THE PERSON AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS
THE OLIVET DISCOURSE The Second Coming of Christ
The main problem we face when studying Matt. 24 is the question of what events Jesus is referring to. There are 4 major opinions: (1) Matt. 24 refers only to the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD which has already occurred; (2) this passage refers only to the events which immediately precede the coming of Christ and which have not yet occurred; (3) the first part of Matt. 24 refers to the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD which has already occurred and the last part of the chapter refers to the second coming which has not yet occurred; and (4) the events of Matt. 24 first occurred in 70 AD with the Fall of Jerusalem and will occur again just before Christ returns. Of the 4 options #4 seems to be the best. (Option #4 does not imply that the events will be carbon copies of each other but rather that the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD foreshadows events which lead up to the second coming of Christ. Just as Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, so she will fall again before Christ's second coming.)
Why did I choose option #4? First, this passage must in some way or other deal with the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD because Jesus categorically states that these events will occur during the lifetime of the generation He is addressing (24:34). Moreover, the context of this sermon compels us to see these events in light of the Fall of Jerusalem. What has Jesus been doing for the past several days before He preaches this sermon? He has been giving the Jewish religious leaders and the nation of Israel one last chance to repent. God had been reaching out to the Jewish people for the past 1700+ years, and yet they continually rejected Him. Well, they have rejected God for the last time, and now judgment is about to befall them. Moreover, Luke's version of this same sermon specifically claims that Jesus' sermon addresses the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Second, part of Matt. 24 though has not yet been fulfilled and will only be fulfilled when Christ returns (Matt. 24:26-31). Jesus simply has not returned in the way that Matthew says He will return.
Why not choose option #3 though which states that the first part of the chapter refers to the Fall of Jerusalem and the second part to Jesus' second coming which might occur thousands of years later? The problems with this are first that people who make this claim pooh-pooh at the idea of a great catastrophe falling upon the world before the return of Christ. Whatever else the Bible teaches, it teaches that the world does not go out with a whimper but with a bang. Christ does not return at the time of peace but at the time of great war (Rev. 19:11-21). This view is not only NT; it is also OT. The second problem with this view is that Matthew links the 2 events together, the destruction of Jerusalem and the return of Christ. (Right after Jesus predicts the fall of Jerusalem, He talks about His second coming, introducing the topic with the words "But IMMEDIATELY after the tribulation of those days . . . ") Luke may separate the fall of Jerusalem from the Second Coming; however. Mark and Matthew do not. We need to be faithful not only to Luke but also to Mark and Matthew. (Even Luke's version though does not necessarily mean that Jerusalem will not fall again at the end of human history.)
JESUS' PROPHECY (24:1-2)
Jesus has just spent the last several days arguing with the Jewish religious leaders. He has been giving them one last chance to repent and accept Him as their Messiah. His attempts though have resulted in abject failure. They refuse to acknowledge Him as the Messiah and in effect have rejected the God who sent Him.
As Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple compound, headed east for the Mount of Olives and Bethany, the disciples point out to Jesus the magnificent buildings in the temple compound. The compound itself, which housed not only the Temple but also the Sanhedrin, numerous courts and rooms, was the largest structure in the Roman empire. It was so massive that you could have put the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House, and the Capitol building all within this complex. Some of the stones measured 44.6 feet by 11 feet, weighing 628 tons (Wikpedia Encyclopedia on "Herod's Temple.") Moreover, the temple was beautiful. Marble, bronze and gold were liberally used in the building of the temple. It was said that the rays of the morning sun reflected off the gold of the temple, blinding the eyes of any who looked at it. One said that you had never really ever seen anything until you had seen the temple.
As impressed as the disciples are with the temple, Jesus is not so impressed. The physical nature of the temple did not impress Him. What impressed Him albeit negatively was the spiritual decay of those who led the temple services. Jesus informs the disciples: "Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down" (24:2). (In verse 34 He informs us that this prediction will be fulfilled within the lifetime of the present generation.)
This was by no means an idle prophecy. Within 40 years of this prediction the Roman army under the general Vespasian and later the general Titus surrounded the city and utterly destroyed it, including the temple itself. A fire accidentally broke out in the temple compound and burned up all the timbers, forcing the soldiers to dismantle the temple since it had become unsafe.
JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (24:1-25:46)
The Disciples Question Jesus About His Prediction (24:3)
After Jesus and His disciples leave the temple area, Jesus heads for the Mount of Olives to the east of the temple compound. As Jesus is sitting down, the disciples come to Him privately saying: "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" The Jews believed that the OT taught that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple would signal the end of the age. Jesus' disciples then, who were Jews, naturally thought that the prophecy about the destruction of the temple included also the end of the world and His second coming.
What is interesting about Jesus' response is that He does NOT separate the 2. It is as if Jesus endorses the idea that the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem did signify His second coming and the end of the world. Since Jesus did not return when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it is most likely true that the destruction of the temple in 70 AD foreshadows the final destruction of Jerusalem and the holy place at the end of the world before Jesus actually does return.
This view should not surprise us since the Bible abounds with examples of certain events in the past foreshadowing future events. For example, the baby born to the virgin in Isaiah foreshadowed the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary. The life and kingdom of David foreshadowed the life and kingdom of his Son Jesus. The Passover from Egypt foreshadowed the greater Passover Jesus accomplished for you and me at Calvary. The judgment of flood upon the whole world foreshadows the future judgment of fire upon the whole world at the end of time. Jesus brings these events in our lives to prepare us for the greater fulfillment yet to come.
The Beginning of Birthpangs (24:4-13)
Jesus first informs the disciples what events do not necessarily signal His second coming and the end of the world. The reason Jesus tells His disciples what events do not necessarily signal His return is that many people will point to such events as proof that the end is near or that Jesus is about to return or even has returned. Throughout history Christians have repeatedly pointed to wars and natural disasters as proof that the end was near. Jesus though does not want His followers to be misled. In fact probably the whole purpose of Jesus' sermon in Matt. 24 and 25 is to keep us from being misled.
The first event which does not necessarily signal the end of the world is the coming of false christs: "Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many" (24:5). Throughout Jewish history numerous pretenders arose claiming to be the Messiah, the latest being Bar Chochba in 125 AD, whose uprising led to the total destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine for 500 years. Someone merely claiming to be Christ like the Rev. Sun Myung Moon does not signal the end is here. Something else does though.
Many times people view wars and even rumors of wars as proofs that the end is near (24:6-7a). Many people during WW1 and WW2 believed that these wars were signs the end had come. During WW1 General Allenby, the British General in the Middle East, actually deliberately engaged the Turkish forces at Armageddon, hoping this would usher in the kingdom of God. From that time forward he was called Allenby of Armageddon. Wars though are not necessary signs. Something else is though.
Natural disasters are not necessarily signals that the end has come (24:7b). It is true that the tsunami of 2004 killed approximately 100,000 people; however, the great earthquake of Lisbon, Portugal and its ensuing tsunamis in 1755 killed over 60,000-100,000 on All Saints Day (Nov. 1) when many people were even in church celebrating mass (even though it was a Saturday morning). All these disasters and many more occurred, and yet Jesus did not return. Natural disasters are not necessary signs of the end. Something else is though.
The persecution of Christians does not necessarily signal the end is near (24:9-10). Christians have been persecuted since day one. Christ was persecuted; the early Christians were persecuted. For 300 years the Christians were persecuted by the Roman empire until the Roman emperor Constantine embraced Christianity. The rise of Islam in the 6th and 7th centuries signaled the coming of intense persecution for Christians throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia. More Christians suffered persecution during the 20th century than during all the other previous 19 centuries combined. In spite of all this persecution Christ did not return. Persecution does not necessarily mean the end is here. Something else does though.
Finally, Jesus says that when many fall away from Christ, the end is not necessarily near. Churches were packed during the 50's and early 60's; mainstream denominations have experienced a precipitous decline in the last 40 years, and yet Christ has not returned. Churches were filled in England during the time of Oliver Cromwell, and yet they were empty after he died; yet Jesus did not return. People will fall away before Jesus returns; there will be natural disasters, etc; however, simply because they occur does not mean that Jesus is about to return.
According to Jesus all these things--false christs, wars, natural disasters, persecutions, falling away (apostasy)--are the beginning of birth pangs. What does Jesus mean by this?
First, He is implying that a time of great struggle is going to occur before He returns in glory. He compares His return with that of the birth of a baby. Just like the baby does not arrive without birth pangs, so Jesus will not arrive until the world has gone through its traumatic struggle. The more wonderful the baby, the more intense the birth pangs. In the same way since Jesus' return is going to produce something so glorious that tremendous birth pangs of suffering must occur first.
Jesus says though that the sufferings of this present time are related to His coming just like the beginning of birth pangs are related to the final birth of the baby. It's just that the beginning of birth pangs means that there's a whole lot more labor to undergo before the baby comes. When Nancy went into labor with Nathan at 9:00 in the morning, she did not deliver him immediately. We had to wait another 11 hours and 13 minutes before he came. In the same way we are experiencing the beginning stage of birth pangs; a lot more labor is going to have to be endured before Christ returns. Those listening to Jesus should have understood immediately when Jesus spoke these words that a lot more time was going to have to elapse before He returned.
Second, by calling our sufferings here the beginning of birth pangs, Jesus is saying that our sufferings here give us a taste of the suffering which Christians will endure before Jesus returns. They may only be a taste; however, they are real tastes of the final sufferings. Christians even NOW are getting a taste of the greater tribulation which is to come before His return.
Jesus next informs us what our response to all this should be: "But the one who endures to the end shall be saved" (24:13). Whatever else the passages on Jesus' second coming teach, they primarily teach us to be faithful and to endure to the end. Why? Because only the faithful during these times will be saved. We Baptists teach "once saved, always saved." Let's rephrase this then to say: "You can in the long run tell who really is a Christian by the fact that the Christian is the one who endures to the end." The person who falls during the time of persecution will not be saved because he was never a Christian in the first place.
The One Indispensable Precondition to the Return of Christ (24:14)
Before Jesus describes the one event which signals His second coming, He first tells us what must happen before the second coming can occur: "The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." The evangelization of the whole world must occur before Christ returns. Does every person have to hear the gospel for this condition to be fulfilled? Probably not. In fact Paul says that by the end of his ministry the whole world had heard the gospel [by whole world, he was referring to the Roman empire (2 Tim. 4:17)]. Rather the gospel will have been preached throughout the entire world. Nearly every, if not all, people groups will have heard the gospel. When that happens, then conditions are ready for the return of Christ.
The Abomination of Desolation: The Critical Identifying Event of the Great Tribulation (24:15)
Before we look at the one critical identifying event which brings about the Great Tribulation, notice that not once has Jesus mentioned a rapture up to this point! Either it occurs before the Great Tribulation and Jesus doesn't know it, or else it doesn't occur before the Great Tribulation but rather at the end of the Great Tribulation.
So what is the critical identifying event of the Great Tribulation?
"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet
standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains" (24:15).
The abomination of desolation then is the one critical event which when it occurs signals that the Great Tribulation is upon us and that Christ is about to return.
Now Paul reaffirms this interpretation of Jesus' words. Not only does Paul indicate this is the true interpretation, he also defines for us what Jesus means by the Abomination of Desolation, that is, the act which is so abominable that God brings about the great desolation of the Great Tribulation:
"Unless the apostasy must come first,
and then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, the son of perdition,
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship
SO THAT HE TAKES HIS SEAT IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD,
DISPLAYING HIMSELF AS BEING GOD" (2 Thess. 2:3-4).
Paul in agreement with Jesus claims that the major, identifying event of the Great Tribulation and the event which signals that Jesus is about to return is the Abomination of Desolation. According to Paul this abomination which leads to great desolation is nothing less than a False Christ, the Antichrist, who takes his seat in the area of the temple and declares himself to be God.
Our Response (24:16-28)
Jesus tells us once that we realize that the Great Tribulation is upon us, we should have one response: "Flee!" This applies specifically to Jesus' followers who live in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Things will be so traumatic there that Christians will not want to be there as persecution intensifies before Christ returns.
The early Christians took this command quite literally. Whenever the Romans started laying siege to Jerusalem in 70 AD, many Christians fled Jerusalem because of the debacle which was about to befall Jerusalem. They fled to the east of the Jordan River to a city called Pella. Their flight angered the Jews so much that from then on many Jews totally rejected the Christians. It help split forever Christianity from Judaism. Although Jesus never allows us to deny Him during times of persecution, He does tell us to flee it if possible.
The Traumatic Nature of the Great Tribulation (24:17-22)
Just how traumatic will the Great Tribulation be? Jesus says that it will be so sudden and traumatic that you need to flee immediately. If you're on top of the rooftop, don't go down into the house and gather some precious sentimental items from your house. Get out of Jerusalem! If you are out working in the field, don't rush back into town to retrieve your coat which you need to keep you warm during the cold nights. Get out of town! The days will be so terrible that you won't want to be weighed down with being pregnant or even nursing a newborn baby. Normally pregnancy and nursing babies are 2 of the most exciting times in the lives of women (many women); not during the time of the Great Tribulation though.
Just how traumatic will the Great Tribulation be? Jesus says that it will be such a "Great Tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall" (24:21). In fact if this Great Tribulation had not been cut short, "no life would have been saved" (24:22). Jesus tells us though that "for the sake of the elect [that is, Christians], those days shall be cut short" (24:22).
Emergence of the False Christ During the Tribulation (24:23-28)
Jesus informed us earlier that before the Great Tribulation occurred, antichrists and false prophets would emerge. Their emergence was not a sign that the end was near. Once though the abomination of desolation occurs, the end is near. At that time another false Christ will emerge. John calls this evil figure "Antichrist" (1 John 2:18).
During this time of tribulation this Antichrist will actually claim to be Christ Himself. We are not to be misled by this Antichrist. In fact the purpose of the entire book of Revelation is to instruct Christ's people not to follow the Antichrist but to be true and faithful to the true Christ no matter how severe persecution becomes.
How though can you detect whether or not this person is the Christ or Antichrist? Simple. By the way he appears. If someone has to tell you that he has arrived and is in the desert (the regular place where God's prophets appeared) or that he has appeared and is in a secret place, then he is not the true Christ; he is Antichrist. The true Christ will appear in such a way that there will absolutely be no mistaking that He is the Christ:
"For just as the lightning comes from the east,
and flashes even to the west,
so shall the coming of the Son of Man be" (24:27).
He will come in such a way that there will be no mistaking that He is the Christ.
Jesus then ends this section with a cryptic statement: "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" (24:28). Many attempts have been made to interpret this passage. John the apostle though interprets it for us. John informs us that Christ returns at the time of battle, the battle of Armageddon. The destruction of the Antichrist and the forces of Satan will be massive and bloody. So great will be the carnage that the birds of heaven will come and feast upon the flesh of the slain enemies of Christ and His people (Rev. 19:17-21).