Matthew 24:1-8: Intro To Jesus’ Olivett Discourse / “Jesus
Tells His Disciples The Signs Of The Times Leading Up To His Coming, Part 1”
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our previous studies in chapter 23 of the gospel of
Matthew, we saw that Jesus had begun to denounce the Pharisees openly and
broadly and that He had actually pronounced 7 or 8 ‘woes’ upon them, and these ‘woes’
were actually divine curses that prophesied divine judgment soon to fall upon
the nation
1.1.1.
We saw how that Jesus delivered these ‘woes’ with a
broken heart and a great deal of sorrow and pity, for He had a tremendous love
for the people of
1.1.2.
We saw also how that when at the end of these
denunciations and ‘woes’ that Jesus finally left the temple for the last time
and that as He left that it was God abandoning His temple
1.1.2.1.During His
initial entry into Jerusalem we saw how that zeal for the Father’s house had
possessed Him and thus He had driven out from the temple all of the money
changers and those who sold the animals for sacrifice, for He saw they were
robbers in a robber’s den. At that time,
He called the temple, ‘My Father’s House’
1.1.2.2.However, as
Jesus walked out of the temple, He said to the Pharisees and Scribes that
‘their house’ was being left to them desolate, for it was no longer His house
1.1.2.2.1.Whenever God
leaves a person’s life that person is left desolate
1.1.3.
When we first began chapter 23, I made the comment
that it had never occurred to me that chapter 24 of Matthew had been preceded
by chapter 23, and what I meant was that the denunciations of the Pharisees
delivered all through chapter 23 were the background and the precedent that led
Jesus’ disciples to ask Him the 3 questions which He answered in chapter 24
1.1.3.1.Jesus had
now denounced the Pharisees in the most public way and had prophesied their
complete judgment and doom, and in Luke
21:5-6 (Matthew 24:1-2), we see that a comment that Jesus made to His disciples
had actually caused the initiation of these questions to Jesus, “5 And while
some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones
and votive gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the
days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which
will not be torn down.””
1.1.3.1.1.As Jesus and
His disciples were walking away from the temple to the Mount of Olives, His
disciples were looking back at the temple and admiring the glory and beauty
which it portrayed, for this temple which Herod was still finishing building
was made out of huge white marble stones and it glowed as if it were radiating
before the very throne of heaven above
1.1.3.1.2.Jesus’
disciples could not imagine that He could ever have said that such horrible
devastation would occur to the city and the temple as what He described when He
said that one stone would not be left upon another, and so then it was Peter,
James, John and Andrew who were prompted to ask the 3 questions of Jesus which
He answers in chapter 24
1.2.
As we begin chapter 24 of Matthew, there is some
background information which we need to have before beginning our study
1.2.1.
The events of chapter 24 of Matthew were also recorded
by Luke in chapter 21 of his gospel and by Mark in chapter 13 of his gospel,
and we need to look at all 3 accounts to get a full picture of this discourse
by Jesus
1.2.2.
The discourse of Jesus in these chapters has been
called His ‘Olivet Discourse’, for it was upon the
1.2.3.
Down through history there has been much confusion in
the study of the ‘Olivet Discourse’, and this confusion has come about
primarily because of a few reasons:
1.2.3.1.Commentators
have lost sight of what the three questions were which Jesus’ disciples asked of
Him, for when we keep focused upon the questions which were asked of Jesus then
we can see how that many of the things that people have attributed Jesus as
having said begin to look absurd
1.2.3.2.Commentators
have lost sight of the context of these 3 questions which Jesus’ disciples
asked of Him (a very bad habit to have when trying to make responsible exegesis
of scripture), for these were asked, as I mentioned, just after Jesus had
openly and broadly denounced the Pharisees and pronounced the ‘woes’ upon them,
and after He had told His disciples that concerning the temple there would not
be left one stone upon another
1.2.3.3.There are a
few different views concerning eschatology which commentators have taken, and
then having taken these positions they are blinded by their own
presuppositions:
1.2.3.3.1.Amillenialists
1.2.3.3.1.1.This group
is heavily steeped in interpreting the Bible in an ‘allogorical’ way instead of
literally, relying heavily upon creating symbolic interpretation of numerous
passages.
1.2.3.3.1.2.They believe
that there is not going to be a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the
earth as described in the book of Revelation, rather they typically hold that
all of the prophesies of the book of Revelation up until chapter 19 were
already fulfilled in history past.
1.2.3.3.1.3.They also
believe that since
1.2.3.3.1.3.1.This mode of
interpreting of scripture is also called ‘Replacement Theology’ since they replace
‘
1.2.3.3.1.3.2.This
viewpoint has actually led to much anti-semetic treatment and persecution of
the Jews by the church throughout history, including that by the Catholic
Church in Nazi Germany which fully backed Hitler in WWII, as well as even with
Martin Luther and his his following
1.2.3.3.1.4.The
Amillenialists try to make everything that Jesus said in chapter 24 of Matthew
(as well as Mark 13 and Luke 21) relate to the events leading up to the
destruction of
1.2.3.3.1.4.1.This is a
very difficult position to take because some of the signs mentioned in chapter
24 (as well as in the other gospel accounts) are of a catastrophic nature, such
as the sun being darkened, the moon not shining, and the stars falling from the
sky).
1.2.3.3.2.Postmillenialists
1.2.3.3.2.1.They also
believe that there is not going to be a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ upon
the earth as described in the book of Revelation, and they also believe that
all of the promises relating to the Jews in the Old Testament pertain to the
church (Replacement Theology again)
1.2.3.3.2.2.They believe
that Christ will return when everyone on earth becomes saved, so they have to
see the Bible as always teaching that up until Christ’s return to the earth
that things are just going to get better and better
1.2.3.3.2.2.1.This is a
very difficult position to support because all throughout scripture the signs
of Christ’s Second Coming portray calamity coming upon the earth
1.2.3.3.3.The Historical
Position
1.2.3.3.3.1.Those who
have held this position see all of the events prophesied in the book of
Revelation as happening all throughout history from the time of Christ’s
resurrection up until His second coming, so for them there is not a literal 7
year period of tribulation taught in the scriptures that leads up to Christ’s
return, but rather a continuous stream of events
1.2.3.3.3.2.Not many
today hold to this position
1.2.3.3.4.Premillenialists
1.2.3.3.4.1.This group
is the one that the
1.2.3.3.4.2.This group
believes that the book of Revelation should primarily be interpreted literally
except for those cases where only symbolism can explain the text
1.2.3.3.4.3.This group
believes that there will be a literal 7 year tribulation upon the earth before
Christ returns, as taught in the book of Revelation
1.2.3.3.4.4.This group
believes that God is not done with Israel and that as is prophesied in Romans
11:26 and other places in the scripture, God is going to one day bring the
nation of Israel to receive her Savior, Jesus Christ
1.2.3.3.4.5.This group
believes that during the 7 year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, that
besides God’s wrath being poured out upon the nations of the world which have
rejected Him, that He is going to be once again restore the Jews to be His
people
1.2.4.
I believe that if we hold to the premillenial position
of eschatology and simply keep in mind the context in which Jesus’ disciples
asked Him the three questions, as well as the content of the questions
themselves, that we will see that chapter 24 of Matthew is not hard to
interpret correctly
2.
VS 24:1-2 -
“24:1 And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His
disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He answered
and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one
stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down.””
- Jesus’ disciples point out to Him how
majestic and beautiful the temple buildings looked as they were heading out of
2.1.
This temple is the one that Herod had built, and which was still under
some construction at this time, and we can only wonder at the majestic glory
and beauty of the temple’s many buildings as the sun shone upon it’s large
white marble stones.
2.1.1.
Jesus’ disciples were in awe of the sight of the temple, and it must have
come as a huge shock to them when Jesus foretold to them here about the fact
that as God was in the process of judging the nation of
2.1.2.
In Mark’s gospel, Mark 13:1, Mark brings out more of how the disciples began to
phrase this question to Jesus, “…Teacher,
behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!””
2.1.3.
Luke, in Luke 21:5, reveals their question a little differently, “5 And
while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful
stones and votive gifts.”
2.2.
I believe that there are 5 temples total which the scriptures mention,
two had already been destroyed, this was the third one and before the events of
the second half of the 7 year tribulation of the book of Revelation the fourth
temple will be constructed. We know that
this fourth temple will be constructed because the Anti-Christ will take his
seat in the temple and be worshipped as God during the second half of the
tribulation (Matt. 24:15;Dan. 9:27; 2 Thess. 2:1-4). The fifth temple will be the
2.3.
It is a fact of history that when the Romans overran
3.
VS 24:3 - “3 And
as He was sitting on the
3.1.
In Mark 14:3, Mark reveals that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew who came to
Jesus privately to ask Him this question, “3 And as He was sitting on the Mount
of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were
questioning Him privately.”
3.2.
Both Mark and Luke in their accounts record only two questions asked by
the disciples on this occasion, as we see in Luke’s account, Luke 21:7, “7 And
they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things be? And
what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?””
3.2.1.
As is always the case when there are multiple accounts of any incident
recorded in the scriptures, if one account adds additional details, it is
thought not to conflict but to merely add more detail to the account. So, we must conclude that there actually were
three different questions that were asked by Jesus’ disciples on this day.
3.3.
The three questions which Jesus’ disciples asked Him:
3.3.1.
When will these things be?
3.3.1.1.This question came directly
in response to Jesus telling the disciples that the temple would be destroyed
with not one stone left upon another, and thus this question pertains to when
the temple will be destroyed.
3.3.1.2.We know that the temple in
3.3.1.3.Interestingly, Matthew does
not include Jesus’ answer to this first question. To answer this question did not fit in with
the purpose for which Matthew wrote his gospel, therefore he does not include
the answer. Luke, however does record
the answer to this question in Luke 21:20, “20 “But when you see
3.3.2.
What will be the sign of Your coming?
3.3.2.1.The coming referred to is
not the event that we call the ‘Rapture Of The Church’ which we believe will
occur before the beginning of the 7 years of Tribulaton of the book of
Revelation, rather this is the event known as the ‘Second Coming of Christ’
when He comes at the end of the Tribulation to establish His Thousand Year
Reign Upon the Earth (The Millennial Kingdom).
3.3.3.
What will be the sign of the end of the age?
3.3.3.1.The end of the age referred
to in this question is that point in time again referred to as the ‘Second
Coming of Christ’.
3.4.
I said that it is not difficult to interpret accurately this chapter 24
of Matthew if you hold to the premillenial position of eschatology, and
remember the context of the disciple’s question as well as their content,
however the tricky part in interpretation then is understanding where the
divisions lie between the questions being answered by Jesus.
3.4.1.
There are several different
viewpoints that reliable Bible commentators hold concerning where the divisions
lie, so we have to realize that we may never know for certainty where to draw
these lines. However, we shall try to do
our best in that regard.
3.4.2.
What is really at question is which of the signs are what are referred to
as ‘general signs’ which have been occurring every since Jesus uttered these
words, and those signs which are more dramatic in nature and will directly
precede Jesus’ Second Coming.
3.4.2.1.The dramatic signs are
described in the 3 sets of judgments in the book of Revelation: Seal Judgments, Trumpet Judgments, and Bowl
Judgments.
3.4.3.
The ‘general signs’ shall be occurring all throughout history up until
Christ’s ‘Second Coming’ to establish His Millennial Reign, however they will
be occurring with a much greater frequency or destructive power during the 7
year Tribulation Period leading up to the ‘Second Coming’.
4.
VS 24:4-5 - “4 And
Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 “For
many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.””
- SIGN #1: Jesus tells His disciples that many will come
in His Name and say that they are the ‘Christ’
4.1.
As I mentioned earlier, there are disagreements as to which of the signs
which Jesus gives us in this chapter are ‘general signs’ which will be happening
all of the time and therefore refer to the period before the destruction of
Jerusalem, as well as the period before His Millennial Reign
4.2.
I personally believe that this particular sign is one of the ‘general
signs’.
4.2.1.
It makes sense to see this as a general sign because of the fact that
since the resurrection of Christ we know that there have been many people who
have come along claiming to be the Jewish Messiah, or God in the flesh.
4.2.2.
The term ‘antichrist’ is a word that means ‘one who opposes Christ’ or
who is a false imitator of Christ, and the scripture teaches us that there is
going to be a world leader who will arise at the beginning of the 7 year
Tribulation Period of the book of Revelation, and that one of the names that he
has been given is the ‘antichrist’.
However, the term ‘antichrist’ really refers to anyone who is a false
Christ, and we know from the apostle John’s epistles that he knew of men at
that time who were claiming to be the Christ:
4.2.2.1.In 1 John 2:18, the apostle John wrote about
the fact that there were false Christ’s even in his day and that this gave
evidence that we are in the last days, “18 Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
4.2.2.2.In 1 John 4:3, the apostle John wrote
about the fact that the ‘antiChrist’ spirit was already in the world, “3 and
every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the
spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it
is already in the world.”
4.2.3.
Josephus the Jewish historian wrote that after Christ raised from the
dead that there were many men who came along claiming to be the Christ.
4.2.4.
The antichrist (also known by many other names in the scriptures
including the ‘man of lawlessness’) who will come upon the scene during the 7
Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation is prophesied in 2 Thess.
2:3-4 as
being a false Christ and even sits in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem to be worshipped,
“3
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy
comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,
so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
4.3.
In our day, there have been many false Christ’s who have come upon the
scene, including:
4.3.1.
Sung Young Moon, the leader of the cult known as the ‘Moonies’, who
claims to be God.
4.3.2.
Bagwahn Rashneesh who had a following and claimed to be a holy man and
was worshipped.
4.3.3.
Charles Manson who was the leader of a group of hippies in the early
seventies whom he convinced to go and commit murders for him.
4.3.4.
David Koresh who had a group in
4.3.5.
Jim Jones who had a group who worshipped him thinking he was Christ, and
he duped them all into committing suicide through poison-laced kool-aid.
4.3.6.
The leader of the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ group who convinced his followers that
the end was near and that a mother space ship was going to pick them up soon,
and thus he convinced many in his group to commit suicide, and those who
refused were murdered by asfixiation.
4.3.7.
In a sense any who put themselves in the place of Christ or as an
intermediary to Christ as a ‘priest’ are really false Christ’s, or antichrists.
4.3.8.
Etc., etc., etc.
4.4.
It is easy to be misled by false teachers in the church, and therefore
Jesus gives His disciples the warning that they are to be careful not to be
misled.
4.4.1.
Many of the ones who eventually became false Christ’s, or antichrists, at
one time preached the gospel and were in the mainstream church, including from
our list above Jim Jones and David Koresh, and many who followed these men at
that time were the ones who died with them, and thus we must be careful not to
be deceived ourselves.
4.4.1.1.We must learn to stick with
the scripture and evaluate all teaching against the Word of God.
5.
VS 24:6 - “6 “And
you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not
frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.””
- SIGN #2: Jesus tells His disciples that they will hear
of ‘wars and rumors of wars’
5.1.
Again, I believe that this is another of the ‘general signs’ since from
the time of Christ’s resurrection there has been just one war after another,
and the frequency of wars and fighting between nations has increased.
5.2.
I compiled
this information a few years ago from various sources, “It has been
estimated that in the last 3,000 years of recorded history, there have only
been about 286 years in which there was no war recorded, or 8% of the time,
with the occurrence of over 15,000 total wars, and 4 billion total people
killed. From 1970 to 1986, 7.1 million
people died in wars. Over 8,000 peace
treaties have been signed during the last 3,000 years, and the average period
of time that they have lasted is 2 years.
Likewise, wars have been on an exponential increase in recent years. It is estimated at the present time that
there are approximately 30-40 nations in some sort of war with another nation,
and that there are at least 19 wars occurring between nations at any given
time. Because of the prevalence of war,
there has even been a move to define “war” as an altercation that results in
the killing of 1,000 or more people… These statistics do not take into account
all of the acts of terrorism that have been occurring all of the world with
tremendous frequency. In 1984 alone,
there were 2,679 attacks committed by 126 of the world’s 174 existing terrorist
groups… These statistics concerning war also do not take into account the fact
that in the
5.3.
In Revelation 6:4, when the second seal is broken, we see that this sign is appearing in
cataclysmic way during the early part of the 7 Year Tribulation Period, “4 And
another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to
take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and a great
sword was given to him.”
5.3.1.
These wars seem to come about as the one world government is forming and
yet rifts exists between nations and people groups, and so they begin to fight with
each other.
5.3.2.
I believe
that this verse is at least a partial fulfillment of the prophetic word from
Paul in 1 Thess. 5:1-6, “5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs,
brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you
yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief
in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction
will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should
overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We
are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but
let us be alert and sober”.
6.
VS
24:7-8 - “7 “For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will
be famines and earthquakes. 8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of
birth pangs.”” - SIGNS #3-#6: Jesus tells His disciples that there will be
global war and in various places famines and earthquakes
6.1.
In verse 7, we see that the wars that make up the signs are not limited
to minor skirmishes, but rather they also involve fullscale war nation to
nation, and ‘kingdom to kingdom’.
6.1.1.
The two world wars that we have experienced of recent times would quality
as fulfilling this sign, as well as the many wars that have taken place all
over the world, and which have been increasing in frequency throughout history.
6.2.
A few years ago I accumulated these facts concerning the exponential rise
in the incidence of earthquakes and other catastrophies that have occurring
upon the earth, “There have
been many studies done of the exponential increase of, per the Richter scale,
magnitude 6.0+ killer earthquakes upon the earth in the last 30 years. In 1994, the
6.2.1.
A few years ago I compiled this list from various sources of the
exponential rise of the incidence of famines occurring in our world, “It is a fact though, that there is massive
famine that has been occurring in our world to an increasing degree the last 30
years or so. A decade or two ago, we saw
the massive famines in
6.2.1.1.I have also heard that studies
have shown that the yield from farm land is going down over time due to the
nutrients of the soil becoming depleted from farming. This will also lead to the famines that will
occur.
6.3.
In Revelation 6:5-6, with the breaking of the third seal, we see that catastrophic famine
will result all over the earth, “5 And when
He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” And
I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales
in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living
creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley
for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.””
6.3.1.
In John’s
day, a denarius was a day’s wage, and a quart of wheat was only enough for one
person to eat normally. Therefore, what
is indicated with this seal judgment is that people will be working very hard,
however they will be making just enough to feed themselves.
6.4.
Jesus tells
His disciples that these signs are just ‘the beginning of birth pangs’, for as
we read the rest of the book of Revelation and the devastating destruction and
judgments that are poured out with each of the Trumpet, Seal, and Bowl
Judgments, we see that the earth will be turned upside-down before the Second
Coming of the Lord Jesus occurs.
6.5.
It is
possible (and my personal belief) that verse 8 here is where the ‘General
Signs’ end which will be occurring all throughout history, and where Jesus
begins next to reveal the signs that relate to that period during the 7 yr
Tribulation Period of the book of Revelation begin.
1.
STUDY HAND
OUT:
The ‘Three Questions’ asked by Peter, James, John, and
Andrew:
·
When will these things be (destruction of the temple
and
·
What will be the sign of Your coming (The Second
Coming not the Rapture of the church)?
·
What will be the sign of the end of the age (when the
Millennial Reign of Christ begins)?
The Four Positions Of Eschatology |
|||
|
Amillenialists |
Postmillenialists |
Historical Position |
Premillenialists |
|
This group is
heavily steeped in interpreting the Bible in an ‘allogorical’ way instead of
literally, relying heavily upon creating symbolic interpretation of passages. They believe that
there is not going to be a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the earth
as described in the book of Revelation, rather they hold that all of the
prophesies of the book of Revelation up until chapter 19 were already
fulfilled in history past. They also believe
that since This viewpoint has
actually led to much anti-semetic treatment and persecution of the Jews by
the church throughout history, including that by the Catholic Church in Nazi
Germany which fully backed Hitler in WWII, as well as even with Martin
Luther. The Amillenialists
try to make everything that Jesus said in chapter 24 of Matthew relate to the
events leading up to the destruction of |
They also believe
that there is not going to be a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the
earth as described in the book of Revelation, and they also believe that all
of the promises relating to the Jews in the Old Testament pertain to the
church (Replacement Theology again). They believe that
Christ will return when everyone on earth becomes saved, so they have to see
the Bible as always teaching that up until Christ’s return to the earth that
things are just going to get better and better. This is a very
difficult position to support because all throughout scripture the signs of
Christ’s Second Coming portray calamity coming upon the earth. |
Those who have held
this position see all of the events prophesied in the book of Revelation as
happening all throughout history from the time of Christ’s resurrection up
until His second coming, so for them there is not a literal 7 year period of
tribulation taught in the scriptures that leads up to Christ’s return, but
rather a continuous stream of events. Not many today
hold to this position. |
This group is the
one that the Calvary Chapels line up with, for they tend to interpret
scripture more literally than the others, and look to symbolic or
‘allegorical’ interpretation when this type of interpretation is mentioned in
the Biblical text or when there seems to be no literal interpretation which
could make sense. This group
believes that the book of Revelation should primarily be interpreted
literally except for those cases where only symbolism can explain the text. This group
believes that there will be a literal 7 year tribulation upon the earth
before Christ returns, as taught in the book of Revelation. This group
believes that God is not done with This group
believes that during the 7 year Tribulation of the book of Revelation that
besides God’s wrath being poured out upon the nations of the world which have
rejected Him, that He is going to be once again restoring the Jews to be His
people. |