Matthew 24:4-14; Mark 13:5-13; Luke 21:8-19
The disciples had just privately
asked two questions in response to Jesus’ declaration that the Temple would
soon be destroyed. The first question was “when will all these things happen?”
The second concerned the sign signalling His return and the end of the age or
of the world. Both questions indicate their eagerness to know the timing of the
destruction of the Temple.
As we saw in the setting of the
discourse, the Temple is the key element in the historical setting of Jesus’
reply. “Jesus’ prophecy of its final destruction (Matthew 24:2) follows after
His declaring it ‘desolate’ (Matthew 23:38) and dramatically walking out of it
(Matthew 24:1).”[1]
This mirrors the Lord’s dramatic departure from Jerusalem during the period of
the Babylonian Exile as recorded by Ezekiel in chapter 11:23: “Then the glory
of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east.”
Jesus too stopped on the Mount of Olives after having left the city.
At this point, we would do well
to heed Jesus’ opening warning: “Don’t let anyone mislead you…” This was wise
pastoral guidance for His bewildered disciples in unsettling times then as well
as wise pastoral guidance for our disciples and us today. We must look
carefully at the words used by Jesus in His reply as well as the historical
record of 1st Century events.
One word that we should take note
of is the word translated “end”. The word used by the disciples in their
question to Jesus is sunteleias,
but when Jesus referred to the “end” in verse
6 He used the word telos not sunteleias. The same is
true for verse 13 and verse 14. The
meaning of sunteleia (the word the disciples used) is “a
completion, or a consummation, or an end.[2]
Telos, on the other hand, means “an end attained”,
with an emphasis on a goal reached or an outcome fulfilled…“a closing act”, as
it were. While the disciples’ question referred to a general end of all, Jesus’
reply appears to have been referencing a specific end of something, in this
case the end of Jerusalem and of the temple as a fulfilment of His prophetic
warnings.
More likely than not, the
disciples would have thought that the end of the Temple would signal the end of
time as they knew it, but Jesus’ reply indicated that this was not the case.
Instead, the end of the Temple announced the beginning of a new era in which
both Jerusalem and the Temple would have a non-geographical reality, namely in heaven
where Jesus reigned as Davidic King in the new heavenly Jerusalem and also as
Head of the Church, the New Temple.
Now, in replying to their request
for signs signalling the fulfilment of His warnings, Jesus was at pains to make
sure they would not be misled. When reports of the return of a Messiah reached
their ears they ought not to believe it. Jesus seemed to indicate that there
would be mass deception. As Abba Silver says, “The first century…especially the
generation before the destruction [of the temple], witnessed a remarkable
outburst of Messianic emotionalism. This is to be attributed…not to an
intensification of Roman persecution but to the prevalent belief induced by the popular chronology of that day
that the age was on the threshold of the millennium.”[3]
That this happened within the
lifetime of the disciples is clear when one looks at Paul’s warning to the
Ephesians in Acts 20:30 (false leaders), John’s statement in 1 John 2:18
(antichrists), and again Paul’s warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 about the great
rebellion against God and the coming of the man of lawlessness. Heniz Schreckenberg
lists at least 16 false Messiahs in the post Herodian period before AD 70.[4]
Jesus also told them that they
would hear of wars, rumours of wars, and insurrections. Now, how could this be
a sign? Has there ever been a time in the history of the world that this was
not true? The answer is yes! The Pax Romana (Peace of Rome or the“Age of
Peace”) was started by Augustus in 17 BC. Many Ancient historians refer to this
peace as profoundly successful.[5]
“…in the Roman Empire proper, this period of peace remained comparatively
undisturbed until the time of Nero.”[6]
Nero died during the great Jewish War in June AD 68, resulting in the year of the
four emperors as leaders struggled against each other for power. This almost
led to the collapse of the Empire. To make matters worse, at this point in time
the Gallic provinces, Britain, Germany, Sarmartae, and Suebi all tried to leave
the Empire, unsuccessfully, but it took a while to re-establish stability. As
disconcerting as this instability may have been Jesus indicated that even this
was not yet the end!
There were also earthquakes at
this time in Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Crete, Rome, Laodicea, Pompeii, and
in Jerusalem itself. There were widespread famines (Acts 11:28, a famine during
the reign of Claudius, AD 41-54, as attested to by Suetonius, Dio Cassius,
Tacitus, Eusebius, and Orosius), but the worst was no doubt the famine that
ravaged the city of Jerusalem during the Roman siege where mothers were said to
have eaten their children.
But, Jesus insisted, these were
but birth
pangs, which indicated that He believed there would be a birth, a new beginning,
after the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the kingdom of God (Mark 9:1) would
become apparent. “As the old Jerusalem and temple era end, the New Jerusalem
(Galatians 4:23-31; Revelation 21:1-2, cp. Revelation 22:6, 10) and new temple
(Ephesians 2:20-21, 1 Peter 2:5) begin in earnest.”[7]
As such, the temple’s destruction confirmed the coming of the Kingdom, the fact
that Jesus is presently reigning on the heavenly throne as Davidic King over
all the nations of the world.
The great persecution mentioned
here hardly needs explanation as we see the beginnings of this in Acts 8 and
references to persecution in just about every New Testament letter. The division,
apostasy, and betrayal mentioned by Jesus here can also be seen in passages
such as 2 Timothy 1:15, 2 Timothy 4:16, Galatians 3:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 1
John 2:19, Hebrews 2:1-4, 6:1-6, 10:26-31. Tacitus also tells us that “First,
Nero had self-acknowledged Christians arrested. Then, on their information,
large numbers of others were condemned.”[8]
There were many false prophets as
seen in Acts 13:6, other New Testament passages, as well as in the writings of
the 1st Century historian, Josephus. Sin was rampant and the love of
many would grow cold (see John’s words to the church in Ephesus – Revelation
2:4).
But, Jesus said, the one left
standing firm, the one who would endure this test or trial to the end (telos), would be saved. In this context the word “saved” probably
refers to the disciples keeping their identity as Christians intact (see
Matthew 16:25). “The implied truth underlying this test is that there will be
ample time for a full curriculum of trial testing character and sifting the
true from the false or temporary Christian.”[9]
But the good news was that the
Gospel would be preached throughout the whole world, prior to the end of the
old order as dramatically shown in the destruction of the old locations of
God’s reign. Other than countries in the Western Hemisphere, this prediction
came true fairly quickly (compare Matthew 24:14 (all peoples) with Acts 2:5
(every nation under heaven). See also, Romans 1:8, 10:18, Colossians 1:6, 23).
Now, while these were all events
predicted by Jesus to be fulfilled within the 40-year period allocated to a
generation in biblical numerology, the principles contained in these warnings remain
the same throughout time! When false teachers, prophets, mass deception, wars,
global catastrophes, natural disasters, and the like reach our ears, we must
stand firm and continue to make disciples of all nations.
[1] Gentry,
Kenneth L., The Olivet Discourse Made Easy, Apologetics Group Media, Draper,
VA, 2010, 43.
[2] From the
verb, sunteleo meaning “to bring to
an end altogether, to finish.” Wigram George V, The Analytical Greek Lexicon of
the New Testament, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1983, 391.
[3] Silver,
Abba Hillel, A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel: From the First
through the Seventeenth Centuries, Macmillan, NY, NY, 1927, 5.
[5] Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79),
Epictetus (AD 55-135) “Caesar has obtained for us a profound peace. There are
neither wars nor battle.” (Discourses 3:13:9).
[6] Reicke, Bo,
The New Testament Era: The World of the Bible from 500 BC to AD 100, Fortress
Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1968, 110.
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