Many are now, and have in the past, used times like these to excite and cause people to become stressed about the threat of the end of the world. Many have made lots of money by offering their views of scripture regarding the “End Times.” I don’t want you to be deceived or misled by these profiteers. In this episode, and several future episodes, I’ll present, from Matthew 24 and 25, what Jesus told his disciples to expect before his second coming.
We’re going to discuss what’s called Eschatological Theology. This means the study of “Last Things” or the “End Times.” What’s the destiny of humanity and the world, as given to us by God in the Scriptures?
In our last episode, which I’ve linked in the notes, we looked at Matthew 23, where Jesus brought an indictment against Israel in the declaration of seven woes. From the charges Jesus brought, he demonstrated Israel was guilty of breaking the Mosaic Covenant and the blood of all the prophets their ancestors killed. He said the generation he was speaking to was accountable for the sins of the nation. The sentence was Israel would become desolate.
Delivering this judgment on Israel, Jesus left the temple (Matthew 24:1-2).
Jesus had about three days before his trial, crucifixion, and death; his closest followers still don’t get it. It was difficult for the disciples to grasp Israel’s future. Growing up, they heard all the kingdom’s teachings. Every Jew knew the Messiah was going to restore Israel and defeat their enemies. But what if they were wrong? What if all the teachings about Israel, the Messiah, and the kingdom were wrong? Could their bias toward Judaism, nationalism, and entitlement as God’s people allow them to see the truth Jesus was telling them? Jesus said the nation would become desolate. But the temple’s supposed to be the centerpiece of the Messiah’s kingdom. The disciples were still in the dark about the kingdom of heaven Jesus was preaching. But many are in the dark today about the kingdom Jesus preached.
So Jesus makes it plain to the disciples by saying, “Not one stone of the temple will be left upon another.” That’s as clear as he could be. Nothing will be left of the temple.
After a little time for the disciples to consider what Jesus said about the temple, they sent Peter, James, John, and Andrew to Jesus to probe a little deeper (Matthew 24:3).
From the context of Luke, there are two key points of interest for the disciples: When will these things happen? They want to know when the destruction of the temple will happen. Right here, the “when” only has to do with the destruction of the temple. Nothing else.
The second point of interest is: What are the signs of your coming and the end of the age? Prophets give signs. What signs can Jesus give them about his coming and the end of the age? What age?
The disciples know Jesus is going to leave them and return. But they didn’t fully comprehend the details. When would he come back? (REF. Matthew 16:21, Matthew 20:18-19 and John 14:3)
They might not have fully understood the timeline or the specifics, but they knew something significant was going to happen. The disciples have some Questions To Be Answered: 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? And What will be the end of the Age?
Jesus will answer all these questions, but his response isn’t simple, and it won’t be what they want or expect to hear. What Jesus is going to tell them goes against everything they’ve been taught about the kingdom of God and Israel and everything they thought their prophets wrote about Israel in the Torah.
Let’s read how Jesus responds to their questions from Matthew 24:4-7.
Now, you’ve got questions, right? What Jesus told them didn’t answer their questions. Yes, he didn’t answer those questions “yet.” He will give them the answers they’re looking for, but he has first to prepare them for the answers with some warnings. In the Greek, verse 4 of Matthew, it’s translated, “Proceed with caution, lest someone leads you astray.”
Who would lead them astray? Jesus explains who would lead them astray in verse 5. The Greek in verse 5 is translated, “Many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and deceive many.
The interpretation of these two verses suggests that there will be individuals or teachers who falsely claim to represent Christ and deceive others. The syntax of the Greek in these verses shows that some will come claiming to be the Messiah, but some will come as teachers and leaders within the Christian community (come in the name of Christ) who will lead people astray with false teachings or false claims. The emphasis of the false teachings in these verses is to be deceitful influences about the end times. Before the disciples can hear the answers to their questions, they need to understand the importance of discerning the truth. They also need to know how important it is to remain faithful to what he’s about to tell them.
Following his warnings to the disciples, Jesus tells the disciples not to be anxious about the end times. He tells them there will be ‘Wars and rumors of wars,’ signifying the presence of conflict close to them. He tells them, ‘nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,’ which points to widespread conflicts in the world. He also tells them there will be ‘famines and earthquakes,’ which highlight natural disasters. Jesus is saying Military conflicts, societal unrest, and natural calamities will happen, but don’t let these things trouble you. These kinds of things are just the initial events of more challenging things to come. We’ll see these played out in future episodes.
Like the disciples, we all have questions about the end times. We want to know when the end will come and what signs there will be as a warning before the end comes. We can learn from what Jesus told the disciples to stay vigilant and don’t let anyone deceive you about the end times. Jesus said, “Many” will come, and “many” will be deceived. The significance of Matthew using the word ‘many’ twice in that sentence emphasizes the widespread nature of the deception about the end times. There will be a substantial number of people claiming to be the Messiah or those representing Christ, and they’ll deceive a lot of people. Jesus was also telling the disciples to be prepared for turbulent and distressing times leading to the fulfillment of all God’s plans, but not to be anxious over it.
Jesus concludes his preparation of the disciples to receive his answers to their questions about when the temple will be destroyed, the signs of his coming, and the end of the age (Matthew 24:8).
The false Messiahs, the false teachers, the military conflicts, the social upheavals, and natural disasters are the signs, like labor pains, that the day is approaching when the expectancy of the temple’s destruction, the coming of Jesus, and the end of the age will be delivered. But as they observe these things, they shouldn’t be anxious or confused. They should keep *Looking toward the Future. And as they’re looking forward, they should, and we should always remember;
This is just the beginning; The unfolding of God’s plan for our salvation began 2,000 years ago. It began as a sequence of events that brought Jesus to the cross and will continue to unfold until we see the 2nd coming of Christ. There’s no escape pod for the disciples or for us. Everything will be escalating until the end.
Be prepared for a New beginning; like labor, the pains will become more and more severe and intense as time passes, but the delivery of God’s kingdom will take away all the pain. The disciples and all believers spend our time on earth preparing for a New Heaven and a New Earth where we will be with Christ forever.
Endure by faith; encourage each other to endure and have faith in God’s plan for salvation. Jesus commissioned the disciples to preach the Gospel and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that he commanded them. That’s the commission of the church to make disciples of Christ and encourage the faith and the knowledge of him in all who believe. Things are going to get harder for the church, so as those trials increase, we must support and encourage each other by faith as we anticipate his glorious 2nd coming.
