LESSON 11 – A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE –
How would you like to look into the future? Many are trying to do it today with some success, but the Bible is the only book that has been accurate 100% of the time is the Bible. What makes the Bible so fascinating is that it is never outdated, but it is always up to date.
The Olivet Discourse, delivered shortly before Jesus’ crucifixion, is one of the most important single passages of prophesy in all the Bible. It is significant because the message came from Jesus himself as he sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem and the events during his last week before the cross. The message for us is his words are a revelation of the fate of Earth. Not only does he foretell us of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple, but he looks across the centuries and discloses the trouble and pitfalls that lie ahead between his first and second coming, illustrating the age in which we live. Jesus looks past the present day to that time that he calls “the end of the age” and set its events culminating in his own return to earth.
The first three verses of Matthew 24 are:
“Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings. He said to them in reply, “You see all these things, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
“As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Jesus left the Temple with his disciples, and they came up to point out the temple buildings to him. They were talking to Jesus about how beautiful the Temple complex was, and that Herod was still in the process of remodeling and refurbishing. The Temples courtyards, porticos and towering buildings covered an area about the size of three American football field, and the thought that it would be completely dismantled would have been extremely difficult for the disciples to imagine. The Lord must have startled the disciples by his response to their gloating over the beauty of the Temple complex when he said,
“Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, that will not be thrown down,” (Matthew 24:2)
With Jesus’ statement, there is a break in the narrative, and it begins again in Matthew 24:3 when it states, “the disciples came to he privately.” Mark 13:3 tells us that the disciples who came to Him privately were Peter, James, John and Andrew, and that they were sitting on Mount of Olives looking at the Temple. The disciples were troubled and confused, and they cannot believe that this will occur. They knew that they were under the bondage of Rome, but they also knew that the Romans were lovers of temples. They had preserved the Temple for many years, and there seemed to be no good reason for the Temple to be destroyed. But Jesus assured them that not one stone would be left standing upon the other. We will miss the full meaning of this sentence if we don’t understand that Jesus is giving here his credentials as a prophet. The law of Moses required that when a prophet foretells the future, it was necessary that he give a sign by which the prophecy could be tested, and it became customary for the prophets to give the people a prediction of something that would happen in the near future. When it came to pass as foretold, the people would know that this was an authenticated prophet, but if the sign did not occur as predicted, the prophecy in its entirety was to be rejected as not from God, and the prophet was exposed as false. This is what lay behind the disciple’s request for a sign associated with his coming.
There are three questions that the disciples ask Jesus. The first is, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age?”
The first question relates to the destruction of the Temple, which was fulfilled in the Roman invasion and destruction in 70 A.D., some 40 years later. All that remains today is an exposed portion of what is known as the “Western Wall”. The second question is, “What will be the sign of your coming, and the third question is, what will be the sign of the close of the age?”
When the disciples asked Jesus about his coming, they did not have a second coming in mind. They did not picture Christ’s descending from heaven to earth, but what they thought is that there would be a political revolution with the crowning of Jesus as King to restore the nation of Israel and rule all over all the nations.
The sign of the close of the age is found in verse 15, “the desolating sacrilege (the destruction of the temple) …standing in the holy place.” What the disciples could not see and not be expected to see was that there would be an enormous period of time between the time the question was asked and the close of age in the far distant future. Some of the disciples saw the destruction of Jerusalem as Jesus had foretold it, but none would live to see the close of the age, and none would pass through the Great Tribulation.
As Jesus overlooks the city, he is facing the darkest hour of his life. He knows what lies ahead. He sees those who will shortly forsake him and flee. He sees the darkest of the coming centuries, and he quietly declares what the end will be, with no uncertainty or doubt.
What is happening today in the affairs of men is bringing to pass what our Lord says will happen. As we listen to his declaration of what the course of human history will be, each of us must face the inevitable question that the Olivet Discourse forces upon us. In what way is my life related to the great events that Jesus says will take place? Am I contributing to the anarchy and distress among men and in the failing of hearts for fear of what is coming to pass? Or am I contributing to God’s program that is moving through history to bring the age to its appointed climax and to bring again the Son of God from heaven to establish his kingdom on earth? It’s one or the other.
Writing about this makes me uncomfortable, but I suppose this is what God intends it to be. We will learn much more about this in the upcoming lessons.
Until next time, may peace, love and joy be with you always.