With the pandemic restrictions continuing without a firm end-date in place, many are wondering what “normal” will look like from Spring 2020 on. As we listen to, or read news articles portraying the words and opinions of academics, scientists, politicians, and epidemiologists, we hear confusion and incongruence about when restrictions and “lockdown” will end. We hear that it may be rolling restrictions, or that it may take years to fully combat the COVID-19 strain. For some, this feels like the “end” of life as we knew it. It would be naive to say that things will go back to the way we knew them prior to COVID-19. We have had a collective experience that will stay ingrained in mankind’s collective conscience and culture for at least a few generations. But this feeling of the “end” cannot help but stir up questions for many in the Christian faith of, “Is this the last days?”
Discussion of a cashless society and ongoing electronic surveillance bring out the prophetic paranoia of many. My hope with this series of blog posts is to help us look truthfully at scripture so that we can answer these questions and paranoia with a calm sense of God’s goodness and sovereign reign. Hopefully, reading these posts are helping you find solid ground in a time of confusion, and stay focused on Jesus Christ as King.
In our first and second blogs on the topic of eschatology (the study of last things), I provided some key ideas that we should remember when thinking about eschatology. In short recap, here they are:
1) Eschatology Is A Secondary Item That No One Can Be Sure About
2) When Christ Returns, We Will Know It
3) Eschatological Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up
4) Eschatology Is Not About The “When” Or “How” But About The “Who”
5) Statements Many View As “Prophetic” Were Actually “Pastoral”
6) Rather Than Concern Yourself With The Unknowns, Focus On The Knowns
7) All Of These Truths Should Give Us Great Hope
This week, I want to take a look at one of the more well-known sections of scripture that is often referenced when people begin asking questions about “the end of days.” Matthew 24 is a familiar chapter. Traditionally labeled the “Olivet Discourse” due to it’s geographic setting upon the Mount of Olives, it is the last of five discourses in which Jesus answers questions regarding God’s judgment upon Israel and the destruction of the formidable and awe-inspiring temple in its midst.
This section of scripture is one that anyone studying prophecy is quick to use as they form a chronological timeline of “last things.” In the faith traditions I was raised with, this is a foundational piece of how one forms their own eschatology. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most misused and misunderstood passages. It is often chopped up, removed from its immediate context and canonical context, and then reassembled in a way that makes certain eschatological theories “make sense.” To gain our bearings, and find some solid ground, I want to look at it today with the tools of biblical interpretation we use in all our studies of God’s Word. So get your bible handy because this post has a lot of references and it will follow along closely to our main passage in Matthew 24. And remember, other wonderful and smart followers of Christ disagree with what I will be stating here. So at the end of this, I hope you are edified and feel more solid in your grasp of the text, regardless of where you land in your opinion of “the last things.” We can easily disagree on this secondary issue, and still worship the same God in the same local church. The first, and most obvious tool we will use, is simply to look at the context of the passage.
Look At The Context
The gospel according to Matthew was written primarily to a Jewish audience. Throughout the book, there are numerous references to Old Testament scripture, and an underlying assumption that those hearing or reading the gospel would be acquainted with Jewish cultural references. Most scholarship believes that Matthew was written sometime in the last quarter of the first century, after the events of 70 AD and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman armies under General Titus.
In Matthew 21, we see that Jesus has entered Jerusalem to begin the countdown to the cross. Between this point and the crucifixion, Jesus will stand toe to toe with the religious leaders, proclaiming his authority in direct conflict with their own. In verses 21:12-17, we are given a narrative of Jesus clearing the courts of the temple and cursing the fig tree, a known symbol of Israel. Because of His activity in the temple, the leaders come to him in verses 21:23-27 and challenge His authority. Jesus jumps into a series of teaching moments and parables, in which he responds in sharp rebuke. Look at what he says in the parable of the tenants:
“Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.” (Matthew 21:42–46)
Jesus says, in essence, you were the rightful inheritors of the kingdom of God, but because you have not accepted the Lord’s Messiah, it will be taken from you and given to “a people producing its fruits.” This was not mysterious to the leaders, the text even says, they knew (“perceived”) that he was speaking about them. Keep this idea rolling forward into the next parable. In 22:1-14, Jesus tells them the parable of the wedding feast. Notice specifically what he says in 22:5-7:
“But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” (Matthew 22:5–7)
Regardless of whether this gospel was written down before or after the events of 70 AD, this is an amazingly bold statement that would have immediately grabbed the attention of any Jew listening to it. Why? Because what was more important to a Jew than the peace of Jerusalem? This was the promised Messianic hope of all Jews…that God would dwell in the temple, over His people, freeing them from all Gentile oppression. They had been hoping for this since the exile to Babylon hundreds of years earlier. The servants of God spoken of here are the prophets, culminating in the Prophet of prophets, Christ himself. The king being YHWH God, the Lord of Hosts, and the city, Jerusalem.
Again, the leaders are recognizing what he is saying because from 22:15-40, they try to trip him up so that he reveals himself to be a false prophet. But he never does. They ask him about the authority of Caesar, teaching regarding the resurrection, and the commands of God. All of these are challenges to his authority. Finally, Jesus has enough of it and questions them in 22:41-46 as to who they think the Christ, the Messiah, actually is. They fail the test. At this point, Jesus launches into a scathing rebuke of the leaders of Judaism in 23:1-36. He delivers to them seven woes. Remember that seven in biblical numerology is the number of perfection, or completion. He is delivering a complete judgment, or a complete “woe” to the leaders of Israel, and by extension, Israel itself.
Notice especially that he finishes off with statements in 23:34-35 that seem to parallel the earlier parable from 22:5… God sent his servants to invite them to covenant faithfulness but “the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.” He finishes this section in Matthew 23 with “Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” What is it that will come upon them? Judgment, woes, for all the (23:36) righteous blood that they have shed on the earth. This then prompts Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem in 23:37-39. Notice verse 38 where Jesus says, “See, your house is left to you desolate.” The “house” of Israel was the temple. Jesus was saying that the temple of God had become desolate as a judgment, resulting from their refusal to recognize and submit to Jesus as Messiah. Verse 39 is a hard translation into English. Many commentators suggest that it is actually just a final exclamation cementing the rebuke and judgment of Israel that could be phrased: “For I tell you, you will not see me again, unless you say ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” In other words, unless you repent and call me Messiah and submit to me, you will never see me again.
This gives us the background for Matthew 24 where the disciples come to Jesus and inquire of Jesus how this could be, when the temple is so grand. How could it be brought to nothing? His response could be summarized this way: “I’m telling you, this is all going to be destroyed and brought down.” So you can see, the background context for what Jesus is about to outline as prophecy is both temple-centric, and Israel-centric. The whole context is the question of how this judgment that Jesus has just declared upon the leaders of Israel will transpire.
Look At The Structure Of The Wording In The Actual Text
The disciples ask three questions in 24:3:
1) When will these things be (the judgment upon Israel and desolation of the temple)?
2) What will be the sign of your coming?
3) What are the sings of the end of the age? In other words, when will the age of your kingdom come?
Jesus will answer all three of these. First, in verses 24:4 through 24:8, Jesus gives reassurance that no matter what happens or what comes, “see that you are not alarmed” and “do not be led astray.” Why not? Because things like wars, politics, famines, earthquakes, these are but the beginning. Interestingly, these are often the eschatological “Lion, tigers, and bears” (See Part I for this reference) that are used to spark paranoia and fear that the end of days is upon us. Yet Jesus said, these are beginning, not the end. To read into this section that this is the beginning of a specific time period before Christ’s return is to read into the text something that is not there. The author is giving encouragement to the believers because, as 24:9-13 indicate, Jesus’ words are to be used to encourage those who are in the midst of martyrdom at the hands of the Roman Empire and a Caesar that loves killing Christians. This was the cultural context of the original, intended audience. Jesus’ words are being used to call the Christian church of the day to endure! What’s more, he is saying that the end is not yet, that the gospel needs to go out to the entire world. 24:14 is not a marker in the sand that is implying that Jesus will wait until every human being on the planet hears the gospel. He is encouraging the original hearers to endure because even though they were in the middle of horrible persecution and tribulation, the end was not yet. The gospel needed to continue to spread.
Why would they think that the end was near? Remember that the original audience was most likely right around, if not after, the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Christ’s words in 24:15-24 speak of that horrible tribulation that was the carrying out of judgment, referenced in the previous chapters, as the temple was destroyed and, as noted in 22:7, the city was burned and, as noted in 23:38, the house was left desolate. Some might immediately interject that 24:21-22 are talking about a tribulation such that the world has never undergone, nor will ever undergo, and one that needs to be cut short so that humanity survives. Again, this is reading in items that are not contained within the text. To the Jews of 70 AD, the temple was the center of all religious life and salvation. Without the temple, no religious worship could occur, no sins could be forgiven. To lose the temple, have the city destroyed, and have the people dispersed, was indeed the greatest tribulation to a level that was not even seen in the earlier exiles, and one that would not be seen again. And it is probably true that if the siege of Jerusalem had not been cut short, all the human beings that inhabited Jerusalem, could have indeed been killed.
In 24:23-28, Jesus anticipates that false prophets and false religious leaders would try and take advantage of that time, just as they do today, to say that the end of days was upon them. Can you imagine how easy it would have been to be an Israelite, living in Jerusalem in 70 AD, with the Roman legions burning down your city and killing those you love, to believe that the end of days had indeed come. Jesus’ response to this, as noted in Part I of this blog series, is to say, “Don’t fall for these people proclaiming it is the end when it is not. My return will be obvious and will not be open for misinterpretation. Just as lighting is obvious, or a vulture flying over a dead corpse is an obvious sign, my return will be obvious.” This completes Jesus answer to the first question…When will the judgment on Jerusalem and Israel be? Notice that there is no timeline indicated, just information that, as noted in verse 15, the “reader could understand.”
Look At The Genre Of The Text
Often times, within one genre, such as the overall gospel genre of literature, there will be additional sub-genres. Parables, narratives, discourses, and the like. Up until verse 28, the author has moved from parables to discourse. Now, within discourse, the author utilizes a genre of apocalyptic literature. He does so by pulling from, and condensing a multitude of Old Testament prophetic passages. Remember that apocalyptic literature was not to be interpreted literally, rather, it portrays real events with symbolism that reveals what is actually occurring.
In 24:29, the author shows us this by recalling to mind apocalyptic statements from the Old Testament, specifically Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4. In the original statements of Isaiah, this was apocalyptic language used to describe the cataclysmic judgment upon Babylon, Edom, and other gentile nations. Here, it is applied to speak to the final destruction of Jerusalem, indicating that the judgment has been completed.
When this occurs, 24:30 then recalls to mind the statement of Daniel 7:13-14 in which Jesus, seen in Daniel as the Son of Man, is given the fullness of his enthronement as the King of the nations and he is approaching God to receive the fullness of vindication and authority. This is not a fullness of coming in the earthly realm, but an occurrence in, as 24:30 indicates, “heaven,” or the throne room or abode of God. Just as the angels in v31 are not physically seen as they head out into the four winds of the earth, but are operating in a spiritual realm, the full enthronement of the Son of God also took place in the abode of the Ancient of Days, as noted in Daniel 7.
The apocalyptic language continues by calling to mind Zechariah 12:10-14 in which the “families” of Israel mourn. This is now applied to all of mankind, saying that the banner, or sign of God, and the trumpets of God will call the nations. These are those who are now mourning at their own sin and repenting when the gospel is presented. They are coming to the Lord, as they are gathered by the angels of God who are sent to the far corners of the earth to retrieve them. Remember, this is to be read as apocalyptic literature, full of symbolism. These last statements of v31 are coming from places like Isaiah 27:13, Zechariah 2:6, and Deuteronomy 30:4. In essence, now that Christ had been given authority and the judgment of Jerusalem and the Israelite religious leaders has occurred, Christ was, and is, calling the gentile nations to himself from the four corners of the earth.
Matthew 24:32-35 is the conclusion to the first question the disciples asked, and it is the transition to the next two questions of when Christ will return and when the end of the age will be. The words of Jesus are used by the author to assure the original audience, first century Christians under persecution, that they were indeed in the end days, but there is no statement of when those end days would come to completion. They, like us, are simply left with the statement that his coming is imminent, at the very gates. They knew this because all of these events that Jesus just finished stating would happen within the generation of those who saw the final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. How do we know this was the generation to which he referred? Because this entire section is sandwiched between the bookends of 23:36 and 24:34. The generation that Jesus was talking to would see the destruction of the temple and the judgment of Israel. Roughly 40 years later, in 70 AD, all of this occurred by the hand of the Roman Empire.
Jesus then moves on to the other questions dealing with his second coming and the end of days. Notice that the message is clear in 24:36-44: There is no way for us to define a timeline or even know when it will occur. We will be living normal life, notice the lack of outstanding events, just as they did in the days of Noah. This tells us that this has to be a separate event in the eschatological timeline than the entirety of chapter 24 thus far. Why? Because all of that was given as signs of the coming destruction of the temple. Now, there are no signs, and so we must be answering the other 2/3s of the disciples earlier question. Isn’t it ironic then, that the whole hyper-focus of eschatology in churches actually goes against this fact. So then, what are we to do?
Because no one will be able to foretell the end of days, the words of Jesus here are intended to tell us that we are to be vigilant, ready, and obedient. Not vigilant in terms of scanning the newspapers, but vigilant in guarding our hearts, minds, and lifestyle. Like 24:4, we are not to let ourselves get led astray on this topic. Why not? Because if we are not careful, as with the parable of the ten virgins that comes in chapter 25, we will be left unaware when Jesus comes. The parables in chapter 25 give us the context that to be “taken” in Matthew 24:40-41 is to be taken with the Lord, and to be saved at his coming. Look at Matthew 13:30 for this kind of idea of being harvested or left. In my opinion, and that of many commentators, this has more to do with judgment, as within the context of 25:31-46, then it does with anything else.
Look At The Imperatives (The Application)
Up until this point in Matthew 24, there is very little for us, as the readers, to act upon. The only applications and commands of Christ we can follow through on are (1) to not be led astray when people wrongly proclaim that something, either a date or event, indicates that Christ’s return is here and (2) to not be alarmed when bad things in the world happen. Christ’s return will be obvious when it happens, it will just be immediate, and come upon us all quickly, as if a great surprise. So what do we do with this knowledge then? The application, you will notice, is not to study more eschatology and try and figure out when the end is coming. It is, in fact, to be doing the will of the Lord at all times:
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.” (Matthew 24:45–47)
Jesus tells us that we are to be obedient and faithful followers of him, carrying on his mission and work, regardless of when he comes, proclaiming his authority and kingdom the world over. This is very similar to his words in Acts 1:6-8:
“So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” (Acts 1:6–8, ESV)
We are to notice a theme here. Scanning the news for signs to force-fit into biblical prophecy is not Christ’s desire for us. In fact, I would submit it goes against the actual biblical message on the topic that we just laid out. Carrying out his mission of proclaiming his enthronement and salvation, while acting in obedience to the gospel in the way we love and care for one another absolutely is Christ’s desire for us. We can study eschatology all we want, look for the Lord’s coming all we want, but if we harm one another in our marriages, families, friendships, and churches, and act selfishly and disobediently as in Matthew 24:49-51, we will not be saved but will inherit hell and destruction.
This Gives Us Solid Ground In A Time Of Confusion
Rather than trying to figure out how the current events and happenings in the world fit into the eschatological timeline, we are instructed to walk in obedience, serving Christ and one another, loving the church (the household the Master has given us charge over), proclaiming the gospel (to the four winds of our sphere of influence and throughout the world), and caring for those who need care (See Matthew 25:31-46). Regardless of what is happening in the world, we are called to image Christ, proclaim Christ, and submit to Christ. If we do this, we have nothing to fear, we will not easily be led astray by false prophets and teachers, and we will not be alarmed. If we are not submitted to Christ and repentant of our sins, then today is the day to turn to Christ and give your life over to him in every way. Dear brothers and sisters, this world is broken, given over to destruction and the effects of mankind’s sin. As long as we are in it, we know that bad things will come. Hard times will come. But in the midst of it all, we can be assured of Who it is that sits on the throne in the heavens, and who has purchased our salvation and forgiveness of sins with his blood. Because of this, we have nothing to fear, not pandemics, not earthquakes, not even death itself. As Jesus himself told his disciples:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” (John 16:33)