What to Do While Waiting for the End

Matthew 24:1-14

February 20, 2005

 

Now that we're moving into Matthew 24-25, the great teaching of Christ regarding last things, we have some important questions to ask! Are you pre-, post-, a-, or I-don't-know? Do you hold a preterist, partial-preterist, or full-preterist view? Do you subscribe to a pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib position? Do you go for a rapturous two-return or a single parousia?

 

Well, if you feel thoroughly confused or befuddled by all of this, do not feel alone or strange! Welcome to the world of modern eschatology-the meanderings on last things. It's been going on for many years-for centuries, in fact. We've seen plenty in our own day. World War I, the so-called "war to end all wars," saw a rise in predictions about the return of Christ and the ushering in of an age of peace. The reestablishment of Israel as a state in 1948 boosted even more predictions. The word "generation" in Matthew 24:34 has grown increasingly longer in many eschatological views since that time! In the early 70s, Hal Lindsey led the pack of end-time books with his, The Late Great Planet Earth. It sold multiplied millions of copies. Lesser-known books sold plenty with many of them, guardedly or blatantly, making predictions of when Jesus would return. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have been the latest to profit from the end-times' craze with their series of novels, movie, and Left Behind knick-knacks.

 

With every wrinkle on the world stage, whether from natural disaster or global terrorism or nuclear developments or political checkmate, another rash of books hit the market to satisfy the curiosity of religious and non-religious alike. What is going to come next? That seems to be the puzzling question that so many live with, especially in an age when communication takes place in nanoseconds.

 

I've not been immune to this myself. I recall the early days of being a Christian, and all of the fanciful talk of end-times at youth rallies and camp meetings. While I desperately needed to understand the gospel and what it meant to be a disciple of Christ, I found myself caught up in all of the talk about eschatology-though I don't remember daring to use that word! At the ripe age of 17, I thought that I had it all figured out. Then I began to read the Bible instead of pop-books, and many of the ideas that had been cultivated in my thinking wore thin. I well-imagine that some of you have similar stories.

 

Things may have moved slower in the first century but curiosity was no less strong. Pitched with messianic fever, the masses in Israel wanted to know when the kingdom would come, when world powers would be overthrown, and when the judgment would take place. Not to be outdone by their modern counterparts, all sorts of theories and ideas floated among the masses.

 

But consider that twelve men had been walking with Jesus Christ and listening to His talk of death, resurrection, triumph, judgment, destruction, and the end. They sought to fit all of His talk into the schematics (or paradigms) that framed their own picture of eschatology (study of last things). Christ had stunned them with the prediction, "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!" Now they tried to put it all together, but in all likelihood, within the framework of their own preconceived notions. Our Lord's response is not a neatly laid out, carefully delineated eschatology. His great emphasis is on persevering. New Testament teaching on eschatology is never to satisfy curiosity but to motivate us ethically and evangelistically-and Jesus does just that. We all have some things to do while waiting for the end. Our lot joins with that of the apostles to faithfully live as Christians until the final triumph. Does that strike a chord in your own heart?

 

I. Preconceived notions (vv. 1-3)

 

I do not begin to think that our study in Matthew 24 will (1) answer all of your questions about the last days, (2) agree with all of your own preconceived notions, or (3) satisfy your curiosity about eschatology. In no other field of Christian study do we have as many ideas, theories, dogmatic assertions, and perplexing questions.

 

Here are my ground rules for considering Matthew 24. First, my concern in studying this portion of God's Word is pastoral not theoretical. I want to focus on our Lord's intent whenever He or His disciples taught on eschatological themes. I am much more concerned with how we are living as Christians than crossing our eschatological "tees" together. Second, this is not an area to break fellowship over if we disagree with one another. A few years ago we did a summer-long study on eschatology on Wednesday nights, considering the varied views. We had a blast in doing this, and though there were some disagreements on positions taken, we simply agreed to disagree. That's the position that we continue with in the present study. Finally, I am not approaching this study with the same dogmatic stand that I would take upon the gospel or the church or the person of Christ. I will seek to give my own studied position, as a text may warrant, but I do not want to lose sight of the goal to apply these messages pastorally. I encourage you to lay your preconceived notions on the table, back away from them, and take a fresh look at the Word of God. Sometimes slavish adherence to a system blinds us to the intent of the biblical writers. That's always preferable in this kind of study than maintaining rigid, inflexible thought. So with this in mind, let us embark together into Jesus' teaching on last things.

 

1. What were the disciples thinking?

 

Jesus had spoken in the temple area with such sternness and forcefulness that probably all felt blown away by His rebukes of the spiritual leaders of Israel. He ended His prophetic denunciation of their hypocrisy with a heart-wrenching lament over the state of Israel, her unwillingness to respond to the message of the kingdom and the kingdom's King, and a prediction of desolation. As they walked away, the disciples certainly had in mind what Jesus had predicted, "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!" Maybe that seemed strange to their ears since every Jew held the temple in highest regard. Matthew picks up the story of what happened. "Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him." Mark comments that one exclaimed, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" (Mark 13:1) And it was a wonderful sight! This temple, known as Herod's Temple, had been in an enlargement process for many years. It's white marble stones, grand columns, and golden roof attracted the eyes from miles around. Those gazing at the temple when the sun's rays focused on the golden roof had their breath taken away at such a sight! Josephus tells us that some of the stones in the temple were "about forty by twelve by twenty" feet in size [John Broadus, Selected Works: Matthew, 480]. He said that some were even eighty-five feet in length! In spite of the Jewish disdain for Herod, the Babylonian Talmud stated, "He that never saw the temple of Herod, never saw a fine building" [Broadus, 481].

 

The disciples had trouble thinking of this magnificent structure being torn down. Add to this the walls of Jerusalem and its location at the pinnacle of a mountain, and the whole scene appeared indestructible. Aside from this, the temple was the place where God had chosen to reveal Himself and where the high priest interceded for the people in the holy of holies.

 

So what were the disciples thinking? Well, maybe Jesus was using hyperbolic language to make His point. Or perhaps this was His way of introducing the time when He would establish His kingdom rule. Or maybe He meant that the influence of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees would end and Christ would be preeminent among them. I think that it is quite fair to say that the disciples' eschatological views did not include the destruction of the temple or the end of Israel or the bitter hatred that they would soon experience from the world. They looked for the 'Golden Age of Israel' with the Messiah on the throne. So if the temple were destroyed, at least the Golden Age would take place and all would be well for them.

 

2. What was Jesus implying?

 

Jesus begins His response with a pointed question. "Do you not see all these things?" I think that His question pointed beyond the temple to the whole picture of what He was about to unfold. Though they loved Him and followed Him, they were still shaped by the popular notions common among their fellow countrymen. They had no thought for what would take place in less than forty years as Jerusalem was utterly destroyed and left desolate, just as Christ predicted.

 

"Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." 'It's not like you think it will be!' Desolate means empty, barren, waste, just as Jesus declared in 23:38. Now He amplifies upon it, predicting the utter destruction of the temple and the city. Josephus observed, after the Roman general Titus finally conquered Jerusalem after four years of assault, that the leveling was so severe that Jerusalem's city wall "was so completely leveled with the ground that there was no longer anything to lead those who visited the spot to believe that it had ever been inhabited" [Broadus 481]. Christ's comment focused upon the destruction that would be completed in 70 A.D.

 

But that brought even more thoughts into the disciples' minds.

 

3. What did the disciples want to know?

 

Now they wanted to put the whole picture together. Jesus and the disciples continued on to the vantage point of the Mount of Olives where they were able to look down upon the temple and the city of Jerusalem. "As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 'Now we get it,' they thought, or at least part of it, so fill in the details for us. They asked two questions: when will this happen-the destruction of Jerusalem? Second, what will be the sign that lets us know of Your coming into Your kingdom and the judgment with the end of the age? Notice that what they were asking was still predicated on the preconceived notions of common Jewish eschatology. They looped together the destruction of Jerusalem and the advent of Christ's kingdom because that was good news to them. They figured that if He ascended to His throne, they would be ruling with Him, so they wanted to know the signs that preceded all of this.

 

They were not asking questions related to pre-mid-post tribulation or pre-post-a millennial views. That did not fit their eschatological framework. They had no thought of the rapture of the church or whether there would be two returns of Christ. The sort of things that make for grist in modern eschatological talk had no place with them. They were thinking about reigning with Christ as the Messianic King. They wanted to know when to anticipate their positions in His kingdom rule and when the rule of Rome would end.

 

As Jesus begins His discourse, it is important to keep in mind that the disciples did not realize what was going to take place or how difficult it would be for them as Christians. So, before answering their questions and correcting their views and rearranging their frameworks, Jesus focuses on first things first. What did they need to know to while waiting for the end? It's really the same for each of us, too.

 

II. First things first (vv. 4-14)

 

What is most important: knowing how to precisely outline the right eschatological viewpoint or persevering as a Christian in every setting and stage of life? That's pretty obvious, or so it seems, yet many will argue eschatology and millennium and tribulation, but give little attention to walking in faithfulness and humility and consistency with Christ. So, that's where our Lord begins. The important thing was not for the disciples to satisfy their curiosity on when these things would happen or what the signs would be. Instead, Christ had other things as priorities.

 

1. Discerning the times

 

The disciples were entering into a new phase of life upon the death and resurrection of Christ. Things would begin to happen that would rattle their lives and question their devotion to Christ. So Jesus begins with the first command: "See to it that no one misleads you." The idea is that some would come forth claiming a revelation from God that was different from what Christ had told them. To follow that kind of teaching would lead them off of the path of Christ and onto a path of destruction. Misleading could take the form of false teachers or false messiahs, or it could take the form of national and international threats, or it could take the form of natural disasters. Any of this could throw them off track, which is the idea conveyed in "misleads you."

 

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many." Our generation is not the only one that has had the likes of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and David Koresh and Jim Jones. Messiah-figures have sprung up in every generation to offer new revelations or new religious twists-all moving people away from the sufficiency that is found in Jesus Christ and the gospel. Just this week, for instance, we received a letter from a man calling himself, "The Prophet Bud-the Prophet of Truth." He said that he had received the call as a divine prophet without realizing it. He explained that he did not know how to spell or how to read, "So God sent me to prison in the year 1985," he wrote, "there God started teaching me how to read, write and spell." Prophet Bud continued, "He taught me all this so that He could use me better as a Prophet. As you may have noticed God has always put Prophets in prison or some type of captivity. I was in and out of prison in California for about 71/2 to 8 years, but not all at one time." Well, at least Prophet Bud is somewhat honest! The Prophet Bud claims to have been taught unknown tales of God, which he alone can reveal to a selected few. By the way, Bud puts the name "Allah" in parentheses when he mentions God, just to cover his bases. He informed me that I had been specially chosen to read his two scrolls. The Prophet Bud is easy to spot as a phony-baloney! Yet, strangely enough, thousands fall prey to false prophets, many who claim to be latter-day messiahs, each year. Jesus warned about this. Anyone who moves away from the complete sufficiency of Jesus Christ in His person and work for another revelation is false-period.

 

Christ also speaks of rumors that spread like wildfire among people. "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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." The history of humanity is the history of wars, as someone has rightly pointed out. For many years, our country lived in fear of a nuclear "Armaggedon," as it was often called to give it the tinge of a final war. But what Jesus pointed out to His disciples is that wars, rumors of wars, and nations and kingdoms fighting one another will inevitably be part of human existence. So don't be frightened by them. As long as sin is in the world, so will be war and fighting. It is spawned by the jealousy, greed, and lusts of people. That does not serve as sign of Christ's return, but rather it serves as a reminder to keep persevering as Christians in the midst of difficult times.

 

Added to the disasters brought on by men's lusts are more natural disasters: "And in various places there will be famines and earthquakes." The recent 9.2 Richter scale earthquake in the Indian Ocean that created the cataclysmic tsunami, also popped the charts on eschatological prognosticators. Mark it down. Anytime that we have a major natural disaster, the "end-time boys" go into action. The same happened in first century Judaism. But notice what Jesus stated. "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." They do not mean that the end has come; it simply means that the divine clock of judgment continues to wind down to the point of the end. It is part of the ebb and flow of human history-all serving as reminders that judgment is coming, so we must be prepared to stand before the Judge and King of the universe. It further reminds us of how temporal our existence is in this world, and that only the kingdom of God stands forever.

 

2. Facing the facts

 

The disciples probably had a "triumphal mentality." That's why they were so curious about when the end would come; it would be triumph for them to be seated with Christ in His kingdom. But Jesus wanted them to face the facts. Instead of triumph, look for opposition and hatred. "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name." More and more countries continue to tighten the vise on open displays of Christianity. Our Lord told us ahead of time not to be surprised by this. Christians, for 2000 years, have been handed over to tribulation or trials or pressure situations. Some are killed; all will be hated. The antipathy of the world toward the gospel and toward Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord has not abated. The Americanized escapist theology has developed a view of end-times suited to our lifestyles. It basically teaches, 'before things get too bad, we're out of here via a rapture.' But that is not what our Lord is teaching. He prepares believers in every century to understand that being a Christian goes against the thinking of the world. We may not see the same way that other nations do. Randy M. told me this week about some of his experiences in Afghanistan working among Americans and Afghanis. The intensity of being distinctly different from those about him has never been higher. Opposition, even from his fellow Americans in that setting, has been blatant. He has faced more hatred in the last 4 months than anything he has seen in the States.

 

Because of the intensity of living as a Christian in a world that stands in opposition, Jesus warned, "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another." Even some that professed to be Christian will turn against believers, betraying them to authorities out of hatred. Apostasy will mark the waves of church history. If the kind of persecution that presently takes place in Nigeria or Sudan or China were to take place in the United States, what would that do to the landscape of American Christianity? Many turncoats would show up to save their own hide and betray believers.

 

Additionally, the false prophets will increase and so will the breadth of sinful behavior. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold." Love for God and love for fellow man will decline because of the increase of "lawlessness." The presence of God's people living in faithfulness to Him offers restraints upon a society-salt and light affecting the community. But when people fail to pay attention to their doctrine and begin to follow the teaching of false prophets, then sin and unconcern for the law of God increases, love for God and man declines, and true believers face greater persecution.

 

So rather than a rosy picture, Jesus painted a realistic picture for believers in every century. If you complain because you continue to meet with the world's animosity due to your faith in Christ, pay attention. Jesus has foretold us that it will happen until He comes.

 

3. Triumph will come

 

We are to pay attention to what is going on about us-to notice the changing religious climate so that we are not caught unaware. We are to face the facts of the world's hatred, and even the reality of what it might cost us to live as Christians in an unchristian world. But Christ's direction is not for us to hide or move to a commune in Idaho or withdraw in our Christian ghetto. "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Jesus Christ calls for endurance, perseverance, and continuing on as a Christian in spite of the circumstances. Perseverance gives evidence of genuine faith. To endure means that we bear up even in difficulties and times of suffering. The word literally means, "to abide under." You continue to abide in Christ even when under the intensity of persecution. Jesus does not call us to merely make a decision for Him. He calls us to be disciples, to be His followers through thick and thin. We can persevere because He preserves us and provides for us to continue on as Christians. The certain evidence of a person masquerading as a Christian is the refusal to persevere. Tough times purify the church. "He that began a good work in you will continue it to the day of Jesus Christ," that's our Lord's triumphant promise (Phil. 1:6).

 

The second prong of triumph is the extension of the gospel throughout the world, literally, in the whole inhabited world as a witness to all of the peoples. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." What a triumphant statement this was to the disciples, especially as they considered the gospel going into the Gentile world! Yes, they would face many difficulties but they were to persist in proclaiming the gospel. We're not to grow slack because of persecution and opposition. We're not to withdraw into some safe cocoon or retreat. We are to push forward with the gospel of Christ. Proclaim the good news to every people group, Christ tells us. That is the divine agenda as we wait for the end. Comfort and ease and self-security are not our rights as Christians. We have a King to proclaim-let us be about that work to His glory!

 

Conclusion

 

Whatever your preconceived notions may be concerning the end-times, I hope that you will see that the greater priority must be on keeping first things first. Discern the times that we have been living in since Jesus ascended. We are in a world that continues to be eaten up by its sin. But Christ tells us, "See that you are not frightened." We are in a world that views Christians with contempt and hatred. Christ tells us to endure to the end. And in that endurance, keep up the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom.

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