The End of the Age (Matthew 24)

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The End of the Age

Chet Phillips

Transcript

Well, good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Excited to gather with y'all this morning and open the Bible together. If you'll grab your Bibles, I'm going to Matthew chapter 24. If you use one of the blue Bibles on the row, that's page 484.

If you use one of the black Bibles on the row, I don't know what page that's on, but your print is bigger, so that's what you get. You can find it on your own. It's easier to find. We are going to work through the entire chapter of Matthew chapter 24 today, and it is dense, and we have our work cut out for us, and that's one of the reasons why we decided it was time to go ahead and put the Bibles back on the rows because we're going to need to be able to look at this together pretty well until we wanted you to have a Bible in your hands. We are going to read. We're going to jump right in here in a second, and we're going to see that the disciples ask Jesus a question, and that's going to kind of drive this entire chapter.

So we're just going to start in. We're going to see the question that they ask, and then at that point, we'll kind of talk through where we're headed. But right now, let's jump right in. So Matthew chapter 24, verse 1. Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, you see all these, do you not?

Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. Okay, that's a bold statement. That's crazy for the disciples to hear. So Jesus has just been in the temple. We were seeing in Matthew chapter 23, chapter 22, that he was teaching in the temple, and this is the first time we've seen him teach in the temple. And now he's leaving the temple, and he's leaving the temple for good.

He has visited the temple. The Lord has visited the temple, and it has not gone well. He is leaving in judgment over the temple. That his last, his sermon that he just preached there was, woe to the scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. That we see in the Old Testament there's times where it's God's spirit would come over the temple, or God's spirit would leave the temple. And now God himself has entered the temple, spoken woe against the temple, and is leaving.

And when he's leaving, his disciples, who are all Galileans, so they're from kind of a rural area of Jerusalem, they would have been to the temple before, most likely. I know they went with Jesus some, and they probably went growing up on a fairly regular basis. But they never got over it, because the temple was magnificent. It was huge and beautiful. Josephus, who was a Jewish Roman historian, he said, if you never saw the temple, you've never seen a pretty building. That was your one shot at it.

The temple's the most glorious building, and if you hadn't seen it, you hadn't seen anything. And so they're walking, looking at it, and just being in awe of it. It feels a little bit like the way I feel every time I'm in downtown Columbia, because I grew up in Edgefield. And I'm just like, whoa. And people are like, you know this isn't a real city. And I'm like, yeah it is.

Look at how tall that building is. Almost six stories. Look at that. And so that's what they're doing. They're walking around and going, oh, can you believe this? And Jesus says this whole place is getting destroyed.

And that, as the center of their faith, the place where God meets the earth, where all of Judaism, this is not even just where God meets, at the center of the world is the temple. And for Jesus to say this is going to be destroyed, that's cataclysmic language. And so that prompts what happens next. It says, verse 3, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came. He came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

I think it's important to note that the Mount of Olives is mentioned in Zechariah as the place where God will, where Christ will return and set up his kingdom. Where when he ultimately comes, he will judge Jerusalem and he will set up his kingdom. And so Jesus, from that spot where it says that he will return in Zechariah, is sharing this with them. And so they ask him three questions. Tell us when will these things be? When is the destruction of the temple going to happen?

And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? What will be the sign of your coming and the sign of the end of the age? And his coming and the end of the age are closely linked. And in their mind, the destruction of the temple would have to be closely linked with that. There's no way the temple is destroyed. And that's not the end of the world.

So if you're saying you're going to destroy this, when is all that going to happen? And it's as they ask these three questions and they understand that this would all go together. They want to know when the destruction of the temple will happen. When is the sign of the coming and of the end of the age? Jesus gives an answer throughout the rest of Matthew chapter 24. And it's not perfectly clear to us what part he's answering when.

Because we stand in a different time of history. The temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Jesus has not come. The age has not ended. We're in the age, you guys.

So the end of the age hasn't happened. And so we stand between these two points of their questions. And Jesus gives an answer that we now, as we read this, are trying to sort out what's what. And he didn't number it for us. And he didn't say, well, ask you your first question. I will give 15 verses.

And then picking up in verse 16, we'll move on to questions 2 and 3. He doesn't do that. He just answers. And so we've got to try to understand what applies to what. And so as we approach this, we have to approach it with some level of humility. Because a lot of this does deal with the end of the age.

It deals with a lot of questions about future events that we only get prophetic speaking towards. But we don't know exactly what's going to happen. And the more I got into this, the more confused I got. And the more intense I got. And I started calling people in our church who studied some of this and talking with them about it. And I was really close to showing up looking like this today, just ready to go.

I was going to make a chart. I was going to get serious. I resisted the temptation. I didn't make a chart. And we're going to walk through this as best we can. But something that we need to understand.

We need to approach this with some level of humility, knowing that there are some of these questions we don't know exactly. We can have some good guesses at. We can have some good thoughts on. We can try to connect other passages in Scripture. But we don't know exactly.

Because it hasn't all been fulfilled yet. And so we want to approach it with some humility, understanding that there are people who love Jesus, who see some of this differently. We also, there's a lot of really interesting things in here that we don't need to miss the main things that Jesus says very, very clearly. Sometimes I think people come to Matthew chapter 24 and they get so focused in on words and certain things and little aspects and they start trying to build this out so perfectly that they miss that he said some things very aggressively, clearly that are the main points of this. It would be like if I came home and my wife had a pizza box and some cupcakes and I said, what was going on?

She said, we're celebrating. I just found out I'm pregnant. And I said, oh my goodness, this is amazing. Does it have pepperoni? You'd be like, bro, you missed what? No.

That's like a boat. That's what? And that's kind of what's happening here. Sometimes I think we get so zoomed in that there's some things that Jesus said very clearly that we should take home that we can miss. So real quick, a couple of things that we need to know as we get into this that add into our humility.

One, some of the things Jesus says may only speak to one of the answers, but sometimes it's unclear as to which one. Some people will look at this and say that some of them have dual fulfillment, meaning that there's like a lowercase f fulfillment that it was kind of fulfilled in AD 70, but that's a picture or a type of what he's going to do more big, more real, more aggressively later. We do see some of this in the Old Testament. There's some ground for that. Isaiah 7 says that a virgin will give birth and they will call his name Emmanuel. And then he goes on to say that that's going to be a sign to a king that was currently living, meaning there's going to be a young girl.

She's eventually going to get married. She's going to get pregnant. She's going to have a baby. And by the time that baby can, I think he's weaned, this will happen. So he gives like a seven-year timeline or a five-year timeline, just kind of says this is going to happen.

Then the New Testament authors pick up. They say, wait, wait, no, no. A virgin gives birth. And he's not just named Emmanuel. He is Emmanuel. He's God with us.

And this is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. And so it had a lowercase f fulfillment and an uppercase f fulfillment. There's other prophecies like that, but that's one of the cleanest examples. And so some people will say that's kind of what's happening here. Jesus is giving some stuff that will be fulfilled then and then really fulfilled then. That's a thing.

The other thing that is in here is the idea of telescoping, which is that prophets often would speak about something that was really close to them and something that was really far off altogether without telling us they were doing that. We see that throughout the Old Testament. It's as if God gave them some binoculars and showed them a mountain range and they just described this mountain and then this mountain and then this mountain and then this mountain. But if you were to travel through the mountains, you would see that it was actually two mountain ranges, one here and one way back over here.

But from their perspective, they're just seeing all of it together and saying about all of it together. And it's possible Jesus is doing some of that. That he's just speaking about things from their point in time, around AD 30, AD 33, and he's looking past AD 70 and he's looking to the end of time and he's just talking about them as he wishes. I don't know if y'all can tell, I'm not going to perfectly answer all these questions for you. I'm giving you some options. I will try to point them out as we go through.

I will give you some of my opinions on, I think this has a little more weight, but some of this stuff we have to hold with an open hand. And then we'll end with, don't miss the main things. Yes, it has pepperoni, possibly. Could be meatlovers. We haven't opened the box yet. You missed the main thing.

So we're going to get there. Okay, let's pray, ask for help, for you and for me, and this is going to be fun. God, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you that you do answer this question, even though some of it is unclear to us at this time. We pray that we would walk in wisdom as we study your word together, and that we would hear clearly the main things. Help us to be gracious to one another where there's some disagreement.

Help us to all be driven to study more, to read more, to know more of you, because to know more of you is to delight more in you, because you are good. And towards that end, we ask for your grace and your help through your spirit. Amen. All right. And Jesus answered them. Verse 4.

See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. So for them, he's saying, don't be led astray by other false Christs, by people saying that, Christ that I've returned after he's gone, he's saying, make sure you aren't led astray. And this is one of the main things that he comes back to. That's one of his main points.

Do not follow any other Christ. And for us, that would hold true as well. There are a lot that have come in the name of Christ, in the name of a Savior. Certainly some people say that their Jesus returned. Most people dismiss that. But there are a lot of other prophets and people who've come and said, I'm the one who's going to lead you to the good life.

I'm going to lead you to heaven. That Jehovah's Witnesses, that Mormons, that Islam, are all following Christ's. That are leading them. And he says, don't be led astray. See to it that you are not led astray. And then he says, they will lead many astray.

Verse 6, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place. But the end is not yet. I appreciate that verse. Every once in a while, you get to talking to someone, and they'll say, hey, did you hear what's going on? I think we're getting close to the end.

We're starting to hear of wars and rumors of wars. And it's like, hmm, did you read the back half of that verse? It says, see that you are not alarmed. The end is not yet. I'm glad you told me, reminded me to not be alarmed. But that happens.

Like, since their time, there were wars and rumors of wars. And since our time, there's been wars and rumors of wars. We walked into the 1900s, and globally announced, we've arrived. We're good people now. We've had the enlightenment. We're out of the Middle Ages, where they were all dark and dirty and mean to each other, which isn't all that true if you go back and read it.

A lot of them were Christians, and they didn't have technology, but they were doing okay. We hit the 1900s, and we're like, we've arrived. We're great. We're going to usher in peace. And we had 100 years of the most killing that's ever taken place on the face of the earth. Our nation has been in war, at war, since 2001.

And we sometimes forget that. We have a lot of rumors of wars. We might go to war with Syria, or Russia, or China, or each other. Heard any of those recently? If you're in the military, you might have five or six more people we might go to war with that you're not supposed to tell us about. But seeing how things have run since 2001, we'd be fine with it.

They'd sign us up for it, and we'd just be like, cool, as long as it doesn't get over here. But there's wars and rumors of wars, and this is globally happening. And so he says, be not alarmed. And he keeps going, for nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

So, some will read that as only speaking towards what happened before AD 70. Some would say that's ongoing. Some would say that's future. And we'll get into an area where we try to walk through those three more fully. But these are the beginning of birth pains.

So I know, my wife was first pregnant. She got about nine months. We were getting close. She did anything. I was like, ooh. I was like, is it go time?

Can we get the bags? Let's go. She called me on the phone. Is it go time? It was never go time. We had to schedule a C-section.

I was just stressed out for a week and a half for no reason. They put it on the clock. It wasn't go time until 9.10 one day because that was the time they assigned it. But that's what he's saying. Some of this stuff is the beginning of birth pains. It's global, eschatological, which means end time stuff, Braxton Hicks, which is fake labor pains.

Okay. Verse 9. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death. And you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Again, prior to A.D.

70, They were in the Roman Empire, which covered a lot of nations, meaning ethnicities, peoples, and none of them liked Christians. Christians were actually called atheists because they were some of the only ones who wouldn't go along with every God is a God. So a lot of them were like, oh, you got gods? We got gods. It's cool. And Christians were like, it's not cool.

There's one God. He's better than yours. People didn't like that. You had to, in guilds, to certain work and certain jobs, you had to come in and sacrifice to that guild God. And Christians were like, no, I'm not doing it. They're like, well, you can't be in the guild.

And it's like, that's fine. But you all need to repent. Like, they didn't get along. And prior to A.D. 70, we had Nero who hated Christians, murdered Christians, used them as street lamps. Wicked, wicked stuff.

But also, as it's gone through history and as we stand right now, there are a lot of nations. We live in the West. We've been relatively untouched by persecution. We've had a long period for us, short globally, but long for us, that we've had some peace where we can gather and worship. We're not arrested. We don't have to hide.

That's not the case around the globe. We support a ministry that's 1040 Hope, where they're trying to reach people in the 1040 window. They send missionaries to places. We're not allowed to say their names. We're not allowed to know where they are. They have a hard time getting money to them.

If they've found out that they're Christians, they can get in some serious trouble. There's a lot of unreached people groups on earth, and the reason they're unreached is they're hard to get to. Or when you get to them, they don't want to hear it. And so there is persecution globally, and he says that'll happen, and that as that happens, people will turn on one another, will betray one another. Verse 11, And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. Again, pushing on that idea that only follow him.

He's the only Christ, but many will lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. Lawlessness is willful sin. So there's sin that's missing the Mark. There's sin where you were trying to do something, and you didn't do it well. You didn't handle it well.

Lawlessness is, I don't care. I want to do what I want to do. I see that it says that, but I disagree. That happens all over the place, and it seems like it's happening increasingly. And one of the ways that we've seen it begin to infect the U.S. and even our churches is where Christians have started saying, that section of the Bible is outdated. It doesn't really mean what it says it means.

Or if it means that, I will not be following Jesus. I think we've probably seen people in your own life who have certain sections of the Bible who just say, I'm above that. I'm not going to follow that. I'm not going to surrender to that. I'm not going to submit to that. And they're choosing lawlessness, and then we're seeing their love grow cold, specifically for the Lord.

But there's also an increasing amount of difficulty and frustration that happens in the world, and there's a love that grows cold where people, the more things are bad, the less we care. Have you noticed that? And I think one of the weird things that happens is the more we see globally things are bad, and this issue is huge, and it's going on, and this is going on, and this is huge, we become desensitized to it. We care less, and we also care less for the things that are right in front of us that we actually have control over. To love our neighbors, to care for our neighbors, to tend to the things, the people that we know.

Sometimes it's almost like there's this big global thing going on that I'm supposed to have some good ideas on, some good thoughts on, and as long as I can tweet about it or put something on Facebook about it, fine, but the reality is it actually hasn't touched my heart. I actually don't love, I just want to be seen as okay, and because that's going on, I've lost the fact that I'm in a neighborhood around real people with actual people in front of me, and I have actual friendships and actual colleagues and actual coworkers, actual people I go to class with that I care nothing about. So be warned that the more lawlessness increases, the less likely you are to love. He says, because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Now you buy a vehicle and they say 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Okay. That's if you die or Jesus returns, whichever comes first. The one who endures to the end will be saved. Your end or everybody's end all at once, endure. The gospel and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.

So some will look at that and say that it means the whole world as they understood it, the Roman Empire, that this was proclaimed prior to AD 70, which there's some good arguments for, that that's what they were talking about. The whole world is that. Some will say, no, the whole world is the whole world so all these unreached people groups, Jesus didn't come back until we can reach them. And some people say, yeah, little F, fulfillment, big F, fulfillment. So he meant the end before the temple and this is the big end.

And because Jesus doesn't make it super clear, there is some room for debate there. But we do have a call placed on us to reach the unreached. So don't lose that. Verse 15. So, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. A little bit of encouragement in there.

Figure this out. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. So the abomination of desolation or the abomination that causes desolation is spoken of in the prophet Daniel in chapters 11 and 12. Most, if you just read Daniel, most would say, some say it's all future stuff but they probably wouldn't say it if they were just reading Daniel. Most would say that's Antiochus the first time the temple is sacked, taken over during the intertestamental period which is last book in the Old Testament before the Gospels pick up there was some time past, there were the Maccabees, there was a Maccabean revolt.

During that time period Antiochus takes over the temple, ceases the daily sacrifice, something that Daniel talks about and he sacrifices a pig on the altar which was an unclean animal and they say that's the abomination that causes desolation. And that's nice and that works fine until Jesus said verse 15. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place let the reader understand he's saying that Antiochus was either a picture of something that is to come or Antiochus was not the fulfillment of this because that has already happened and he's speaking about a future event. So some will say yes, multiple fulfillments.

Others say not Antiochus, it's some future thing. And so when he says this many people would read this as the, oh sorry, Luke specifically ties this to Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. So that when the Romans came in AD 70 there was a rebellion of the Jewish people from the Romans. They hated them. That's why all these questions about taxes and stuff are so loaded that we were just reading about in chapter 22. They hated the Romans.

They hated being occupied. They rebelled. In AD 66, AD 70 the Romans have broken the will of Jerusalem. They storm in. They burn everything down. They destroy the temple.

Many would say that that's them surrounding this and that they were the Christians were told to flee and many did because of this. That when they saw armies surrounding Jerusalem as Luke said and they understood this as the abomination that causes desolation they left. One of the interesting things that I learned as I was reading through this was that the Roman ensign which was an idol was not used in Jerusalem because it would cause too much trouble. So they didn't have their idol with them on all their banners and all their stuff because they were trying to not cause as much trouble with the people who were really upset by idolatry in the city of Jerusalem.

But when they showed back up after Jerusalem had rebelled they burned the temple down. They stuck one in the temple. They put ensigns all around Jerusalem. And so many people would say that's when the abomination of desolation came back and was set up in Jerusalem. But Luke specifically ties it to the army showing up which makes sense because that would give time for the people to actually escape because this is what he says verse 16 Then let those who are in Judea so it's specific to that area to Jerusalem flee to the mountains.

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in the house meaning as soon as you see it it's time to go and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. If you see the Romans marching in if you see those ensigns and you're in your field head to the mountains don't head to your house you could get stuck. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath for then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world till now no and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short no human being would be saved but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

I want to read a little bit from Josephus who wrote this about seven years after the fall of the temple talking about the fall of the temple. At that time 1.1 million Jews were killed. The Romans surrounded Jerusalem starved them out many died from famine. The fighting at the beginning had been pretty hard until they were all too weak and had not eaten and many had already died from famine and then the Romans broke in. It says so the Romans being now become masters of the wars this is quoting Josephus they placed their ensigns upon the towers and made joyful acclamations for the victory they had gained.

And then they went in Numbers into the lanes of the cities with their swords drawn they slew those whom they overtook without mercy and set fire to the houses where the Jews fled and burnt every soul in them and laid waste a great many of the rest. And when they were come to the houses to plunder them they found in them entire families of dead men in the upper rooms full of dead corpses that had died by famine. They stood in horror at the sight and went out without touching anything. And although they had shown some respect to those dead bodies they had not the same for those who were still alive.

They ran everyone through meaning they stabbed them with a sword whom they met and obstructed the very lanes with dead bodies and made the whole city run down with blood to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men's blood. And then the whole city burned for quite a while. It was a horrific time. That's why Jesus says escape. And if the Lord hadn't stopped it no human being would have made it. they end up taking about 97,000 into slavery. That's for them.

Some would still see that as a future thing as that would be a potential thing that has happened there a partial fulfillment and a future fulfillment and again as we read through here I'm going to try to walk through that pretty quickly show you kind of our options on that but it was certainly a terrible time at the destruction of the temple. Verse 23 Then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or there he is do not believe it for false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray if possible even the elect those who belong to Jesus. See I have told you beforehand. So he's saying when everything gets bad even though people are going to show up and they're going to have great signs and great power do not follow them.

So if this happens if there's a future fulfillment of this that we're participating in understand that some people are going to come up and they're going to say that they have that they are the Christ that they are the Savior and they have some ability and some power and he says see I told you beforehand that's a sign to us not to follow them when they have great power and great authority do not follow. And he was telling them do not follow and do you see that he's repeated this three times? Do not follow any other Christ. So if they say to you look he is in the wilderness do not go out if they say look he is in the inner rooms do not believe it for as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west so will be the coming of the Son of Man where the corpse is there the vultures will gather.

We'll take a second and talk through that. So he says you know how you can see lightning from really far off? That's what it's going to be like when I return. I sat in my backyard one time and I was watching some heat lightning and every once in a while when there's lightning going on I'll pull out the lightning map which is on the internet that shows you where lightning is striking. I want to see how far away that was. I was sitting in my backyard and I would watch lightning strike and I would look at the map and it was off the coast of Charleston.

That's what it's going to be like when I return. I sat in my backyard one time and I was watching some heat lightning and every once in a while when there's lightning going on I'll pull out the lightning map which is on the internet that shows you where lightning is striking. I want to see how far away that was. I was sitting in my backyard and I would watch lightning strike and I would look at the map and it was off the coast of Charleston. I was like no. So I pulled up Google Maps and I turned it to where I was pointing I pulled up a compass figured out which way

I was looking then I pulled up Google Maps and I turned it to it was pointing the same way and it was Charleston and I was like hmm and then I went back to the lightning map and I watched it and it would strike and I would look and it would show up on the map. So I'm so confident that's actually what was happening that I was willing to share that with you all today. You can see lightning really far away. And so what Jesus is saying is if anyone says to you he's come back say no he hadn't

Because you had to whisper it to me and when he comes back we're all going to go oh there he is it's going to be obvious he's not returning in secret he came one time quietly he came one time meekly he came one time wrapped in swaddling bands and we celebrate that but the next time he comes he rolls the sky up he splits the earth it's like lightning striking and he will return so he says then he says wherever the corpse is there the vultures will gather there's some debate about what he actually means there I think he means the same thing

As lightning meaning that it'll be obvious if you're hunting and you shoot a deer and you shoot it poorly and then you track poorly and you can't find it and you spend a long time looking for it and you go home sad you can go back the next day or a day after that and see if you see any vultures and then wherever they are is where that deer is I think that's all he's saying vultures only circle around things that are dead it's very obvious that something's dead out there if you see a bunch of vultures or if you see them all on the ground

Around something so I think that's all he's saying there's some debate there but I think he's making the same point in a colorful way verse 29 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 heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken then there will appear in heaven the sign of the son of man and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn

And they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other verse 32 from the fig tree learn its lesson as soon as its branches become tender and it puts out its leaves you know that summer is near so also when you see

All these things you know that he is near at the very gates truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away okay now we have to walk through some of our options because they run into each other in that section there starts being some conflict in trying to interpret this passage and understand

Where is he answering what question so let's look at the past view if you think all of everything prior to verse 36 and this is where they would say it everything prior to verse 36 where Jesus starts talking about his return more fully they would say all of that happened in AD 70 that's called the preterist view if you say everything's going to happen in the future that's called the futurist view the preterist

Based their term off of the latin word for past so it's the pastist view but pastist sounds stupid and if you were going to base futurist off of the latin word for future you'd come up with futurist because we already stole that word from latin so it works preterist view let's talk through it real quick I got some notes I'm going to try to move through this quickly

If anybody gets really geeked out about this and wants to talk more about it there are more things that I learned that did not make it to this moment all right preterist they say everything prior to verse 36 happens in AD 70 and then in verse 36 it moves on to the return of Jesus where he says no one knows that day or hour they say obviously this is referring

To the destruction of the temple and they have some weight there because Luke ties the abomination of desolation to when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies they say those days that are found in verses 19, 22 twice and in verse 29 where it says immediately after the tribulation of those days they say those days refers to

The fall of Jerusalem that great tribulation when 1.1 million Jews died and that when it says that no human being would have stayed alive it means no human being in Jerusalem they say that immediately in verse 29 means immediately those days immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened the moon the moon will not give its light

And the stars will fall from heaven and they say that this generation from verse 34 truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place means this generation which is the way Jesus has used it throughout the gospel the only time we start trying to redefine what this generation means is here when it confuses us but we've read it a bunch in Matthew 11

Three times in Matthew 12 and just last week in Matthew 23 where he says truly I say to you all these things will come upon this generation and every time we read it we thought he meant that group of people on earth they say that's what he means that group of people on earth and that's why they tie everything back in AD 70 there's some merit to that the biggest problem

Is when it says verse 29 immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened the moon will not give its light the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will be shaken that's first problem is that they then just say that's imagery they have some weight for that because Isaiah uses it as imagery Ezekiel uses it

As imagery and Joel uses it as imagery in talking about the destruction of different nations throughout the Old Testament but Joel also uses it as the end time and Isaiah also uses it as the end time when God sets up his kingdom but they say it's just imagery it means I'm going to turn your whole world upside down so if you were you know in an argument with somebody and you said

I'm about to come at you like a thunderstorm that's kind of what it means I'm going to mess everything up everything you're used to everything that you base your life on the sun's not even going to shine when I'm done with you and that's what they're saying that's what that means the other thing that they have to try to explain is then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man then all the tribes of earth will mourn

And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds from the end of heaven to the other they say that happened Jesus ascended into heaven he's at the right hand of the throne of God

That's how we see him now in power in great glory and him sending out his angels is his messengers that he's sending out to share the gospel with the world that all seems a little weak to me it's an argument and you can make some of those arguments but it seems like he means this as a very big aggressive picture also

2 Peter 3 reads the sun not giving its light as literal and Paul seems to in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1 to read the gathering of the elect and the blowing of a trumpet as literal when he actually calls us to it so the preterists have some arguments for why that's AD 70 but I think there are some

Things that are weak the futurists just saying nuh-uh it's all in the future maybe a few little ways that it was kind of fulfilled there it's like a sneak peek appetizer but it's all really up here and so they would say the abomination of desolation is the same as the 2nd Thessalonian man of lawlessness the beast from the book

Of Revelation and the antichrist that John mentions in his letters and that's all to come they would say that he's actually going to come to the temple which is going to have to get rebuilt now because they destroyed it in AD 70 so they're going to rebuild the temple so that he can do this that great tribulation where it says

No human being will be saved doesn't mean human beings in Jerusalem but means all the human beings everywhere they have a very literal reading of 29 verses 33 verses 30 which is immediately after tribulation of those days meaning the great tribulation in the future Jesus returns and then they say it's literal

Sun won't give its light which they have some weight from Joel and Isaiah and from Peter to say that means it's literally going to happen that Jesus will be the son that we will enter into his eternal kingdom and that so preterists would say when it says all the tribes of earth will mourn that means

Repent as in see that things are bad and be sad futurists say no it means weeping and gnashing of teeth mourning the king has returned and I was not ready they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory he'll blow his trumpet he'll call his people home

They say that all happens in the future it's aggressive it's obvious like a lightning strike that's all that and they read this generation as the generation who sees all the end time tribulation stuff so they change the way we would have understood this generation as always being there they just say well he means it differently

Here which is a weakness to their argument because it you're changing the way you've understood it the whole time or they say this generation means all humans or all sinners or they also if you're a futurist some of the weaknesses with that argument

Is that Jesus basically does not answer their first question when will the destruction of the temple happen he only talks about future things that are past us in the future which seems odd given the context he specifically told them about the destruction of the temple

They ask about the destruction of the temple Luke seems to tie some of this to the destruction of the temple and futurists are just like no it's in the future it feels like a very us reading of it non-Jewish western don't care

Much about the temple are well removed from this and looking into the head of the future and it is a more recent interpretation of this to just say it's all future also many of the people who say this is all future then begin

When it says concerning that day and hour no one knows we haven't read this yet verse 36 not even the angels of heaven nor the son but the father only when they talk about his actual return they'll get

Really caught up in looking for all the signs to be fulfilled so that we can know when he's coming back and Jesus ends this by saying be ready because you don't know a lot of the people who push everything into the future say well this hadn't happened yet

This hadn't happened yet this hadn't happened yet and they basically go against Jesus' main argument and they kind of tell you you don't have to be ready yet that's a weakness because it contradicts his main thing

Or they get super excited about it and they start telling you they know exactly when he's coming back they write a book they get everybody together 88 reasons he's coming back in 1988 89 reasons why we were wrong last year but it's for real this time

They start doing that kind of stuff that's something that goes along with this futurist stuff double fulfillment people go well I'm with you fellas they listen to the preterists and they go seems good they listen to the futurists and go that's a good point too probably both I'm gonna go get a snack that's a little mean to the

Double fulfillment people but that is kind of how they read some of that which is just a yes it happened then yes it's gonna happen we can't fully know exactly how clean that's gonna be but let's take the main gist of what he's saying which is let's be ready and there's kind of this ongoing which means that the tribulation the end of the age

Was inaugurated when Christ rose and ascended into the heavens and he tells the Pharisees the Sanhedrin in Matthew chapter 26 he says from now on you will see the son of man seated at the right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven so that it is a from now on he did ascend he has inaugurated his reign and he

Will return and that is how we will see him that the tribulation began at the destruction of the temple so they had to prepare for these signs but it began and now we're in it this is why John well after this writes your brother in the tribulation your brother and partner in the tribulation when he writes his letter meaning that the tribulation is now happening this is

Why the New Testament writers will refer to this as the last days or the end of the ages they refer to that is the last days and the end of the ages in last days Acts to Hebrews 1 first Timothy 3 second Peter 3 into the ages as first Corinthians 10 and Hebrews 9 that we are in the end and so therefore they would read that those days

Continues and that when we see these things we know that he's near at the very gates not that he's here that he's near and that he can return at any moment that when this stuff has taken place he can now turn the latch and come through at any moment which makes sense with the rest of 36 where Jesus says you'll know that the time has come but we don't know exact moment that it'll happen I lean that way one of you might

Could corner me after this and talk me out of it because I've been reading a bunch of this but that that seems to make a lot of sense that Jesus it breaks at the moment he rises and ascends into heaven and then it's ongoing we are in the tribulation we're a brother in the tribulation with John we're in the last days we are at the end of the ages what has needed to happen to fulfill and prepare us to know that the summer is coming has happened and he is

Near the very gates but he's patient and gracious and he will return as soon as the father gives him the nod verse 36 but concerning that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven nor the son but the father only that is a great mystery that the son does not know but the father does but the Jesus in humility submits himself to the father's timing for as were the days of Noah so will be the coming of the son of man for as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying

And giving in marriage until the flood came and swept them all away so will be the coming of the son of man then two men will be in the field one will be taken and one left two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken and one left therefore stay awake for you do not know what day your Lord is coming I have a very hard time standing here telling you all this stuff would take place in the future and that we're waiting on a bunch of future signs and then read that and tell you to stay awake because you don't know when he's

Coming we await his coming with eager expectancy and he says a lot of things will seem really normal there will be some people who have just thrown what you can't throw rice anymore confetti at a wedding and he'll come there will be some people who have just punched the clock and gotten to work and he'll come there was some people that are working together chatting over their work and he'll come and one of them will be called one of them will hear the trumpet one of them will ascend to meet him in the air the other will not that he could come at any moment so stay awake but know this that if the

Master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into therefore you must also you also must be ready for the son of man is coming in an hour you do not expect I watched a documentary recently about a young boy who got left home by himself and he found out some people were going to break into his house he knew the hour they were coming and he got ready that's he's making a very simple point if you knew when someone was going to break in your house if I knew when someone was going to break in my house it would be an uncomfortable meeting when they showed up for them not for me he wants us to wait with eager expectancy every once in a while

Hear a noise at night and I'll get up and walk around my house and check everything and check out my windows and then I don't walk and lay back in bed and just fall asleep I lay back in bed and I hear every noise that happens in my house because I'm thinking maybe something is going on maybe I miss something and I lay and I know that it's my job to protect us because Ellis Archer and Anna aren't going to do the best I'm the best one we got my wife all the times like just go to sleep I'm like you want me awake this is my Job but if you knew you'd be ready and he says you don't know so stay ready stay awake he's coming when you do not expect verse 45 who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time meaning master's left he

Put his servants in charge they have a Job to do blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes truly I say to you he will set him over all his possessions but if that wicked servant says to himself my master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards meaning that he doesn't care about the other servants around him he doesn't care about the other people he's supposed to care for he doesn't care and he wants to pursue personal pleasure to great temptations for us and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth we do not get all the answers we want but Jesus drives a few things home

Very clearly there is only one Christ his name is Jesus he will return and when he does it will be over will you be ready will you be found working and diligent and faithful and believing and loving when he comes back because he will show up like a thief in the night he will come at an hour you do not expect and at that moment those who are faithful will be welcomed into the most glorious home coming that has ever happened and those who are unfaithful and those who have run after sin and those who have ceased to love the Lord and cease to follow him will be cut into pieces and cast into darkness with hypocrites where there is weeping gnashing of teeth they asked him when will the destruction of the temple be and he says there's a few things you need to know about that but don't follow another Christ know that I'm coming back and be ready when I do and we're going to spend next week looking at a few pictures where he pushes on that even further

That's his main point in this whole answer he gives a few things that we love to get bogged down in but his main point is be ready when I come and if you have not placed your faith in Christ and you are not trusting in him to redeem your soul to save you from your sin you are not ready and if you say that you've done that but you've ceased to love and you've ceased to care and you're chasing after temporal pleasures and you don't care about the people around you and you don't care about the mission of God you are not ready who's the faithful servant who'll be ready when he comes blessed is he that is and we pray that he will return and he will return soon in power and glory and we pray that we'll be ready when he does let's pray God we thank you for your grace we thank you for the hope that we have in the gospel that you forgive sinners and we pray that we would keep our eyes on you and you alone that we would not trust in

Anything else to save us or to redeem us or to fulfill us that we would not walk into lawlessness choosing this world over you we pray Lord that we would be found diligent and serving and at work until the end comes whether that's the end of our lives the end of our days or the end of days Lord we pray that we'd be diligent in this day as we await that day we ask for your grace and your help and Lord we praise you that you will return that you will judge sin that you will save your church that it will be obvious and glorious and that we will see you coming on the clouds of heaven in power and glory and we await for the sound of the trumpet and may we stay ready in Jesus name amen you you you you you you you

You you