The End According to Jesus Part 1

As we move into this next passage we need to remember that this is prophecy. People get worked up when we speak of prophecy but we must remember to be considerate of one another because with prophecy, we don’t know. So I’m am going to do my best by the grace of God to unpack this passage for you, and it might be different than things you’ve heard before.

Tonight at evening service we will do a question and answer time, so if you have questions about what I’m about to present, write them down and I’ll do my best to answer later.

This passage hinges around the statement in Luke 19:41-44

v.44- Because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.

This is repeated in:

v.22

The days of vengeance.

What we are going to be looking at is the satisfaction of the wrath of God upon Israel for the rejection of Jesus Christ.

For this is the reason that the temple was destroyed.

History:

What is about to happen, that will trigger the desolation that Jesus is prophesying:

Immanuel, God with us came and dwelt among us. God incarnate was among the people, teaching the people. Yet they rejected Him.

They crucified Him.

He was crucified to be the payment for all sin, for all times.

At His crucifixion, after witnessing all that took place, even His Roman executioners said “surly this was the Son of God!”

Jesus was the final sacrifice to end all other sacrifices.

God attested to this by tearing the veil in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies. The place in the temple where the glory of God dwelt.

God tore that veil in two from top to bottom showing that through Jesus, we have direct access to the very presence of God.

What was the response of the Jews?

You would think that after witnessing the amazing events that followed the death and resurrection of Jesus that they would repent and turn to God!

No, they replace the veil and continue sacrifices.

They were in essence spitting in the face of God saying we will not accept the blood of your son as payment for our sins, we want to do things our way!

This beloved was an abomination.

This is what brought about the atrocities that were witnessed in 70 A.D.

The atrocities that Jesus is now stating will happen.

Some schools of eschatology are waiting for the rebuilding of the temple, so that they can continue sacrifices and the anti-Christ can come and commit the abomination of desolation by sacrificing a pig on the alter.

There is not a chance that that is the abomination of desolation.

The Jews rebuilding the temple and continuing sacrifices, that would be an abomination for they would once again be saying that the payment that God gave isn’t enough.

The pig God could care less about because it couldn’t trump the atrocities of rejecting His mercy.

As we go through this, one thing that I want you to think about and realize is how precious the sacrifice of His Son was.

For the people who think they can get to heaven without Jesus, they are accumulating the same wrath that we see in 70 A.D.

For those who think that they can add to their salvation with their own works, they are accumulating the same wrath that we see in 70 A.D.

As we look at the passage, try not to have a western mindset from the 21st century.

Try to look at this from a Hebrew mindset living in 33 A.D. Because that is who Jesus is addressing.

Timeline

v.32

This generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

A specific timeline is given saying it will take place in that generation.

Generation

What is meant by the word generation?

Some say that this mean’s this type of people, meaning the same attitude of people that existed then will still exist.

This word has been used this way, but never in scripture, and very rarely anywhere else.

There are some who believe that the generation being spoken of are those who are alive when Israel returned to the promise land in 1948.

However I find no clear scripture to back up this assumption.

There are some who believe that the apostle John never died, therefore it is still within that generation.

If he was still alive, he would be involved and teaching.

The one interpretation that makes sense and we can line up biblically is that Jesus is referring to that very generation that He was speaking to.

You

This week your homework is to read through this passage, here and in Matthew 24. Notice how often the word you is used.

Jesus doesn’t say, “their will be many persecutions.”

He makes it personal for the people of that day.

“They will lay hands on you and persecute you.”

The whole passage goes on, not making generalizations, but with Jesus making it personal for the people of the day.

Timeline

If we take into account the timeline that is being set, and if we try to say that this refers to the second coming of Christ, we have a problem.

Because Jesus would have been wrong.

I’ve even heard critics use this passage to try to disprove the bible.

He spoke of it happening in their generation and personalized it for them.

If it’s the second coming, it didn’t happen.

If we look at this as the destruction of the temple taking place in 70 A.D. we see that this did happen in the timeline that Jesus gave.

I believe this is the same event that Jesus was eluding to in Matt 16:28.

Matthew 16:28 ESV

28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Some people believe that the apostle John still roams the earth. I believe this was all fulfilled in 70 A.D.

I believe that the prophecies in Luke and the bulk of Matthew occured already, and that is what I will be laying out with evidence towards.

Read 5-7

Destruction of the Temple

v.6

Jesus makes the unthinkable statement. The temple will be destroyed.

The temple was the pride and joy of Israel. It was the place of worship.

They were the people of God, that was His house. He wouldn’t let anything happen to it, right?

This a more devastating statement than if someone said, “in 20 years America won’t exist.”

By the way, the temple was destroyed to the point where the Romans even removed foundation stones.

v.7

The question proposed to Jesus is, “when will this take place.” “How will we know when the temple will be destroyed.”

That is the question that Jesus is answering in this passage.

In Matthew 24 they also ask when will be the parousia, or when will be the second coming and Matthew addresses that.

But Luke was concerned with addressing the issues of the temple.

Read 8-9

Rise of False Messiah’s

Josephus reports many false prophet’s and messiah’s being arrested.

Josephus referred to them as “Another body of wicked men.”

The historian Eusebius (yoo-see-bee-uhs) speaks of many false messiah’s in this period.

Theudas was one of these.

Acts 5:36-37

Acts 5:36–37 ESV

36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

Theudas claimed that he could part the Jordan river and was slain by the Romans.

Wars and Tumults

A.D. 33-70 witnessed countless military disturbances.

An uprising in Caesarea took 20,000 Jewish lives

At Scythopolis 13,000 Jews were killed.

Alexandria 50,000 killed

Damascus, 10,000 killed.

A.D. 40 the emperor Caligula ordered that a statue be erected in the temple at Jerusalem. The Jews refused and were anxious over an imminent war with Rome.

These are but the beginning of signs that we see leading to the total desolation of the temple in 70 A.D.

The End

The end of what?

When we read this, we think the end of the world. But with the end of Jerusalem, was the end of the world as they knew it.

The end of their capitol, the end of their worship system.

Could this not be the end that Jesus is referencing?

Next week we will look at more things that points towards it.

Keep one thing in mind through this. The rejection of Jesus now and then is not something that God takes lightly.