It is one of the more puzzling
things that Bible teachers must put up with: no subject so divides the body of
Christ as the interpretation of prophecy. Each interpreter is utterly
self-confident, and equally sure that all others are mistaken, or worse. I
profess no such superior insight, but perhaps can make matters a bit clearer in
these undoubtedly prophetic passages.
Signs of the Times
(Mat 24:1-14 NIV)
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to
call his attention to its buildings. {2} "Do
you see all these things?" he asked. "I
tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will
be thrown down." {3} 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?" {4} Jesus answered: "Watch
out that no one deceives you. {5} For
many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.
{6} 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. {7} Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. {8} All
these are the beginning of birth pains. {9} "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put
to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. {10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, {11} and many
false prophets will appear and deceive many people. {12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will
grow cold, {13} but he who stands firm to
the end will be saved. {14} And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come.
Two
questions
One of the
most confusing things about this passage is our inability to separate out what
might be happening in the near future (for example, the destruction of the
Temple in AD 70) and the distant future. Please note that Jesus’ disciples ask
of him two questions:
·
When will “this” (the destruction of the Temple) happen, and
·
What are the signs of your coming again?
In that sense, we must look for
both things in the answer given in this passage. Unfortunately, the
interpretation of this passage often depends upon which interpretation of
Revelation you might prefer. In the passage that follows, I will attempt to
give some insight from two perspectives: the premillennialist
dispensationalist (commonly associated with Hal Lindsey and others) and the
postmillennialist, or historicist, view.
Parallel to Revelation
One thing that has struck many
commentators is the parallel of events between what Christ says here and the
first six seals of Revelation:
1. The
first seal shows a crown and conquest, and is often interpreted as being a
false Christ, especially because of the white horse. Talbot (a
futurist/premillennialist of the 1930s) saw this as Mussolini, for example.
Historicists saw this as the “good emperors” from Nerva through Marcus
Aurelius. All this fits with “false Christ,” for Christ means anointed one.
2. The
second seal pictures a sword, a red horse. Futurists see this as a communist
invasion of Israel; historicists see the next series of emperors in a time of
civil war. Wars and rumors of wars indeed.
3. The
third seal shows a rider with scales on a black horse, and clearly implies
weighing out bread – a time of famine.
4. The
fourth horse – a pale horse, carries with it death (the word may also be
translated pestilence). Pestilence and earthquakes (the latter may be
figurative). Futurists see this (perhaps) as biological warfare, for example,
and historicists point to a plague of approximately 300 AD.
5. The
fifth seal is a long passage emphasizing persecution. The persecution
mentioned in this passage fits very well with this. I give you the two views:
·
The historicist sees this as the Diocletian persecution of AD
303-313. In Egypt alone in those years 700,000 Christians were slaughtered
simply because they were Christians. Many turned away, and heresy abounded,
especially Arianism. But at this time the Gospel was completing its conquest
of the Roman Empire – which is a reasonable interpretation of the Greek which
is translated here “all nations.” (Those outside would have been “tribes.”)
·
The futurist sees this as a time yet to come – but notes
carefully that the spread of the Gospel to “all nations” (in the sense we would
use that phrase today) is nearly complete.
The Abomination of Desolation
(Mat 24:15-31 NIV)
"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes
desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--
{16} then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. {17} Let
no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
{18} Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. {19} How
dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
{20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
{21} For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of
the world until now--and never to be equaled again. {22} If those days
had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect
those days will be shortened. {23} At that time if anyone says to you,
'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. {24} For
false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. {25} See, I
have told you ahead of time. {26} "So if anyone tells you, 'There
he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,'
do not believe it. {27} For as lightning that comes from the east is
visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. {28} Wherever
there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. {29} "Immediately
after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly
bodies will be shaken.' {30} "At that time the sign of the Son of
Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great
glory. {31} 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.
Now comes
one of those phrases which divides interpreters: “the abomination of
desolation.” All interpreters agree that the original meaning of the phrase in
Daniel (9:27) was fulfilled, or at least foreshadowed, by Antiochus Epiphanes
in the second century before Christ. He conquered Jerusalem and built an altar
to Zeus in the Temple, and sacrificed a pig on it.
Futurists hold that this event
will mark the middle of the last seven years – the 70th week of
Daniel. This will require a restored Temple, probably as described in the book
of Ezekiel, and the abomination is to be performed by the restored Roman
Empire, whose head will be the Antichrist (or front man for same).
Historicists answer that this has
already happened in AD 70, at the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans. The Romans
set up their banners in the Temple, and this would be the abomination. In this
sense, Christ is answering the question about when will the Temple fall.
We now come to (in verse 29) what
parallels the sixth seal in Revelation. Until the 1970s, all interpreters took
this verse in a symbolic sense. That is, they said that “stars” (for example)
were not the astronomical ones, but that these were prominent people (as we
might speak of a “movie star” or “sports star” today.) This view is confirmed
in the Old Testament, for example, in Joseph’s dreams about the stars, sun and
moon bowing down to his star. In Revelation 1, stars are interpreted as angels
associated with the churches.
In the 1970s Lindsey and others
began to interpret this as a literal event in the skies. This has a
difficulty, in that the sky disappears twice in Revelation – the other time in
Revelation 20:11. The real reason for that is verse 30 – which quickly
transitions to the Rapture (in all views).
I hope you’re thoroughly confused
by now. It does get worse!
The Fig Tree
(Mat 24:32-44 NIV)
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender
and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. {33} Even so,
when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
{34} I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away
until all these things have happened. {35} Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will never pass away. {36} "No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. {37} As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man. {38} For in the days before the flood, people were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah
entered the ark; {39} and they knew nothing about what would happen
until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. {40} Two men will be in the field; one will be
taken and the other left. {41} Two women will be grinding with a hand
mill; one will be taken and the other left. {42} "Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. {43} But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into. {44} So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
come at an hour when you do not expect him.
This begins
Jesus’ section on warning us to be ready. There will be much more about this
next week, so I will skip over most of that in this lesson. Two things need to
be explained:
The Fig Tree
Most interpreters see the fig
tree simply as a figure: you know how easy it is to tell when spring is coming
because you can go out and look at the tree. Just do the same with the signs
of the times. But some see in this the idea that the fig tree is symbolic of
Israel, and the budding is the repentance of Israel forecast in the futurist
theory.
“This generation”
One of the
most puzzling of passages is that in which Christ says that “this generation”
will see it. There are three prime interpretations:
·
First, it could be that Christ is referring to the destruction of
the Temple here. He is saying, in effect, that it will happen before those
listening to him all die.
·
Some futurists apply the same logic to the future Temple, saying
that “this generation” means some future generation that will see it all. This
is the basis of the idea that Christ must come within seventy years (one
generation) of 1947, the founding of the state of Israel.
·
Another reasonable interpretation is that the word “generation”
(Greek genea) can also be interpreted “race,” “age,” or “nation.” In
that sense, it could mean that the Jews, as a race, would still be around when
this all happens.
So what do I really know?
You might conclude from all this
that I’m not certain of anything that Christ foretold. This is not so. Here
are some things which you need to be sure of:
·
That Satan exists, is real, is powerful and evil – and ultimately
will be defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ.
·
That we, the redeemed, will live forever with God in the New
Heaven and New Earth.
·
That Christ is, most assuredly, coming again in a most
unmistakable way.
·
That the living and the dead will rise to meet him (the Rapture).
·
That all, living and dead, must face God in judgment (how many
judgments? When? How? I don’t know – but all must face Him, for reward or
for departure).
·
That all the dead, no matter who, will rise again to face him in
the flesh – and that all will acknowledge him as Lord.
·
That no one – not even Jesus Himself – knows when this will
happen.
·
That we had better be ready, therefore, at any time.