It seems to be a characteristic of the human condition that
people are more interested in knowing the future than knowing the past. People might line up at a carnival in
front of a fortune teller’s tent, but not many would line up for a show about
ancient history. Yet there is an
old adage which should be very familiar to all of us; “those that fail to learn
from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Actually, I learned while researching that quote that the
original statement was made by a philosopher named George Santayana, and it
goes like this: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I didn’t remember that, but I think the
sentiment is the same. Those that
don’t learn from the past, or can’t remember the past are doomed to repeat
it.
Today we are looking at a passage of scripture which we call
predictive prophecy which has two parts to it, a part that is past, that is,
it’s been fulfilled, and that which is yet future. We should be able to learn from past prophecies that have
been fulfilled. Predictive prophecy though means that means something that is
predicted to happen in the future.
Not all prophecy is predictive.
Not all prophets tell the future, or prophesy about future events. Being a prophet of God means first of
all that one speaks forth the truth of God. In that sense I might be considered a prophet, or to have
the gift of prophecy or engage in the act of prophecy. But predictive prophecy is another
facet of prophecy that isn’t necessarily given to all prophets. I don’t have the gift of predictive
prophecy, and I don’t think it is a gift that is given today. I believe it was
given to Christ and to His apostles as sign gifts.
By the way, there is an interesting injunction given in the
Bible in regards to those that prophesy in a predictive manner. There is no room given for error. If one errs in their predictive
prophecy, if the event that they speak of does not come to pass, the Bible says that such a one is not
actually a prophet of God at all, and should be stoned to death. Now that is an OT injunction, and
unfortunately in those cases we are no longer under the law. I think it would clear the air
significantly if we were able to practice stoning false prophets according to
that standard today. Because there
are a great deal of false prophets masquerading in the church, pretending to be
able to tell future events, and they are offering a false doctrine that leads
people astray. And yet their
prophecies are consistently wrong, and naive people continue to follow them.
In this passage we are looking at today, known as the Olivet
Discourse, Jesus is speaking predictive prophecy. And as such, it is one of the most amazing prophesies that
has ever been recorded. Because we
have the great advantage today of seeing a large portion of this prophecy as
having been fulfilled. That
fulfillment should serve to bolster our faith. And it should also serve as a warning to those that are
unwilling to learn from the past, that they are doomed to repeat it. Because I believe that there are two
major parts to this prophecy, one that has been fulfilled, and one part that is
yet to come. And if we don’t learn
from the one which has past, then we are going to be condemned to repeat a
similar judgment when the one
comes in the future.
Now I will say at the outset that I go into this passage
with some hesitancy. To use
another famous quote, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” I don’t want to make foolish
assumptions in exegeting this prophecy.
Jesus said that angels long to look into the things which are to come,
but of the day and hour only God knows.
Paul referred to the end time as a mystery. Jesus said in Acts 1:7 “It is not for you to know the times
or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power.” So I don’t want to presume to know too
much. Many, many men a whole lot
smarter than I am have spent years studying these texts in search of the
correct interpretation of this passage.
And yet there is still a great debate in theological circles regarding
how to correctly interpret this prophecy.
My view, and I think a number of conservative theologian’s
view, is that it is a two part prophecy as I indicated. One part has been fulfilled, and yet
perhaps has overtones for events
still to come. And one part is
unfulfilled, and is still in the future.
Unfortunately, even though many theologians may agree with that
statement, that doesn’t solve every problem. There is still plenty of room for disagreement even within
those parameters.
So I tread lightly in eschatological debates, and I tend to
focus on what is clearly presented rather than focus on those things which are
purposefully presented as vague or indeterminate. I believe that if God wanted us to know everything that was
going to happen in sequential order then He would have easily done so. One thing I have learned from a verse
by verse preaching of Matthew and Luke for over 5 years combined is that Jesus
Himself was deliberately vague on many occasions. And Scripture, especially predictive prophecy, is often
deliberately vague. It’s often written in allegorical, figurative language. I don’t know why. God has His reasons. So I will focus on what I can be
clearly understood and trust Him with what I cannot understand.
Now all of this Discourse stems from the questions asked by
the disciples after Jesus announced that the temple would one day be destroyed
and not one stone left upon another.
They asked in vs. 7, "Teacher, when therefore will these things
happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take
place?"
Now to help understand this passage, you need to look also
at the parallel accounts found in Matthew and Mark’s gospels. Each of them includes or leaves out
certain details of Jesus’ message that others include as they present their
portraits of Christ. So to get the
complete picture, you need to look at all three. Matthew adds an important element to their initial question
in Matthew 24. He adds, “Tell us,
when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of
the end of the age?”
That phrase “end of the age” is important. Unfortunately the KJV uses the phrase,
“end of the world.” But the Greek
word for world is cosmos, and the word for age or epoch is ion. So the correct translation is not
world, but the end of the age. And
that distinction helps us to get a better handle on how to understand what
Jesus was talking about.
The key though comes in considering the context which
prompted their question. What
prompted their question was Jesus statement in vs. 6 that the temple would be
destroyed. Their question follows
that statement by saying, “when therefore will these things be? And what will
be the sign when these things are about to take place? That’s the context for Jesus’ answer. So it’s a mistake to start interpreting
these comments according to some eschatological format without keeping in mind
the question that Jesus is responding to.
He is responding what sign will be given when the temple is going to be
destroyed. And then in addition,
He will respond to the other question tacked on to that in Matthew’s version
which is “and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the
age?” So there are two questions,
and so Jesus gives two answers.
The first answer to the question regarding the destruction
of the temple is found in verses 8-24.
The answer to the second question regarding His coming and the end of
the age is found in verses 25 -36.
Now another key to help us understand this is found in vs. 24 which says
concerning the Jews, “and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be
led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by
the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
So because of time constraints this morning I am going to
give you the Cliff notes version of interpretation, which is that there are 3
ages presented in the Bible. There
was the ancient age, the time before Noah up until the flood. That lasted approximately 2000
years. Then there was the age of
the Jews starting with Abraham up to the time of Christ. That was approximately another 2000
years. And then as indicated in
vs. 24, there is the age of the Gentiles, which has lasted about another 2000
years. I happen to believe that
the end of the age of the Gentiles is very soon. Perhaps in our lifetime. Six thousand years have past, and three ages have been
instituted and are now drawing to a close. And I believe the coming seventh millennium symbolizes the
time when Christ will come back and rule the world, as a new heaven and new
earth, for eternity. It is the
eternal rest that was promised by the symbol of the Sabbath, the seventh
day.
So the ancient age ended with destruction of all human
flesh. It ended with the
flood. Then after that God
instituted a second age; the age of the Jews which started with a promise to a
Abraham that he would have a son, and that from his seed would come a nation,
and from that seed would come one from whom the whole world would be
blessed. That second age, the age
of the Jews would also come to an end, just as the first did. The ancient age was evil, they rejected
God, they co-married with demons, they were exceedingly wicked, and so God
brought judgment upon the whole earth save 8 persons.
And the second age of the Jews was evil as well. So Jesus predicts the judgment upon the
age of the Jews. He prefaces it by
saying that the temple, which was the center of Judaism, the center of Israel
in the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem would be destroyed. And so up through vs. 24 Jesus is
describing the judgment upon the temple, Jerusalem, and the Jews because they
rejected the manifestation of the Son of God and put Him to death. History tells us that this judgment happened just as Jesus
predicted just about 38 years after His death, in 70AD.
Then in vs. 25 through 36, Jesus predicts the future
judgment upon the world, all the nations, which is categorized as the end of
the age of the Gentiles. In this
last judgment, Peter says that the world at that time will be judged by fire. 2Pet.
3:3-13 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with
their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever
since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning
of creation.’ For when they
maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens
existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was
destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being
reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
Now that’s the overview. Let’s look then at some of the details of the judgment of
each of the last two ages. As
Jesus begins in vs. 8, He is addressing particularly the 12 disciples who are
with Him on the Mount of Olives a couple of nights before His crucifixion. He primarily wants to prepare them for
what is going to happen after He is crucified. And so He begins by saying, “Don’t be misled. Don’t be
fooled by people running around claiming that I have returned. Or that the end of the world is at
hand. Beware of false teachers who
will come after My death and try to mislead you.”
And Jesus is rightly concerned because He knows that it is
going to be a long time before He returns in power. He knows a lot of things are going to happen which are going
to rock the faith of the church.
He says in vs. 9 that there are going to be a lot of wars and
disturbances, but not to be terrified by that, because the end does not follow
immediately. It’s going to be a long time. Rome would go through tremendous political upheaval in the
next 35 years or so. Emperors
would be assassinated one after another sometimes within the space of just
three months.
But remember, though this might sound like He is talking
about events today, He is actually addressing their question regarding the
destruction of the temple. He goes on to say that nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes and plages
and famines and terrors and great signs from heaven. Again, that sounds like something out of Revelation that we
would ascribe to modern day events.
But vs. 12 makes it clear that He is still speaking to the disciples in
regards to the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish age.
And historians tell us that many of those things did happen
prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
For instance, there were comets that were seen in the sky such as
Haley’s comet during the reign of Nero that caused great concern among the
people of that day. There were
famines. There were earthquakes
and there were many uprisings and wars.
However, if you flip back over to Matthew’s version and look
at vs. 8 you will see that Jesus adds, “But all these things are merely the
beginning of birth pangs.” There
is still a ways to go before the end of the Jewish age.
But in vs. 12 once again Jesus turns His attention back to
His disciples. He wants to prepare
them for what they are going to suffer for His name. You can almost put parenthesis around vs. 12 through
19. This is His message of
assurance to His disciples in particular.
It is not a blanket statement for all Christians. It is spoken specifically and was
specifically fulfilled with the apostles and His immediate disciples. Vs.12
"But before all these things, (before the destruction of the temple) they
will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the
synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's
sake. It will lead to an opportunity
for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend
yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your
opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by
parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you
to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of
your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
Now a reading of the book of Acts will show you that the
disciples did in fact suffer those things. We know that all of the apostles
lost their lives as a martyr except for John. Many other disciples were executed as well, such as Stephen
and James. But we need to
understand that Jesus is using an expression that not a hair of their head will
perish as a metaphor which is underscored by the next line, which is by your
endurance you will gain or save your souls. In other words, though they may lose their life here on
earth, they will never die, but they will be saved, secured in the presence of
God. In a sense, they will not
lose even a hair of their head, even though some would have their head cut off,
because their soul was preserved complete through Christ. But you can put a
parenthesis around all of that because He clarifies it in vs. 12 by saying that
“before all these things”, these things being the destruction of the temple, you
will be arrested and persecuted and some of you killed.
Now back to Jesus description of the judgment of
Jerusalem. He says in vs.20
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her
desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and
those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country
must not enter the city; because
these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be
fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in
those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this
people; and they will fall by the
edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem
will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled.”
What is really interesting in this prophecy is that Jesus
warns His followers not to do what was the normal thing to do when a foreign
army comes upon a city. They lived
in or around walled cities which served as fortifications in times of war. The people that lived in the open or on
the outskirts of town would flee to the city and they would close the gates
against the invaders. And so the
attacking army would besiege the town, many times for months until the town ran
out of food and surrendered or overrun.
The Romans developed a lot of specialized equipment for this type of
warfare such as battering rams and catapults that would hurl huge boulders into
the walls to try to break down the walls or gates. But Jesus warns His disciples to not seek shelter in the
city. He warns them that when the
city is about to be surrounded by armies, flee instead to the mountains and get
out of the city, because the vengeance of God is coming upon Jerusalem. All God’s prophecies of judgment
against rebellious Israel will be coming down on them. And so Jesus warns His people to flee
the city.
History records that this is exactly what happened. But though a few Christian Jews escaped
Jerusalem, most of the other Jews acted as was their custom. They ran to Jerusalem. And when the Romans under General Titus
in 70AD finally broke through the walls and overran the city as Jesus had
prophesied, 1.1 million Jews were massacred. Those that survived were scattered across the Middle
East. They were taken
captive. They were hunted from one
nation to another. They lost their
homeland. They lost their temple.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote in detail concerning
the siege of Jerusalem. He wrote
of the hardships of the long siege and the famine within the city that led to
cannibalism among some of it’s inhabitants. And he wrote of how the marauding Roman soldiers set fire to
the temple, and the gold plates that covered the outer walls melted and the
gold ran down into the crevices between the stones. So the soldiers pried the stones apart in order to get at
the gold. As Jesus had prophesied,
not one stone was left upon
another. The Jewish temple was
destroyed. The sacrifices ceased. The priesthood dissolved as the
Israelites suffered for 2000 years in the dispersion. And as of 70 AD, the city of Jerusalem was trampled
underfoot by the Gentiles for almost 2000 years.
The most amazing thing concerning this prophecy is that in
our lifetime we have seen the Jews return to the land of Israel in 1948. Then after the 6 day war in 1967, the
Jews retook half of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus said that the time of the Gentiles would begin with
the trampling underfoot of Jerusalem.
So it would stand to reason that the end of the age of the Gentiles
comes with the Jews coming back into the city of Jerusalem. We could argue that the Jews do not
have complete control of it yet, but the fact that they are there after being
scattered around the world for 2000 years is a fulfillment of prophecy that is
simply astonishing. I believe it
indicates that the age of the Gentiles is about to come to a close.
And in that regard, let’s look quickly at the end of the age
of the Gentiles. I believe that starts
being described for us in vs. 25.
But once again, we are well served by Matthew’s version which helps us
to see that there is a transition in the prophecy. Jesus is giving us a telescopic view which goes from the end
of the age of the Jews to the end of the age of the Gentiles, or nations. We
see the mountain ranges of the prophecy, but it’s not clear due to the
telescopic nature of the prophecy the intervening time between the events. Matt. 24:21 "For then there will be
a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world
until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would
have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then
if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not
believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show
great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
Now here we see similar language as that which Jesus warned
would be happening at the end of the age of the Jews. False prophets misleading people would arise. It happened after Jesus was crucified
during the time of the apostles.
And 2000 years later it
will be characteristic of the end of the age of the Gentiles. You definitely get the sense that this
time there is an escalation of what happened earlier. That is why I said we must learn from the past in order to
keep from making the same mistakes in the future. Because now Jesus says the deception is going to be so
complete that if possible even the very elect would be deceived by their signs
and wonders.
By the way, there is a fast growing church denomination in
the Charismatic movement today that has heralded the fact that they will be
known by their signs and wonders. They use that exact language. It’s called the Vineyard and they are
really growing on the west coast.
I wonder if they have considered what Jesus said here concerning those
that mislead by performing signs and wonders as being a characteristic of false
prophets. I hope none of you will
be misled by such things.
So back in our text in Luke Jesus says this coming judgment
at the end of the age of the Gentiles will not only be characterized by false doctrines
and deception, but in vs. 25, "There will be signs in sun and moon and
stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of
the sea and the waves, men
fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the
world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON
OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.” Matthew adds to that
in Matt. 24:29-31 "But immediately after the tribulation of those
days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE
STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And
then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS
OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A
GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from
one end of the sky to the other.”
So the end of the age of the Gentiles will also be the end
of the ages. A great tribulation will precede Jesus coming back suddenly in the
clouds, with a loud trumpet. And
the dead in Christ will be resurrected first from the grave and we that are
alive will then be caught up to be with the Lord. We are living in the last
days. Jesus is coming back
soon. Every eye will see Him, and
those that rejected Him will mourn.
But there are some here that I’m sure are thinking that it’s
been 2000 years since Jesus lived, and things continue just as they always
have. They see the fulfillment of
Jesus’ prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and it
doesn’t faze them. They see the
miracle of the Jews go back into
Israel after 2000 years and it doesn’t faze them. They see the rise of false doctrines and the escalation of
wickedness on the earth and it doesn’t faze them. They continue on with their
lives eating and drinking and living like they want, just as the people did
during the age of Noah, in the days before the flood. For those of
you that think that way I will remind you of Peter’s words, written 2000 years
ago in 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like
one day. The Lord is not slow
about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not
wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar
and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its
works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this
way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of
the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and
the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
Jesus said back in our text in Luke, “But when these things
begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near." Folks, the end of the ages is at hand. The gospel of Christ has been preached
to all the nations. God has been more than patient, not
wanting any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Today is the
acceptable day of salvation. Christ
is coming back. He is coming with
judgment upon the wicked, upon the rebellious, upon the unbelievers. Those that
have rejected His rule over their lives He will cast into outer darkness into
the Lake of Fire. This earth and
all it’s works will be destroyed by fire.
But those that have suffered here, waiting in faith for the Lord’s
return will be saved. They will be
preserved forever. Not a hair of
their head will be harmed as God will preserve their soul. So when you look around you Christian,
and you are hated by everyone because of His name, and you are persecuted, and
you are bent over under the burden of tribulations, listen to these words! Straighten up! Lift up your heads! Because your redemption is drawing
near! Jesus is right at the door. He is coming soon. Amen.
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