see an abomination in the holy place, run for their lives because destruction is coming.
And so Jesus prophecies this.
And then from history, we know that in AD 66-70, the jews are dispersed from Jerusalem, they are forced to run for their lives, just as Jesus said.
And so, to me it makes sense that that portion has been fulfilled.
However, I also believe he’s answering their secondary question.
Their secondary question is what will be the sign of the coming of the son of man?
In other words, when will we know that you’re coming back for your second coming?
I believe the disciples understood all of this to be one event.
They couldn’t imagine the temple being destroyed and the world not ending.
But Jesus actually told them that hard times and even the destruction of the temple was just the beginning.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
He literally says in verse six and eight that when you see these things, this is not the end.
And so last week we got all the way to verse 28 where Jesus tells us that his coming will be unmistakable.
Like a flash of lightning from the east to the west so it will be the sign of his coming.
And then this morning we picked up with verse 29 and this is where the passage gets even more difficult.
Listen to what verse 29 says.
“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.
I think this verse is what throws a lot of people off when it comes to properly understanding this text.
It says immediately after the tribulation of those days… And then it goes on to describe what I believe is the second coming of Christ.
And so the question now becomes , OK Benji you said that the majority of verses 4-28 was about what happened in the years of AD 66-70. Well here Jesus says immediately after the tribulation of those days he’s going to come back.
And so how do you deal with that?
I will admit this is a difficulty. And it’s a difficulty that has been dealt with in different ways.
There are three major views of Matthew 24.
There is the full preterist view, and these folks believe that everything in Matthew 24 has been fulfilled already.
That Jerusalem has been destroyed and they believe that in a sense Jesus has already came back in judgment on the Jews.
And so these folks look at verse 29-31,(what we read this morning), and they say that these verses are not referring to the second coming of Christ.
They say that this is in reference to Christ coming in judgment on Jerusalem and the Jews.
And so some people take this to mean that Jesus has already returned in judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70.
And so, honestly, I do not understand how anyone could believe that.
I believe when we look at what verses 29 through 31 say it’s obviously talking about when Christ will return to get his people
I believe it is referencing his second coming.
I think that interpretation unnecessarily forces the temple destruction and the second coming together.
I believe these are two separate events.
And I believe that makes sense because Jesus was literally asked this question in this way.
He was asked when when the temple was going to be destroyed , and he was asked what was the sign of the second coming?
And so just because the disciples placed these two events together, doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be together.
In fact, I believe that it’s clear historically and biblically that they are not together.
The temple has been destroyed .
I believe that happened in AD 70. It happened in the generation the disciple were in.
But I also believe that we are still waiting for Christ to return. He didn’t already come back.
Now, that view is known as preterism. I don’t hold that understanding.
I believe that some of this was fulfilled, but I believe that we are still waiting for the second coming of Christ.
Now, before we move on, the other major way people have dealt with this is they place everything that we see here in Matthew 24 in the future.
This is called the futurist view.
And so, they basically deny that any of this was truly fulfilled in Jerusalem in AD 70, and so they place all of this at a future time.
Now with that, there are different grouping with different understandings— Some believe that there is dual fulfillment. That is, yes some of these things happened in AD 70 but the true fulfillment comes in the future.
And others believes this is all in the future.
And so with that, there’s a number of problems as well.
One problem with that understanding is, if that’s the case, and all of this is still to come, then this text literally meant absolutely nothing to the disciples who originally asked this question.
Furthermore, that view seems to ignore the context of them talking about the temple right there.
If that were the case, why would he give all that information about running away to them.
And so you have to wrestle with this..
If you hold to a view that places all these things in the future, and you believe that that is how Jesus meant the disciples to understand this, that they wouldn’t worry about this—-Then how confusing must it have been for them when in their very lifetime the temple was destroyed and they had to run for their lives.
It seems to me to that it make more sense to see that Jesus really was telling them about an event that would actually happen in their lifetimes.
Furthermore, another problem is this— if we are to believe that all of this is in the future, that the abomination of desolation that happens in the temple, literally, it says, in the holy place, if that did not happen in AD70, and it’s still to happen in the future, then you cannot believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
In other words, you cannot believe that Christ can return at any moment because right now there’s not a physical temple for there to be an abomination of desolation set up.
Right now where the temple used to sit there’s a Muslim mosque.
And so all these warnings of being ready, don’t make sense if Christ can’t return at any moment.
If there’s a temple that has to be rebuilt, and basically there are a lot of stuff that has to happen before Christ returns.
Now there are other issues with both of those views , but those are the major things that I have issues with.
And so, we still have the question before us—
What is meant in verse 29?
And how do we deal with this word here at the beginning of verse 29— immediately..
“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.
What is confusing here is— Matthew’s account goes, straight from the prophecy of the temple destruction and the abomination of desolation and the dispersion of the Jews from Jerusalem, to the prophecy of the second coming and it uses the word “Immediately.”
And so, I will admit, that is a difficulty of my interpretation.
I believe that the truth of this text is found somwhere in the middle between those other two views.
I believe the preterist get it right when it comes to the destruction of the temple being fulfilled.
But I believe the futurist gets it right when it comes to the second coming being in the future.
But if I am right, then where are we now in the timeline?
And why do we not see a gap here in Matthew 24.
Great question I am glad you asked.
Here is where it is incredibly important for us to look at the other Gospel writers and their accounts of the same sermon.
I believe Luke’s account gives us more information that I beleive is crucial to understanding a general timeline for these events.
Listen to what Luke says, and you will notice Luke records a specific undefined time period, between the destruction of Jerusalem, the dispersion of the Jews, and the second coming.
Listen to what Luke says—
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 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, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 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. 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.
“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, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
And so in Luke, between, this dispersion of the Jews from Jerusalem, and all the calamity that comes upon the temple and Jerusalem, He says, Jerusalem will be trampled under by Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.
I believe that we are currently in what Luke describes as “the time of the Gentiles.”
Where the The Gospel is going forth and the nations are being brought in as the people of God.
And so right now, to the best of my ability, I understand that we are living now in the time of the Gentiles.
Paul talks about there being a time, where there is partial hardening upon the Jews, until the fullness of the Gentiles are brought in.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
And so, that verse in Luke, gives us some more understanding of Matthew.
Matthew doesn’t mention it, but Luke does, and so we use Scripture to interpret Scripture.
And so Jerusalem, right now, is currently trampled under foot by Gentiles.
Specifically the temple area has been taken over by Muslims. They have a mosque there.
And so that makes sense.
We are living in and benefitting from the time of the Gentiles, because you and I are Gentiles. And we are saved, are apart of the these gentiles being brought in in its fullness.
Christ is building his church. He is building it from every nation.
Now, my personal belief, from Romans 11, is that there will be a revival among the ethnically Jewish people toward the end of the world, but that could be happening now, there is no way to measure that.
And so, what are we to expect next?
The next thing to expect is the return of Christ.
We are eagerly await the return of Christ.
This is what we emphasized this morning.
The rest of Matthew 24, is all about being ready. Being busy about the kingdom work, so that we are prepared when Christ does return.
Now, let me deal with one other major verse of confusion.
34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Now, for the preterist, they say, see, Jesus is talking to the disciples and he said all of this will take place in their generation, and so it all had to happen in AD 70.
They use that verse as their banner that they are right.
However, to me I think Jesus is circling back referencing the prophecy of the temple.
Because, obviously, I believe the temple was destroyed because it was, but the church, and his people are still here and they are.
Those who see this all in the future, they say this has to be referencing THE generation when all this stuff starts happening in the future.
Now again, these views are all held by believers.
There are people who differ from me who I respect, but we disagree on this. And that is okay.
This is not a test of faith for heaven. It’s a matter of debate and interest and study, and the Lord through his word may change my mind, but this is where I am at the moment.
And so then we go back to what we covered this morning.
Here is what we know for sure.
When Christ returns, it will be glorious.
Christ is coming back.
It is a sure thing.
He is coming on the clouds.
He is coming for his bride.
When he comes, he will send his angels out with a loud trumpet call to gather his elect, his chosen people, his church, his bride, his people from every tribe and nations. When he says the four winds, he is talking about the directions of the earth.
Form one end to another.
It will be a global gathering, where he comes for his people.
It will be a glorious time that we can look forward to with eager expectation.
But we don’t know when that will.
And furthermore, we are told that no one does.
But we are told to be ready.
