The temple…it will be destroyed in 40 years. This was 30 A.D., in 70 A.D. But the Kingdom will not come for a very long time. And so, Jesus here takes the opportunity not to describe the destruction of Jerusalem, that’s…that’s just a historical footnote, but to describe the great destruction at the end of the age and the great restoration of Israel and the glory of the coming King. The passage that follows cannot describe the destruction of Jerusalem. Verse 10, for example, “Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom,” that didn’t happen in the destruction of Jerusalem. Verse 11, “There will be great earthquakes, various places, plagues and famines, terrors and great signs from heaven”…that didn’t happen in the destruction of Jerusalem Verse 25, “Signs in the sun, the moon, the stars, upon the earth, dismay among nations, perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves. Men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken and they will see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory.” That certainly can’t describe the destruction of Jerusalem, and yet there are people who believe that everything Jesus says here was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem.
In fact, look at verse 35. Whatever happens, whatever He’s describing, it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of…what?…the whole earth. So verse 36, “Keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” This is not talking about the arrival of a Roman general, this is talking about the arrival of Jesus Christ. How in the world can people miss that?
And so, our Lord then sets out in verse 8 to answer the question about when and what signs precede His coming to judge and to rule. And the answer takes us all the way through the history of the desolation of Israel to His return and Israel’s final salvation.
Does this matter? Yeah, it matters more than anything else because the end of the story is the reason for the story, right? The end of history is the reason for history. The consummation is the reason for the creation. The reason for Genesis is to get to Revelation. So we will learn from our Lord Himself the important features of His return, the signs leading up to it and how we are to prepare for it. And we will be far better for that, the New Testament says we will be purged, purified because we understand it. We will worship better because we will worship the coming King, anticipating His full glory. This is going to be a great privilege for us to look ahead and see how it all ends. Join me in prayer.
Our Father, we’ve just given a little introduction today to this and yet we feel like those disciples there, full of anticipation to hear what’s going to come out of the mouth of the Lord, as we sit, as it were, with Him on the side of the Mount of Olives and look at the beloved temple and city about to come down in destruction. That’s a sad thing to think about the long, long, long history of desolation of this nation. We thank You for the remnant that have been saved, that have come to embrace the Messiah. We look forward to the day when Israel will be saved, when by Your sovereign power You will open a fountain of cleansing and You will forgive their sin and make them again Your people and establish Your glory and Your Kingdom in Israel and reign over the whole world. We know this is how history is going to end, and we’re so thankful that You’ve laid it out for us that we might know it, that we might give You praise and glory for it even in advance of its coming, and that we might live in that hope. We have no fear of what’s going on in this world, we’re not worried about this world destroying itself, poisoning itself with toxic fumes, global warming, or some other thing that people think could be the end of life here. It’s going to end when You decide it’s going to end and it’s going to end in a glorious consummation when the Lord Jesus comes back. We live in anticipation of that and we say with John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Fill our hearts with anticipation and hope and may we live in the light of that and we know that John said, “He who has this hope purifies himself, even as He is pure.” So we want to live lives ready for the coming of Christ to gather His own.
We thank You, Lord, for the richness of Your Word and we thank You for its unassailable veracity, its truthfulness, how it holds up and has for all these centuries. How blessed we are to know its truths and live in light of them.
Now, Father, we are so grateful that we are in Christ, so thankful that we look at the end, we look at the return of Christ and it’s sweet to us, bitter to the world, sweet to us because we shall be gathered into eternal glory. We know You come…before You come with Your saints, you come for Your saints. Before You come back with us to reign, You come to take us to the home You’ve prepared for us in heaven. Lord, we look forward to that day, the day we escape the debilitating things of this life and enter into the perfection that You’ve prepared for us. But in the meantime, may we be faithful to proclaim Your glory and Your gospel that others may come to know You and have this blessed hope. Thank You for this privilege. Apply Your words to our hearts and may we be used to bring it to those who so desperately need to hear for the joy of their own salvation. Use us in that sense, we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
