"Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came 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?"
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is such a tremendous honor to come together with you today for the study God's Word, I am grateful that you allow me that great privilege. God has been great in continuing to bless your efforts in reaching the lost and the deceived. We recently were able to send much needed Bibles to people and places as never before imagined, bringing more people to Christ. I thank God for those of you who have been so moved by His Spirit to support us in the ministry, whether by sharing the ministry website, and social media platforms with your family and friends, or financially. I humbly ask you will continue to join us in praying, and ask God to continue to bless this ministry in reaching the lost, the broken and the hopeless. May He continue to bless our growth together
with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, as we faithfully lead others to Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. I’m so thankful that with the gift of technology we are able to worship together.
After delivering these sorrowful words, Jesus and His disciples walked out of the temple complex. The temple complex was quite impressive, it was built by Herod the Great, who apparently really liked impressive things. The stones were massive, and it was one of the most impressive structures in the ancient world. The Jewish people of that day, probably thought that it was virtually indestructible.
This is not an easy passage in Matthew chapter 24. This sermon given by our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples on the Mount of Olives, in Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, is commonly known as "The Olivet Discourse," is eschatological in nature and practical in purpose. Unfortunately, Matthew 25 often get left out, it is my prayer that you will see it as we move from chapter 24 into chapter 25. Mark's parallel account, chapter 13 is concerned with the Parousia of the Son of man.
The theme of His message is about His coming and the end of the present age and the establishment of His kingdom in response to the question of the disciples. These are very weighty words spoken by our Lord. Needless to say, like so many things in Scripture, there are a variety of interpretations and misunderstandings about these chapters. I'm not saying I'm smarter than anyone else, I just do not believe it's as difficult and as complex as people tend to make it. I believe if we put ourselves in the place of the disciples, who were not biblical scholars, we can understand it most clearly. It is foundational that we keep in mind, Jesus is talking about His second coming.
I have notice, ever since the disruption of normal life due to Covid-19, there has been a dramatic increase in the preoccupation with the future and largely, Bible prophecy. Throughout all of human history, man has been curious about the future. Some want to know which stocks to buy, others want to know which team will win the league and some want to know what's the end times like.
In Jesus’ day, people were no different, the disciples wanted to know the future too. We call that eschatology. When the End will occur is something that has been debated for 2000 years, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Later, in verse 42, Jesus tells us to "Be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." In Revelation 3, He says "I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."
Yet, many have attempted to predict the exact day of His arrival, a prediction in which many have continued to be proven wrong. I believe the key to understanding this chapter is to have a greater familiarity with the actual words Jesus gave. I believe we must live in anticipation of the imminent return of the Lord, as did each of the writers of the New Testament. Allow me to assure you, Jesus is coming again, just as He promised, it will be sudden, and without warning.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, as always, we thank You for Your Word, for turning on the light, illuminating Your Word, revealing it to us so clearly. May we become a new source of light to those in the world of darkness. How marvelous and encouraging it is for us to know that You are the God of all times, past, present and future. Lord, help us to be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel and the One Who laid down His life for us. Father, touch each and every heart, that even more may souls be saved. We thank You and pray all this in Jesus Name.
Amen
Today's Message: Signs of the End
The phrase "the signs of the times," always point to some important changes happening in our world. In
Matthew 16, Jesus chided the religious leaders because t
hey could read the signs of the
sky, but they couldn't read the clear
signs of the times. Today, as governments move to exercise more and more control over people
, many people are still missing the clear signs that point to the second coming of Christ. One does not have to be a Bible scholar,
to recognize one of the clearest signs, which happened in 1948, when Israel became a nation. The re-gathering of Jews to Israel is predicted many times in scripture.
Amos 9 says, "
Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit."I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them," Says the Lord your God."
And in Zechariah 12, he predicts the resurgence of Israeli military strength, "In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a
firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they
will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding
peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem."
Isaiah warns us in chapter 5 says, people will call evil good and good evil.
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"
In Luke 21, we told to watch for the increase in frequency and intensity of the signs of nature.
"And there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven."
Here in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us, "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold."
Paul tells us in Romans 1, "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper." We are seeing the clear signs of the apostasy of the professing church, Christian values are now openly mocked, and the increased persecution of faithful Christians, as our society descends deeper and deeper into lawlessness, immorality, and despair.
Revelation 11 says the
dead bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city and the whole world look upon them.
Revelation 13, warns us that the Anti-Christ will require all people on earth to take the mark of the beast in order to buy and sell, both of which were previously difficult to be understood, that is until the advancement of modern technology. God's Word has spoken clearly of the signs that are to come and He continues to warn us of the events will occur today. Have you noticed how often the tiny nation of Israel is in the news? The signs are everywhere. The problem is, no one seems to be paying attention to them, not even the church!
Open your Bibles to the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 24:1-3. I invite you to follow along with me as I read them to you, and let's see what the Spirit of God has to say to each of us today. Matthew 24:1-3.
"Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came 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?"
Let's look at verse 1, "Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him."
So Jesus just said their rejection would lead to judgment from God. "Your house is being left to you desolate!" The word He used for desolate, is the word "érēmos," which means "deserted, deprived of the aid and protection, abandoned to ruin." The root word, erēmo,does not suggest absolute barrenness but unappropriated territory affording free range. God has left. Now He is walking out of the temple and the disciples come up to Him and point out the temple buildings to Him, which was more than one building, surrounded by a huge wall. It was a massive complex. It was very impressive, much like a fortress. It's hard to even imagine how they ever built such a thing. Each of the stones were 40 feet by 12 by 12. Inside, the entire temple was filled with valuable treasures that people brought from all over the place, which adorned the place.
John 2:20 tells us that the temple took 46 years to build, which ironically, the final embellishments were just being completed at the time Titus came into Jerusalem and destroyed it in 70 A.D., destroying the interior and even melting the gold that had adorned the walls of the building. Herod, who was not a Jew, started the project in the eighteenth year of his reign, however, never lived to see the entire structure completed.
You can imagine, that as the disciples are walking out looking at the marvelous massive structure, they were probably scratching their heads, thinking how in the world is this busy place, the center of Jewish life, ever going to become desolate?
In verse 2, "And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."
This is perhaps one of the most famous passages in which Jesus addresses the temple, saying that the stones in temple will be absolutely destroyed. This a very strong statement, "not one stone here will be left upon another," but that’s exactly what happened. It is important that we must understand that there always is judgment for unrepentant sin. Josephus tells us that it was leveled to the degree that you would never know it ever inhabited. The Romans knew if they were going to conquer the Israelites, they had to devastate their entire religious system, and they did just that. The soldiers pried apart the stones to retrieve the gold, assuring that not one stone remained atop another.
So, they go down the back side of the temple mount, crossing the Kidron Valley, thinking about what Jesus has just said, finding it extremely difficult to understand, you can be assured His statement astonished them. I imagine they were working on their question as they were going. He knows exactly what they’re thinking. Mark tells us that it was James, Peter, John, and Andrew who would be thinking for the rest of the Twelve. They go up the Mount of Olives and sit down, admiring the temple it with the gold glistening on the top of it, as the sun is setting in the west. It must have been an absolutely beautiful sight in those days. Though the immediate concern was the destruction of the temple, far more significant than that, not that the destruction of the temple was insignificant, is that they lost the presence of God. Now it's the return of the our Lord in glory to judge the earth and to reign over all the world.
Verse 3, "As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came 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?"
I imagine that it was Peter who did the asking on behalf of all of them, because Peter always spoke whenever there was anything to be said. I don't believe the apostle with the foot shaped mouth could help himself. So Peter, James, John, and Andrew approach Jesus privately and ask, "When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" They obviously saw the temple being torn down, the city becoming desolate, and the Messiah coming in His glory all as one event.
There’s a lot to unpack from these questions. Destruction of Jerusalem is a part of it, they just understand how it can happen. Can you imagine Jesus sitting there telling you that He was going to destroy the temple, leave the city desolate, and the next time you saw Him, He’d be in glory coming in the name of the Lord? They are really anxious to know what will happen first, how they will know when it's going to happen. By the way, after He was nailed to the cross and they got past their despair, it didn't stop, in fact, the resurrection, it just heightened their anticipation. They always lived in anticipation, believing the kingdom of God would appear soon. They didn’t see any distinction between first coming, and second coming. The issue isn’t the actual coming, it’s the permanent presence. Because that’s the way it happened in the Old Testament. That’s why it’s called a mystery.
There is much debate between some scholars as to whether Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in
A.D. 70, His second coming, or the end of the age of the earth. When we look at the word "coming," it’s the Greek word "parousia," used four times in this chapter, is from the word "parōn," meaning to "be present," it conveys a permanent presence. So what they asking is, "When is all that we anticipate You’re coming to be going to happen? The kingdom, Your coming in glory. When are You going to arrive in Messianic presence?" Their timeline is 'Temple destroyed, Jesus comes back," they didn't understand that the destruction of the temple would foreshadow the judgment at the close of the age, however, it would not coincide with it.
The phrase, "the end of the age," or "sunteleias tou aionos,"used five times in Matthew, is very clear, "When is the final end of man’s age." Jesus promises "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," So, when is the end of the age, when are the ungodly going to be judged and damned and sent to hell? When will everything be complete? What is the sign we are to look for? That's the ultimate question. In verse 4, the Lord begins His answer to their question, What you have seen is not the end of the age, let Me show you what are the signs are?
Come back next time and we'll discover what those signs are together in our next study.
In Closing..
The message of the Gospel is clear, Jesus gave His life to save sinners and He will come again to receive those who believe upon Him and trust in Him. Though we live in a fallen world, and suffering is inevitable, don't allow yourself get all wrapped up with doom and gloom. Everything is going exactly as He has planned. Therefore, we must shift the focus of our lives on the pursuit of holiness and sanctification and sharing the Good News of the Gospel, waiting on the blessed hope of Christ's appearing, when we will be ushered into eternal glory forevermore!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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