Matthew 24:1-8 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Even though the disciples had seen marvelous miracles, healings, and heard great teaching, they knew now after Jesus’ comments about the temple’s destruction, their hopes of a kingdom arriving soon would not happen. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Because of Jesus’ miraculous works that no man from the beginning of time had done, many in Israel were looking for him to restore Israel to a prominent position in the world. They were anticipating that He would cast off the Roman yoke from their backs, freeing them from servitude to a foreign power. In the minds of many, He was in the category of the great men of old that God called to rescue Israel; He would ascend to the throne of David, delivering Israel from its enemies, restoring their nation to a place of grandeur. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37-38) However, after Jesus was arrested and handed over to the hated Romans, the people’s view of Jesus as their beloved, future ruler turned to hatred. They were then easily convinced by the leaders of their community to yell, “Crucify him!” As the disciples now were learning about the end of the age, they knew Jesus the man of flesh would die, later coming back to them in another state of being. The kingdom was not to be restored immediately; this reality would happen in the future. They should be aware that others would come in Jesus’ name, announcing that they are the Messiah, many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Their deceptive acclamations of being the Anointed One would carry many, following them to their own sorrow. To avoid this cultish behavior, Jesus tells them later to wait for him to send the Holy Spirit to them. He, the Spirit, will testify only of Jesus being the Lord and Savior. He will glorify the name of Jesus in them. The disciples and Jesus’ followers will eventually take on the name Christians.
After Jesus is crucified, we see the kingdom of God realized when the Holy Spirit falls on Jesus’ followers. The Spirit of God fully infuses man’s spirit. In reality, Jesus will be in the midst of them. They will become the body of Christ. Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21) This kingdom will spread in the hearts of men. Peter talks about this kingdom when he tells people what the baptism of the Holy Spirit announces to the world. “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Acts 2:15-21) In today’s scriptural focus, we see Jesus talking about the very end of time. Peter in his sermon is talking about the last days, the days before the very end of time. During this time, the kingdom will be established on earth as God will interweave himself in the redeemed through the Spirit’s indwelling. The kingdom of God has come to earth. Even though God is doing a new work on earth, for centuries people have heard about wars and experienced all kinds of conflicts. Millions have been murdered. The avarice, lust and greed in men and women will never be satiated. God destroyed people in Noah’s time because of man’s innate desire to war and destroy. This nature of Cain has always been alive and still is a major part of the human heart. In this day of electronic media, people are even more aware of battles, conflicts, disturbances, and wars throughout the world. However Jesus says, see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. In the last days, even after the Holy Spirit has fallen on men, mankind has not changed one bit. People are still aggressive, willing to kill for the smallest of reasons. The kingdom of Jesus’ earthly reign is still in the future. The Temple’s destruction is used by Jesus as a prophetic symbol of what will happen to Israel. The Romans will destroy the Temple when they put down the Zealot’s rebellion to their rule. This will happen in 70 AD. At that time many Jews are slaughtered and chased from the country of Israel. However, this is not the end of Jerusalem’s trouble. Two more rebellions happen against the Rome rule. Finally in 132 AD, Rome decides to permanently destroy the Jewish community, eliminating this thorn in its flesh. The Jews are either killed or scattered throughout the surrounding countries, their time in Jerusalem ended. The temple was gone; the Jews were gone. A secular, pagan city replaced the holy Jerusalem. Jesus’ prophecy of no temple stone upon another came to reality.
God dwells in a timeless existence. We on earth record the number of days, moons, and seasons, marking this as time. When Jesus talks about the very last days, He uses the destruction of the temple as the beginning of the end. All these are the beginning of birth pains. God alone will determine the very last day. Neither man nor Jesus himself knows when God will decide to draw the curtain for the close of time. Jesus’ coming will be quick, mostly undetected by the assumptions of men. Men tend to expect Jesus’ return when things are especially trying on earth in their neighborhood. But horrible events occur all the time and will continue to happen everywhere. Holocausts, slavery, abuse, slaughter, and every kind of disturbance will continue to happen because all of those evil things reflect the nature of man. There is always some group on earth that is being hunted down, persecuted, murdered. But Paul paints another picture of the end times. Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) People work very hard to have the peace they desire. To have their supposed peace, they want freedom to do what they wish. They will destroy others readily for this kind of peace, conjuring up all kinds of excuses, defending their meanness to others. As Paul says, they will cry peace: we have the peace we want, the freedom to act according to our plans. They will lie, distort, make excuses for themselves and others to achieve their self-interest. But the peace they supposedly desire is founded on selfish purposes, often reflecting sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21) All of this they will do for a life of satisfaction or self-gratification. Then they will have what they want—a world made in their image, having the freedom to do what they crave. But Paul says when they get what they want, God will cry for the angels to draw the age of humans to a close. The trumpet will be blown. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:31) There will be no snickering about doing evil then. For Christians, there will be no desire to continue not reflecting the Holy Spirit’s nature. There will only be fear in the hearts of anyone who gloried in doing evil; there will be no escape. The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would return. They knew now He would die. The kingdom of God, or even their desire for the kingdom of Israel to be restored, would not happen soon. Jesus told them that his second return would only happen when the Father desires. Until then, they should be watching, praying, seeking God’s will in their lives. This is who we are breakfast companions. We are not breaking down walls for a better life here; we are looking for the soon coming of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen! If this world is too much with you; if your heart does not long to see the coming of the Lord; seek him now while He may be found.
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