In this episode, I’m going to continue the series I started regarding the tribulation, the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, the kingdom of heaven, the 2nd Coming of Christ, and the End of the Age. In Matthew 24:1-3, the disciples asked Jesus, “When will the temple be destroyed? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’”
In this episode, we’re going to hear the answers Jesus gave the disciples for some of their questions from Matthew 24:9-14.
There are two other passages in Mark and Luke that recount the same situation: Mark 13:9-13 and Luke 21:12-19.
Paul gives a similar response to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. Paul is obviously recounting to the Thessalonians what Jesus told the disciples. Don’t be troubled about things you’re hearing. There are false teachers saying the “Day of the Lord” has already happened. Paul says don’t let anyone deceive you. He says the “Day of the Lord” won’t happen without a falling away from the faith, just as Jesus said. And the “lawless one” will be made apparent. Jesus said “lawlessness” would increase. This all sounds similar, right? This is what was happening between the ascension of Christ and the destruction of the temple.
What are the questions to be answered by Jesus? “When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign of its impending destruction? What will be the sign of the coming of Jesus? What will be the sign of the end of the Age?’”
Again, he’s saying, prepare yourselves. Who is Jesus speaking to? Specifically? Can these words be applied to us today? Yes, these words are applicable until the 2nd Coming, but specifically, Jesus wants the disciples and the believers they disciple to stay prepared for what’s coming.
What’s coming? Persecutions. They’ll be persecuted, betrayed by parents, children, relatives, and friends, handed over to the courts, governors, and kings, flogged in the synagogues, go to prison, be hated, and be killed. Again, can this persecution be applied to us today? Of course, wherever the kingdom of heaven is preached, there will be persecution. And there is persecution today, and if we’re truly preaching the kingdom of heaven, there should be persecution. But in these verses, Jesus is talking to the disciples.
Why will there be persecution? They’ll be persecuted because of the name of Jesus. The “Name” of someone is their reputation. Your name is what you stand for. The name of Jesus stood for the kingdom of heaven, which is in opposition to the kingdoms of this world, and, most prominently to the disciples, the kingdom of heaven was rejected and despised by Judaism. They hated Jesus.
To oppose the “Name of Jesus” and his message of the kingdom of heaven, Judaizers and False Teachers, motivated by Satan (the evil one), will rise up and lead listeners and believers astray. Remember, Jesus told the Jewish leaders that they weren’t children of Abraham, but their father was Satan. Does this happen today? Yes, but the focus of the message Jesus is giving is to the first-century disciples and believers. In the first century, the strongest hatred of anything Jesus was Judaism. Through the centuries since, Satan has influenced governments, ideologies, and religions to persecute believers.
Jesus also tells the disciples they’ll see a Great Falling Away/Apostasy. He says the love of many will grow cold. This apostasy will turn into non-believers betraying believers. Why is this apostasy, persecution, and false teaching going to happen? Because Lawlessness Will Multiply (1 John 3:4).
The term ‘lawlessness’ in this context refers to a general disregard for moral and ethical principles, a rejection of God’s law, and rebellion against God’s commands. A society of lawlessness is a people without restraint, ignoring the principles of righteousness, justice, and love while replacing those principles with dishonesty, immorality, violence, and a lack of empathy for others. Because of the rise in ‘lawlessness,’ there will be an erosion of love among the people. Relationships will break down between people and God. Love is the antithesis of lawlessness (1 Corinthians 13). Jesus is warning the disciples that as they see lawlessness increasing, they will also see the basic human values of love, kindness, and compassion diminish, much less worship, devotion, and gratitude toward God. Their society will become more self-centered, indifferent, and callous toward man and God. Jesus was warning the disciples that as they saw lawlessness increase, it would manifest itself as rebellion against the laws of man and God. This will be a period of Great Tribulation as societal and spiritual values collapse upon themselves.
Jesus also warns the disciples in societies like these that they will arrest them, beat them, and put them on trial. When this happens, he tells them not to prepare what they’ll say because the Holy Spirit will give them words that can’t be refuted. Why does Jesus tell them this? To reassure them that the Holy Spirit is with them in their persecution so the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. Persecution is an opportunity to witness. Is the same true for us today? Yes!
Jesus tells them that not a hair on their head will be lost (Luke 21:18). We see this same concept in Luke 12:4-7. By saying the hairs on their head are numbered, Jesus means God has intimate knowledge of every individual. God can recount the numbered placement of each hair on your head. The emphasis isn’t on our head of hair but on God’s providential care for every believer, especially in the face of adversity and persecution, for the sake of Jesus. In the end, in the resurrection, nothing will be forgotten about the disciples or any believer in Jesus Christ.
“When will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’” Jesus said when you see these things happening, and you see things getting worse because the good news of the kingdom is spreading in all the world, Then the end will come. When did the Gospel spread in all the world? The world spoken of in this context is the Roman World, not the ends of the earth. We know from the Book of Acts that the Gospel made it all the way to Rome as a witness in the lifetime of the Apostles. The end of what will come. The end, “telos,” meaning completion. This is a specific completion or the close of a specific age, not the end of the world. When you see the signs of these things happening to believers in Jerusalem and Judea, then the end will come. When you see the sign of the devolving of the Jewish religion and society because of ‘lawlessness,’ then the end will come. When you see the sign that the gospel is preached all the way to Rome, then the age will end. Did these things all happen? Yes, between the ascension of Christ and 70 AD?
God’s closing of the age of Judaism and the beginning of a New Covenant through the Son of Man, the Messiah, will be a catastrophic tribulation of unequaled calamity, but the one who endures by faith to the end will be saved.
