Matthew 24
In this chapter Jesus talks about the Signs of the End of the Age. The disciples ask Him "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
This is a very timely passage to look at in light of all the recent Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (no I did not make this word up) over last Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 - (6/6/06). Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a superstitious fear of the number 666, due to Revelation 13:18 indicating that 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ. Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a recurring symbol used in various horror films.
In verses 1-2 Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple, the symbol of the Jewish faith and nation. He says "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another..."
This destruction occured at the hands of Rome and the destruction of the temple was total. Jerusalem was taken by the Roman armies, under the command of Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 70 AD, before he became the Roman Emperor in 79 AD. The account of the siege and destruction of the city is left us by Josephus, an historian of undoubted veracity and singular fidelity. He was a Jewish priest.
Josephus wrote "...gave orders that they should now demolish the whole city and temple, except three towers, which he reserved standing. But for the rest of the wall, it was laid so completely even with the ground by those who dug it up from the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those believe who came hither that it had ever been inhabited." Maimonides, a Jewish writer, has also recorded that "Terentius Rufus, an officer in the army of Titus, with a ploughshare tore up the foundations of the temple," that the prophecy might be fulfilled, "Zion shall be ploughed as a field," Micah 3:12.
Titus actually wanted to preserve the temple; and frequently sent Josephus to the Jews to ask and encourage them to surrender in order to save the temple and city. But the prediction of the Saviour had been made and, in spite of the wish of the Roman general, the temple was to be destroyed. The Jews themselves first set fire to the porticoes of the temple. One of the Roman soldiers, without any command, threw a burning firebrand into the golden window, and soon the temple was in flames. Titus gave orders to extinguish the fire; but, amidst the tumult, none of his orders were obeyed. The soldiers pressed to the temple, and neither fear, nor entreaties, nor stripes, could restrain them. Their hatred of the Jews urged them on to the work of destruction; and thus, according to Josephus in The Jewish Wars, "the temple was burnt against the will of Caesar."
Other great temples are in ruins, but their ruins indicate their former splendor. The Parthenon, the Acropolis, the temples of Karnak, Luxor, and Baalbec are examples; but to find even the foundations of the Jewish temple it is necessary to dig beneath the modern city. It has entirely disappeared from the face of the earth, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque now stands on the spot where it once stood.
This prophecy was fulfilled literally. There was a real temple, and it was really destroyed. The literal fulfillment of this prophecy establishes the tone for the rest of the prophecies in the chapter. We should expect a literal fulfillment for these as well.
Jesus warns against being decieved by false prophets, of wars, famines and earthquakes. He says that these are merly the "beginning of birth pains." Jesus goes on to say that his followers will be persecuted, even unto death, more false prophets will appear and society will move further away from God as a whole. Many of these false Christs will be very convincing, they "will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible." Many will be decieved by them but the elected, born again, children of God will not be.
None of these things however will stop the Gospel from being preached to the world.
One reason why end times prophecy may seem vague is because God wants every age to have reasons to be ready for Jesus return. We should not think of Jesus' return as an event far off on a time line, but something we have been running parallel with since the day of Pentecost. Though some prophetic interpretations are different, we are sure of this: He is coming again, and we must be ready.
One specific Jesus does mention is "when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel." (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Essentially, the abomination of desolation speaks of the ultimate desecration of a Jewish temple, the establishment of an idolatrous image in the holy place itself, which will inevitably result in the judgment of God. It is the abomination that brings desolation. That it will be "standing in the Holy Place" indicates that that the abomination of desolation takes place in the Jewish temple. This is the only plain meaning of the phrase holy place. Some believe it happened in a prior Jewish temple, before it was destroyed in 70 AD Others - more properly - believe it will happen in the holy place of a rebuilt temple.
For centuries, there was only a small Jewish presence in Judea and Jerusalem. Their presence in the region was definite, and continuous, but small. It is unthinkable that this weak Jewish presence could rebuild a temple. Therefore the fulfillment of this prophecy was highly unlikely until Israel was regathered as a nation in 1948 and formed a Jewish State. The restoration of a nation that the world had not seen for some 2,000 years is a remarkable event in the fulfillment and future fulfillment of prophecy.
"Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." What generation does Jesus mean?
It cannot be the generation of the disciples, because they never saw Jesus return in glory. It is undoubtedly the generation that sees these signs. These events and Jesus' return won't be on some 1,000-year or drawn out timetable, but will happen in succession, in the timeframe of a single generation.
Jesus then gives three illustrations of how the day and hour of His second comming in unknown and cannot be predicted. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." The people in the time of Noah did not know of the comming judgment until it was too late, Christians are called to be prepared for His return. We are not to take our salvation for granted, but to live lives befitting one who is called a Child of God.
This is a very timely passage to look at in light of all the recent Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (no I did not make this word up) over last Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 - (6/6/06). Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a superstitious fear of the number 666, due to Revelation 13:18 indicating that 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ. Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a recurring symbol used in various horror films.
In verses 1-2 Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple, the symbol of the Jewish faith and nation. He says "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another..."
This destruction occured at the hands of Rome and the destruction of the temple was total. Jerusalem was taken by the Roman armies, under the command of Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 70 AD, before he became the Roman Emperor in 79 AD. The account of the siege and destruction of the city is left us by Josephus, an historian of undoubted veracity and singular fidelity. He was a Jewish priest.
Josephus wrote "...gave orders that they should now demolish the whole city and temple, except three towers, which he reserved standing. But for the rest of the wall, it was laid so completely even with the ground by those who dug it up from the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those believe who came hither that it had ever been inhabited." Maimonides, a Jewish writer, has also recorded that "Terentius Rufus, an officer in the army of Titus, with a ploughshare tore up the foundations of the temple," that the prophecy might be fulfilled, "Zion shall be ploughed as a field," Micah 3:12.
Titus actually wanted to preserve the temple; and frequently sent Josephus to the Jews to ask and encourage them to surrender in order to save the temple and city. But the prediction of the Saviour had been made and, in spite of the wish of the Roman general, the temple was to be destroyed. The Jews themselves first set fire to the porticoes of the temple. One of the Roman soldiers, without any command, threw a burning firebrand into the golden window, and soon the temple was in flames. Titus gave orders to extinguish the fire; but, amidst the tumult, none of his orders were obeyed. The soldiers pressed to the temple, and neither fear, nor entreaties, nor stripes, could restrain them. Their hatred of the Jews urged them on to the work of destruction; and thus, according to Josephus in The Jewish Wars, "the temple was burnt against the will of Caesar."
Other great temples are in ruins, but their ruins indicate their former splendor. The Parthenon, the Acropolis, the temples of Karnak, Luxor, and Baalbec are examples; but to find even the foundations of the Jewish temple it is necessary to dig beneath the modern city. It has entirely disappeared from the face of the earth, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque now stands on the spot where it once stood.
This prophecy was fulfilled literally. There was a real temple, and it was really destroyed. The literal fulfillment of this prophecy establishes the tone for the rest of the prophecies in the chapter. We should expect a literal fulfillment for these as well.
Jesus warns against being decieved by false prophets, of wars, famines and earthquakes. He says that these are merly the "beginning of birth pains." Jesus goes on to say that his followers will be persecuted, even unto death, more false prophets will appear and society will move further away from God as a whole. Many of these false Christs will be very convincing, they "will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible." Many will be decieved by them but the elected, born again, children of God will not be.
None of these things however will stop the Gospel from being preached to the world.
One reason why end times prophecy may seem vague is because God wants every age to have reasons to be ready for Jesus return. We should not think of Jesus' return as an event far off on a time line, but something we have been running parallel with since the day of Pentecost. Though some prophetic interpretations are different, we are sure of this: He is coming again, and we must be ready.
One specific Jesus does mention is "when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel." (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Essentially, the abomination of desolation speaks of the ultimate desecration of a Jewish temple, the establishment of an idolatrous image in the holy place itself, which will inevitably result in the judgment of God. It is the abomination that brings desolation. That it will be "standing in the Holy Place" indicates that that the abomination of desolation takes place in the Jewish temple. This is the only plain meaning of the phrase holy place. Some believe it happened in a prior Jewish temple, before it was destroyed in 70 AD Others - more properly - believe it will happen in the holy place of a rebuilt temple.
For centuries, there was only a small Jewish presence in Judea and Jerusalem. Their presence in the region was definite, and continuous, but small. It is unthinkable that this weak Jewish presence could rebuild a temple. Therefore the fulfillment of this prophecy was highly unlikely until Israel was regathered as a nation in 1948 and formed a Jewish State. The restoration of a nation that the world had not seen for some 2,000 years is a remarkable event in the fulfillment and future fulfillment of prophecy.
"Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." What generation does Jesus mean?
It cannot be the generation of the disciples, because they never saw Jesus return in glory. It is undoubtedly the generation that sees these signs. These events and Jesus' return won't be on some 1,000-year or drawn out timetable, but will happen in succession, in the timeframe of a single generation.
Jesus then gives three illustrations of how the day and hour of His second comming in unknown and cannot be predicted. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." The people in the time of Noah did not know of the comming judgment until it was too late, Christians are called to be prepared for His return. We are not to take our salvation for granted, but to live lives befitting one who is called a Child of God.
posted by Modern Day Magi @ 2:19 pm
1 Comments:
At 6/14/2006 04:53:00 pm,
Ben Eames said…
I love the way you write! So easy to follow, so interesting... You should think about being a writer of history or a Bible commentator. I would read your books!
Post a Comment
<< Home