Signs of the End of the Age II Matthew 24 and Luke 21 Parkdale Grace Fellowship Sunday AM, May 14, 2017 There were a handful of people like the wise men, Simeon and Anna who recognized the prophetic signs that signaled Jesus first coming and they were looking for Him and ready for Him when He came. He is coming again! Are you ready for His return? We study Bible prophecy because we want to be among those who recognize the prophetic signs that signal His second coming and to be found ready for Him when He returns. Luke 21:5-7, Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 These things which you see the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down. 7 So they asked Him, saying, Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place? As we noted in our last study, when we compare the record of this same conversation in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke we discover that there were actually three main questions: 1. When will the Temple be destroyed? 2. What sign will there be signaling when that is about to take place? 3. What will be the sign signaling Christ s second coming and of the end of the age? Jesus came the first time 2,000 years ago to offer His life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross, and He promised that He will come a second time to judge the wicked, to set up His Kingdom on earth, and to rule the world in righteousness and peace. That is what we call the second coming of Christ and it will be the end of the world system as we know it today it will be the end of this age and the beginning of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Jesus began by telling them about the end of the age and then later He talked to them about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which actually took place first. So we will trace these events today in chronological order. Let s look first at the signs warning that the destruction of Jerusalem and the magnificent Temple are near. Luke 21:20, But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Jesus prophesied that not only would the temple be destroyed but the city of Jerusalem would be made desolate. Desolation means to be laid waste, or to be made barren, devastated, wretched, and uninhabited.
2 The sign that the Temple is about to be destroyed and Jerusalem made desolate is when the city is surrounded by armies. Luke 21:21-24, Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her [Jerusalem] depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her [Jerusalem]. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. When the warning sign of impending judgment appeared, when the people saw the city become surrounded by armies, Jesus warns that the people are to flee away as fast as possible and not return. They were to heed this prophetic warning and take action. This prophetic warning was taken seriously by the Christian followers of Jesus. There was a large church in Jerusalem during the early history of the church following the resurrection of Christ. We read much about them in the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul. In the year A.D. 66, the first Jewish revolt broke out against the Romans. When the revolt first began, the Roman general in the land, Cestus Gallus, came with his armies from Caesarea and surrounded Jerusalem. The surrounding of the city was the sign that Jesus had promised, and the Jewish believers knew from Jesus prophecy that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed. Every Jewish Christian fled from the city, as Jesus had warned them to do, crossed the Jordan River and set up a new community of believers in the town of Pella on the east side of the Jordan. There they waited for the prophecy of Jesus to be fulfilled. Cestus Gallus withdrew his troops from Jerusalem and it seemed that Jesus prophecy had been wrong, but part of His warning was that once that sign had come those who are in the country were not to return and enter the city. And sure enough, without warning, four years later in A.D. 68, a new Roman general by the name of Vespasian and his son, Titus, again besieged the city, and this time no one could escape. The city remained under siege for two years and most of the population of Jerusalem starved to death before the Romans broke through the city walls in A.D. 70 and slaughtered many more with the remaining few being led away captive. The city and the Temple were destroyed and Jerusalem was left desolate exactly as Jesus had prophesied.
3 According to the Jewish historian Josephus close to a million Jews were killed in this siege. But not one of the Jewish Christians died who had taken seriously the prophetic warning of Jesus. (Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, p. 630; Hughes, p. 301) How seriously and how literally should we then take the Lord s prophetic warnings about the days in which we are living? We need to carefully study the prophetic signs so that we can tell the difference between what the Bible actually teaches and what the false prophets and false teachers are saying for there are many false teachers, especially it seems when it comes to prophecy. Always check their message with scripture, and read it in its context, because false teachers use the Bible, but they twist its meaning and use it out of context. We need to get to know our Bibles and we need to trust what the Bible says. That was Jesus answer to their question about the signs warning about the destruction of the temple. Now let s look at what He said about the signs warning that His return and the end of the present age is coming soon. Luke 21:8-9, And He said: Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, I am He, and, The time has drawn near. Therefore do not go after them. [Don t take their word for it but rather be watching for these signs that I will give you.] 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately. There will be many false Christs false religions and there will be many wars, but these are not signs of the end. Jesus ended verse 9 saying that the end will not come immediately, meaning that there will be an indefinite passing of time before the return of Christ enough time for there to be many false religions arise and many wars fought. But now in the next verse He begins to identify the signs that will precede the coming to an end of this age and of the second coming of Christ to bring judgment to this world. Luke 21:10-11, Then He said to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. We saw last week that the expression, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, is a Jewish idiom which refers to a total widespread conflict, not local events, but global. It is believed to describe a global scale conflict, or a world war. (Fruchtenbaum, p.94-95)
4 In our last study we looked at how the events described in these verses parallel the more detailed account in Revelation chapter 6 of the Lamb of God opening seals on a scroll in heaven, and each seal that was opened in heaven unleashed catastrophic events on earth. And with each opening of a new seal in heaven the conditions of life on earth become progressively worse, with wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and terrifying cosmic signs and devastating asteroids falling out of the sky that would destroy more than ¼ of the earth s population in a short span of just a few months. Luke 21:12, But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name s sake. Jesus is not talking about the distant future or the end of the age, He is talking about persecution that the followers of Christ can expect to experience in the period of time between the first and second coming of Christ. All we have to do is read the book of Acts in the Bible, and read church history, and look at what is happening to followers of Christ today in many parts of the world and we realize that this prophecy of Jesus was true and has been the common experience of much of the church down through the ages. Those prophesies of Christ which have already been fulfilled have been fulfilled literally and precisely with accuracy in every detail. Therefore, there is no reason to think that the remaining prophesies will not also be fulfilled literally and in detail. Now turn to Matthew s gospel where we are given a more expanded description of the future signs warning us that the second coming of Christ is very near. Matthew gives the exact same list of signs we just read in Luke s gospel: Matthew 24:7, For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. But that s not everything, read on. Matthew 24:8, All these are the beginning of sorrows. [Some translations birth pangs.] These signs will not come all at once, and they will not begin with full force, but as time progresses these catastrophic and widespread judgments upon the earth will increase in frequency and intensity until the Lord returns and brings it all to an end. Verse 8 indicates that what we have looked at so far is just the beginning of this period of severe, unprecedented trouble on earth.
5 The following verses indicate that there will comes a point in the midst of this time of trouble coming upon the earth when conditions will suddenly take a severe turn for the worse, especially for the Jews in Israel who Jesus warning is most specifically addressing. Matthew 24:9-10, Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Up to this point the Jews in Israel will be somewhat protected by a seven year covenant with many nations. (We read about this in Daniel s prophecy.) But now, verses 9 and 10 indicate that suddenly all nations will turn against the Jews in hatred and seek to kill them. Just like Jesus gave a warning sign in Luke that the Jews in the first century should flee from Jerusalem when they see the city surrounded by armies, again Jesus gives a very significant warning sign for the Jews of the future to watch for that will alert them that it is time to take drastic action and escape. What is that specific sign? Matthew 24:15-20, Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. This prescribed action sounds almost exactly the same as the warning given to flee when the Romans surrounded Jerusalem in AD 66. But the sign is different. Jerusalem was desolated by the Babylonians around 600 BC in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it was desolated again by the Romans in AD 70, and it will be desolated a third time in the time of the Antichrist, which Jesus is warning of here. Jesus refers to an abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. By putting together the various prophetic pieces found in Daniel we realize that the abomination of desolation refers to the same one known in the New Testament as the Antichrist who in the midst of this time of great trouble on earth will set himself up as God and seek to rule the world. Daniel describes him as a stern-faced king (8:23), a king who will do as he pleases (11:36), and as the abomination of desolation (12:11). Daniel further described this Antichrist as a future ruler who began as a king over ten nations who shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and he shall persecute the saints of the Most High for 3 ½ years (7:24-25).
6 And Daniel also specifically states that from the time this Antichrist takes away the daily sacrifices in the Temple setting himself up as God, he will continue in this blasphemous role for one thousand two hundred and ninety days (3 ½ years) (12:11). What the Roman military leader, Titus, did to Jerusalem, destroying it in A.D. 70 foreshadowed what this abominable one who desolates will do to Jerusalem and the land of Israel during the Great Tribulation. But those who heed this prophetic warning and flee from Israel when they see the Antichrist set himself up in the Temple will, according to Revelation 12:13-17, be supernaturally enabled to escape to the wilderness and will be supernaturally cared for and kept safe in the wilderness for those 3 ½ years that the Antichrist in his rage makes war with anyone who follows the Lord. For those living in Israel at that time knowing and obeying this prophetic warning will be vital to their survival. Matthew 24:21, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. The Jewish people have suffered terrible persecution ever since the crucifixion of Jesus. But as great as their suffering from the world s hatred has been in the past even the horrors of the holocaust will pale in comparison to the suffering they will experience in the final 3 ½ years of the Tribulation when Satan is given greater freedom on earth than he has ever had before. Why does God allow this to happen? He allows this because the return of Jesus to judge the world is very near. It is a world that for the vast majority of people has rejected God the Creator preferring to believe a causeless meaningless godless evolution. They have rejected the commands of God, preferring to make their own rules and to define their own reality. The Bible says we are made in the image of God, male and female, but the world is rejecting even that foundational basic truth and in defiance of God even seeking to change the very definition of male and female and of marriage. The world has rejected the Bible, making it illegal in 53 countries and its use increasingly restricted in the public places of virtually every country of the world. And the world has rejected the love of God supremely demonstrated through Jesus Christ, God s Son, who came to earth to pay our penalty and take our punishment for our sin. But this God is one day soon coming to judge this world. This God Who so loved this world in spite of our rebellion against Him, our Creator, has given us abundant time to repent and He is warning us that He is coming again.
7 This God Who mercifully sent his Son Jesus Christ to reveal His massive love for us, Who willingly died on the cross in our place; Who rose triumphantly from the dead, and Who freely, generously offers to forgive and to save all who will trust in Him; This God Who offers to give His eternal life-giving Spirit to all who will receive Him; Who offers to make us His kids members of His family with all the privileges of sons if we would honor Him for who He is: God Almighty, our very source of life, and our King the supreme Lord of all. This God has warned us through the prophecies of the Bible that He is coming again and will give all the wicked of the world exactly what they want and what they insist upon He will get out of their lives completely He will let them live in complete absence of any trace of God. Such an existence is called hell the total absence of God or any of His goodness. And the horrors of the Tribulation is simply God little by little withdrawing His preserving grace and letting the world little by little experience just a taste of what life without God and His goodness is like. And all the while continuing to extend to this rebellious world His offer of salvation. But every day time runs out for more and more people and as they die without Christ they enter hopelessly into a totally God-less eternity and are forever separated from any trace of God or His goodness. But for those who embrace Christ and choose to follow Him, the day is coming when all evil will be removed and we will live in the presence of all the goodness and glory of a God who loves us. Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and follow Him as your Lord and your God? Copyright 2017 by Parkdale Grace Fellowship Permission: You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.