Program 278: Predicting the Fall of Jerusalem

Mark 13 and Luke 21, being written for a gentile audience, help clarify what was meant in Matthew 24.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of WLC Radio Ministry, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: When I was about … oh, 12, I think? Just about the age where I was starting to read the Bible for myself and I could understand what it was saying, I stumbled across Matthew 24. Now, I was taught to believe in a secret rapture before the great, final tribulation, and this chapter perfectly fit in with that. It perfectly described—or so I thought—a great tribulation.

I was so excited to find a passage I could understand, I started underlining. And I kept underlining. By the time I was through, I’d underlined the whole thing!

With time and with more study, I came to realize that Scripture does not teach a secret rapture, but for a long time, I still believed that the Savior’s return would be preceded by a clear and obvious “time of trouble.”

More recently, we’ve learned that almost the entirety of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is actually warning of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. We’ve had several programs on this already, but you’ll want to keep listening to today’s program because the belief that Matthew 24 is a warning about the end of the world is so widespread among Christians, today’s program will give you a solid foundation when sharing the truth with other believers.

Hi, I’m Miles Robey and you’re listening to World’s Last Chance Radio where we cover a variety of topics related to Scripture, prophecy, practical piety, Biblical beliefs, and living in constant readiness for the Savior’s unexpected return, whenever that might be. Today, Dave Wright is going to be looking at Matthew 24 in the context of Mark 13 and Luke 21. The three synoptic gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—all record this conversation. John chose not to include it in his gospel, which is interesting because, according to Mark’s account, John was one of only four disciples that were present when Yahushua gave this discourse!

Later, Jane Lamb has a promise for anyone who’s ever longed to feel accepted.

Dave? Why do you suppose John didn’t record this conversation?

Dave Wright: That’s a great question. It’s believed that John’s gospel was the last to be written. If the dates are correct, it was actually written after the destruction of Jerusalem, so he may have felt there wasn’t any need to include it. And besides, most of Revelation foretells the destruction of Jerusalem, so by the time he wrote his gospel, he’d already written on the subject in depth.

Miles: That’s true.

Dave: I’m thankful the synoptic gospels all include this discourse, though, because they each contain nuances and details not found in the others. We can learn a lot by studying Matthew 24 in the context of Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Miles: Before you go on, I’d like to ask you something really quick. Recently, one of our listeners in South America asked why we’re devoting so many programs to this topic. For someone who’s listened to our other programs on this topic, why keep covering this subject?

Dave: In my years as a Christian—and even more, in my years of studying Scripture for myself—I’ve seen and experienced that different minds are convicted by different levels of evidence. Not everyone is convicted by the same arguments. Truth, of course, is eternal, and Yahuwah will lead all who desire to know the truth to learn it, but there’s more than one path to get there, depending on our backgrounds, as well as our past and current beliefs.

Also, error is incredibly pervasive. Christianity has been blessed with great truth, but the devil has wormed his way in and corrupted it with a lot of error. Yes, we typically have multiple programs on any given subject, but they each take a look at different evidence and from different angles. Why? Because different minds need different evidence, different logic, to see the truth clearly.

Miles: Okay. That makes sense.

Why do you suppose we’ve all assumed that Matthew 24—and Mark 13 along with Luke 21—was all about the end of the world and Christ’s return?

Dave: I think part of it has to do with how the disciples phrased their question as recorded in Matthew 24. Then, when you discover that Mark 13 and Luke 21 are covering the same conversation, it’s easy to assume they’re all talking about the end of the world.

Turn to Matthew 24. I want to show you what I mean. Read the first three verses for us, please.

Miles:

Then Yahushua went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Yahushua said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Dave: The way Matthew phrases this—What’s going to be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?—makes it sound like the focus is on Christ’s return, so it’s been easy to assume that Christ’s discourse had a double application to both the destruction of Jerusalem and a time of tribulation before his return.

Miles: Yeah, that’s what I was always taught.

Dave: Me, too. And, to be fair, the way Yahushua phrased some of his answers – it certainly sounds like he’s talking about the end of the world.

Miles: That’s true. Listen to verses 29 to 31. It says:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

And in my Bible, the editors have inserted a subheading for just those verses. It says: “The Coming of the Son of Man.”

Dave: Right! Obviously, Matthew didn’t include that subheading. But because the editors of your Bible did, because it’s there in the text as you’re reading along, it can be easy to be influenced by it and assume this is talking about the Second Coming.

Miles: Well, you have to admit, those verses sound like he’s describing the end of the world. Or, at least, how we’ve always envisioned it based off of our interpretation of this passage.

Dave: Sure. And in other programs we’ve looked at how these verses actually apply to the destruction of Jerusalem, so we won’t get into that here. What I want to do today is to compare Matthew 24 with the parallel accounts in Mark 13 and Luke 21 because when we do that, we can start to see our assumptions about this passage have been incorrect.

Miles: There are some significant differences between the three gospels’ accounts of this discourse, aren’t there?

Dave: Well, they’re all giving warning signs of the destruction of Jerusalem, but yes. The way they’re written does differ, so what we need to remember as we look at these accounts is one of the most basic rules of biblical interpretation and that is to take into account all Scripture passages on any given subject. Matthew 24 isn’t a standalone chapter. We have to view it in light of Mark’s and Luke’s accounts of the same conversation.

Miles: Yeah, it’s always important to gather together all passages dealing with the same subject and study everything in context.

Dave: Matthew was written for a largely Jewish audience. His account is harder for us to understand because the terminology he uses, while understood by Jewish readers, isn’t as clear to us. So, we’ve projected onto Matthew 24 the assumption that he’s describing the end of the world.

On the other hand, both Mark and Luke were written for gentile audiences: Luke to gentiles in general, and Mark to a Roman audience. They tend to avoid the idioms Matthew uses. Matthew could get away with lots of Jewish idioms because his target audience was Jewish, and that’s where our confusion has come in. If you don’t know a phrase is an idiom, you’re going to interpret it literally.

Miles: Good point.

Dave: Let’s start with Mark’s account. Most scholars agree it was written first. Would you turn to chapter 13 and read verses …

Actually, just go ahead and read the entire chapter. I know it’s long, so take your time, but we need to read all of it, stripped of the Jewish phraseology we haven’t understood.

Go ahead.

Miles:

As Yahushua was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Yahushua. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

As Yahushua was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Dave: The Geneva Bible, the Bible of the Protestant Reformers, translates this verse as: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” So, already you can see that there’s no reference to the Second Coming. They’re just asking, “Okay, so when’s all this going to happen?”

Keep going.

Miles:

Yahushua said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when [Yahuwah] created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

“But in those days, following that distress,

“‘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.’

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

“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. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Dave: Do you see the differences in terminology there?

Miles: Wow! Yeah. It’s clearly the same message, but the way it’s phrased is a bit different. It just goes to show how much interpretation we’ve projected onto Matthew’s account.

Dave: Because we haven’t understood he was using Jewish idioms.

Miles: Okay, we’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back, I’d like to dive into this some more.

We’ll be right back.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: Okay, so you just read through Mark 13. The first thing that jumps out is that the disciples seem to ask two questions rather than three. In Matthew 24 verse 3, it almost sounds like they ask three questions:

• When will these things be?
• What will be the sign of Your coming?
• AND of the end of the age?

In Mark’s account, they ask only two things: When will this happen—that’s a timing question—and what sign do we look for that everything’s about to happen?

Miles: That’s interesting. There’s no reference to the Second Coming or the end of the age.

Dave: Which, as we’ve covered in other programs, we now know to be a Jewish idiom, not a literal reference to the end of the world.

The problem most of us have had when interpreting Matthew 24, aside from not understanding the Jewish idioms he used, is that we’ve read it completely out of context. Mark does a better job at putting that entire conversation in context.

Miles: Yeah. No chapter breaks in the original gospels.

Dave: Turn back to chapter 12. Let’s see what had just happened that led the disciples to point out the glory of the temple to Yahushua. Mark 12 and verses 41 to 44.

Miles:

Now Yahushua sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So he called his disciples to himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

Dave: This is the very end of chapter 12. The very next verses in chapter 13 are the disciples calling Christ’s attention to how beautiful the temple is. See, the disciples were, just like us, a product of their times. They admired the wealthy aristocracy and wished they could be rich, too.

Miles: So, basically, they were trying to correct their Master. They were saying, “Hey, check it out, Yahushua! This gorgeous temple complex couldn’t have been built by a couple of mites. It was done with the gifts of the wealthy!”

Dave: Basically, yes. That’s exactly what’s happening here. Luke’s account, which we’ll get to in a little bit, makes it even more clear: they wanted Yahushua to understand that the temple and its services were built by—and supported by—the ongoing gifts of the rich, not what a poor widow could contribute.

It was this thinking on the part of the disciples that Christ was addressing when he foretold the utter destruction of everything they were admiring.

Miles: Yeah, material wealth doesn’t really mean much to anyone who’s an heir of Yahuwah. It’s like trying to strike a bargain with Yahuwah to take all your gold with you to the New Jerusalem. In a city paved in gold, that’s like desperately negotiating to bring in bags of asphalt!

Dave chuckles: Right! Worldly “treasures” are nothing to those who will inherit everything. But we can’t miss the context while trying to decipher Matthew 24.

The first thing Yahushua does is to explain what the sign is not.

• It’s not false Christs or even teachers who come in his name teaching error.
• It’s not wars and rumors of wars.
• It’s not earthquakes or famines or other natural calamities.
• It’s not even persecution in its many forms.

All these, he says, are but “the beginning of sorrows.” It’s not until verse 14 that he turns his explanation to what the sign is. Would you read that verse again for us?

Miles: “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

Dave: “The abomination that causes desolation” or the “abomination of desolation” as Matthew puts it, sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It sounds like something you’d expect to occur during a great tribulation.

The problem is, if this is an end-of-the-world harbinger, nothing that follows makes the slightest bit of sense. When Yahushua returns, what difference does it make for people to “flee to the mountains of Judea”? What possible difference would it make for a person on the rooftop not to go inside and fetch his cloak, or someone ploughing to not turn back and grab his tunic? When Yahushua actually returns, those aren’t going to be in anyone’s mind, let alone a temptation!

Miles: That’s true. You read other passages describing the Second Coming and what comes through is how sudden it is; how fast everything happens.

Listen to this … it’s 1 Corinthians 15, verses 51 and 52. It says: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Dave: “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye” you’re not going to be thinking about fleeing to the mountains. You’re not going to have time! You’re certainly not going to be thinking about going downstairs to grab your jacket even if it is winter!

Miles laughs: Good point!

Dave: Yahushua’s talking about a time of great distress—and here’s what we’ve overlooked—from which it is possible to flee!

Miles: Hmm. You’re right. No one can “flee” the Great Tribulation or the time of trouble most Christians assume precedes the return of Christ.

Dave: Nor can anyone actually flee the return of Christ. This doesn’t make sense.

But we know from Josephus, who was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem, that no Christian was killed when the city fell. Why? They’d all fled. They’d paid attention to Christ’s warning and got out.

Now, in verses 24 to 32, Yahushua addresses their question about timing. When’s this all going to happen?

Miles: You have to admit this passage sounds apocalyptic. He’s talking about the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light. It all sounds very end-of-the-worldish.

Dave: It does if you’re not aware that this is actually Old Testament language and symbology.

Let’s look at a few examples of this and you’ll see that what we’ve applied to the end of the world is language that is commonly used in the Old Testament to describe times of Yahuwah’s judgment on nations.

Let’s start with Isaiah 13. Would you please read verses 6 to 13 for us?

Miles:

Wail, for the day of Yahuwah is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.

See, the day of Yahuwah is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of Yahuwah Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.

Dave: Sounds like an apocalyptic prophecy for sure, doesn’t it?

Miles: It really does.

Dave: But it’s not. Verse 1 states that this is, quote: “A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw.” This isn’t apocalyptic, end of the world, language. This is the language of judgment.

There are so many, many examples of this throughout the Old Testament. You find it in Isaiah chapters 19 and 34. You can find it in Ezekiel 32 and all of Joel. It’s there.

Miles: Yeah, and Joel 2 is quoted in Acts 2, claiming the Day of Pentecost—two thousand years ago!—was a fulfillment of that prophecy.

Dave: Right. The language used in all of these passages parallels not only Matthew 24, but also the book of Revelation. The point is, you’re not going to be able to correctly interpret Matthew 24 or Revelation without a thorough understanding of the Old Testament prophecies that parallel these passages. Instead, you’ll end up symbolizing what’s supposed to be interpreted literally, and literalizing what’s actually symbolic.

Okay. So. Let’s look again at Mark 13. Would you read verses 28 to 31? This is Christ saying more on the “timing” element of the disciples’ question.

Miles:

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. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Dave: That’s very clear! “This generation—the generation of those listening to me speak—will not pass away until all of this has happened.” In verse 32, he says that no one could know ahead of time the day nor the hour when Jerusalem would be destroyed, which is why in verses 33 to 37 he repeats and urgently reinforcing the need to watch. Verse 37: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

That’s urgent! And it’s that very urgency that saved the lives of the Christians living in Jerusalem at that time. They paid attention to Christ’s warnings. They kept watch. And when the Roman armies withdrew briefly, they fled.

* * *

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* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: Luke’s account is even more straightforward than Mark’s. He’s writing to a general gentile audience, so his phraseology is the least “Jewish” of any of them.

Would you read verses 1 to 36 of Luke 21, please? Let’s see how Luke phrases things.

Miles:

As Yahushua looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to [Yahuwah]. But Yahushua said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.

“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of [Yahuwah] is near.

“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Dave: Okay, so it’s about the same as Mark’s account. We’ve got the story of the widow with her small offering, the disciples commenting on how beautiful the temple is—clearly made possible by the gifts of the wealthy—and then Yahushua telling them it’s all going to be destroyed.

The two accounts are close enough we don’t need to go over it in detail, but there are just a few things that are a bit different. They don’t contradict Mark and Matthew; they just help clarify Christ’s original intent in this message.

Read verse 7 again. This is where the disciples are asking Yahushua what he meant by the temple being destroyed.

Miles: Uhhh … “‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?’”

Dave: “These things.” What things? Warnings of when the Second Coming would occur? If that were the case, then Theophilus—for whom Luke wrote his gospel—would have been misled.

And, as with Mark, the “signs” to watch for aren’t false Christs, wars and uprisings, earthquakes, famines, plagues, persecution or even “fearful events and great signs from heaven.” The sign to watch for is given in verse 20. All symbology has been stripped away from Luke’s account and he clearly states Christ’s meaning. This is what Matthew and Mark refer to as the “abomination of desolation,” or the “abomination that desolates.” How does Luke phrase it? Verse 20. This is key to understanding the sign Christ meant for his hearers to understand.

Miles: “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”

Dave: This is the sign. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its destruction is about to happen. Get out!

Miles: You can’t get any clearer than that.

Dave: No. There’s no symbology here. And even Matthew, when he referred to the “abomination of desolation,” stuck in the parenthetical comment, “Let the reader understand.” He was using symbolic language.

Luke, writing to a gentile audience, left out the symbology and just said it like it was: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its end is near and get out.

Let’s turn now to Matthew 24. Bearing in mind everything we’ve learned in the parallel passages in Mark and Luke, let’s look at how Matthew shares this discourse to his Jewish audience.

Miles: I guess my first question would be: did the disciples really ask three questions, as it appears in Matthew? Or is it just that Matthew’s more Jewish style of writing makes it look that way to modern readers?

Dave: That’s an excellent question. Would you read it again in Matthew 24? It’s verse 3.

Miles: “As Yahushua 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?’”

Dave: We read “the sign of your coming” and we automatically think: “Oh! They’re talking about Christ’s return.” However, a Jewish audience wouldn’t assume that. A first-century Jewish reader would recognize in that phrase a reference to coming judgment, just like you read in Isaiah 13.

Matthew uses this elsewhere. Read Matthew 16 verse 28 next.

Miles: “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Dave: Not all of Christ’s “comings” refer to his future return that we’re all waiting for.

For example, Luke 19 verse 44 says, “They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

This is a clear allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem when not one stone was left upon another.

Miles: What about the reference to “the end of the age”? That just sounds like end-of-the-world talk to me. Some versions even translate it as the end of the world.

Dave: It sounds like that to me, too. But that’s because we’re projecting our modern understanding onto this passage. A first-century Jewish reader would have interpreted it differently.

For one thing, the word used in the Greek is aion, or “age.” It’s not kosmos, or “world.” So translating it as “end of the world” is incorrect.

We also need to remember that the disciples wouldn’t have been asking about Yahushua returning at the end of the world because they hadn’t even yet grasped that he was going to die, let alone leave earth! Even though he’d clearly warned them in Luke chapters 9 and 18, they still hadn’t grasped it. In fact, Luke 18:34 says, quote: “But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.” This was after Christ bluntly told them that he was going to be arrested in Jerusalem, scourged, and crucified. So, there’s no way that they were envisioning what we have as Christ returning at the “end of the world.”

Miles: Yeah, that’s a good point.

Dave: In Mark’s record of the disciple’s question, he uses an interesting root word. Mark 13 verse 4 says: “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” Matthew’s “end” of the age comes from the same Greek word that in Mark is translated as “fulfilled.”

Miles: So if the disciples weren’t asking about the end of the world, as we’ve assumed, what specifically were they asking?

Dave: As I see it, there are two possibilities, both of which have merit, in this context. The first is their assumption that the only time Jerusalem and the temple could be destroyed would be at the end of the world.

Secondly, since “coming” is translated from the Greek word parousia which literally means “presence,” it’s possible they were envisioning Yahushua coming to Jerusalem as a conquering king to wrest control from the Romans. Parousia was often used to refer to the coming of a king, so I can see them interpreting it that way.

Miles: I can, too. I mean, the very last thing Scripture records they said to Christ before his ascension was, “So, hey! Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?” [Acts 1:6] I mean, they really had no clue, did they?

Dave: Not yet, no. But, regardless of how the disciples interpreted “these things,” when Yahushua used that phrase, he was referring to the destruction of the temple as is obvious when we look at Mark’s and Luke’s accounts of the conversation.

Matthew adds a few details that Mark and Luke leave out. For example, he talks about the gospel being preached to the whole world before the “end.”

Miles: How would you apply that to the first century?

Dave: Oh, easily! In his opening salutations to the believers in Colossae, Paul says, “the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.” [Colossians 1:6] In verse 23 he adds, quote: “This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

Miles: And Paul was martyred before the fall of Jerusalem, sooo …

Dave: So, this definitely had a first century fulfillment.

Miles: What about verse 31? It says, “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.”

Dave: This idea of “gathering the elect” is one that appears throughout the Old Testament. Sure! It could refer to believers being gathered when Christ does return, but it could also refer to the gospel going around the then-known world; it could refer to believers being gathered out of Jerusalem before its destruction. Being gathered doesn’t refer exclusively to the end of the world.

Turn to Deuteronomy 30 verse 4. What does that say?

Miles: Umm … “Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there Yahuwah your God will gather you and bring you back.”

Dave: This is a promise to gather Israel after they’d been scattered as punishment for worshipping false gods.

What about Isaiah 27 verse 13? This one doesn’t actually use the word “gather” but the idea is still there.

Miles: “And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship Yahuwah on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”

Dave: Matthew also expounds more on Christ’s warning to watch. Those who will heed the warning are likened to Noah. While the whole wicked world was taken by surprise, Noah and his family escaped the destruction. The same thing happened to believers who watched for and recognized the sign of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies … only for the armies to be withdrawn. Just like Noah, they escaped.

There’s one more passage I’d like to look at and that’s Luke 17. While this passage isn’t a parallel to Mathew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, it does contain a lot of the same signs, they’re just not in the same order.

Miles: Well, it was a different conversation.

Dave: It was. Why don’t you read it for us? Luke 17, verses 20 to 37.

Miles:

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of [Yahuwah] would come, Yahushua replied, “The coming of the kingdom of [Yahuwah] is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of [Yahuwah] is in your midst.”

Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

“Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

Dave: We’ve got three possible explanations for this passage.

First, the Holy Spirit was a bit distracted that day and it’s just a jumbled mess.

Miles laughs: That doesn’t say much for the Holy Spirit! Sooo … not that option. What else?

Dave: Well, you could argue that this entire passage is referring to Yahushua’s Second Coming and not referring to the destruction of Jerusalem at all, despite the similarities to the other passages that do refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. I don’t believe this is a viable explanation, though.

The wording of this passage reflects too closely the description of the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24. For example, verse 31 of Luke 17 says, “On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.” How does that even fit with the Second Coming?

Miles: It doesn’t.

Dave: But it does with the destruction of Jerusalem.

Same with verses 28 and 29 where Lot, like Noah, is used as an example of those who escape. Again: it fits the believers fleeing Jerusalem when the Roman armies were withdrawn. It doesn’t fit anything happening when Christ returns. All we’re told about Christ’s return is that we’re to live in a state of readiness—a state of perpetual surrender—because we can’t know when he’s going to come. There are no signs to watch for!

Yahushua made it clear that even the righteous will be taken by surprise when Yahushua returns. That’s why we’re to live in readiness. There are no signs of his return, but there were of the destruction of Jerusalem. This is the biggest argument in favor of Luke 17 being another warning of the fall of Jerusalem. It doesn’t matter that the signs are given in a different order: they’re still signs to watch for!

Miles: I think too often we hold the Bible to ridiculous standards.

Dave: What do you mean?

Miles: Well, when we’re conversing with someone, we share our thoughts, or knowledge, or whatever. Maybe a few days later, we talk about that same subject with someone else. Are we really going to repeat the exact same thoughts in the exact same order in this other conversation with someone else?

My point is, what difference does it make if the signs given in Luke 17 aren’t in the same order as those given in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21? It’s a different conversation, but like you said: it’s still giving signs! And Yahushua was clear that there were no signs that would warn of his return.

Dave: Exactly.

Matthew 25 is a continuation of Matthew 24. It’s in Matthew 25 that we have the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. It’s a warning of how unexpected Christ’s return will be. So, how many of the virgins fell asleep waiting for the bridegroom?

Miles: All of them.

Dave: Verse 5: “They all slumbered and slept.” That’s why he concludes the parable by saying, verse 13: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

We keep watch because we haven’t been given any signs, unlike the fall of Jerusalem that had plenty of signs.

* * *Daily Promise:

Hello! This is Jane Lamb with today’s daily promise.

Have you seen those elf ears that are available now? You can find them online or sometimes in party supply stores. They are made from a durable yet soft silicone and come in a variety of different skin tones.

Well, one of my teenagers has a pair. She loves slipping them on when she goes into town. She’s friendly and genuinely enjoys meeting and talking to new people, and her elf ears are an instant attraction. Children in particular are fascinated by the sight and always draw near for a closer look. Children and dogs. All the village dogs recognize her gentle, friendly presence and come running whenever they see her. She’s like the Pied Piper of children and animals.

Yesterday, watching her smile and interact with a small crowd of eager children, I was reminded of the time the disciples got impatient with how children flocked to Yahushua. They thought he was far too important to waste time on mere children. The Savior corrected them, saying, “Let the little children come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 19:14]

You may be wondering why I would consider this a promise. Well, the reason is simple: Yahuwah is our Father. He loves us with the same long-suffering love a parent has for his child. For those who have never experienced a loving parent, let me just say that Yahuwah is the parent you always wished you had: supportive, accepting, compassionate, patient with mistakes and quick to forgive offenses. Psalm 103 tells us that He knows our frame, He remembers that we are but dust.

James 5 verse 11 assures us, “Yahuwah is very compassionate and merciful.” You can trust His love for you. When you turn to Him, He is immediately right there. He is waiting with longing to enter into an intimate relationship with every individual on earth, for each one of us is as precious to Him as if there were not another soul for whom Christ died.

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

* * *Part 4: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Thank you for joining us for today’s program. If you enjoyed today’s study and would like to share it with others, you can find it on our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Look for Program 278 called “Predicting the Fall of Jerusalem.”

For years, we’ve also uploaded our radio programs to YouTube. You might find it there. However, in some countries, some of our programs on more controversial topics have been taken down by YouTube. If you’ve been looking for a program and can’t find it, that may be why. But you can always find everything on our website.

We hope you can join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.