WHY JESUS IS NOT PROPHESYING THE END OF THE WORLD IN MATTHEW 24

“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.’” – Matt. 24:29


The apocalyptic language that Jesus uses to describe the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem [and God’s judgment against those who rejected and killed the Messiah] is often misunderstood as being about the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. 

But if we read the actual context of the conversation we’ll see that it’s not about that at all.

At the beginning of what’s called the “Olivet Discourse”, Jesus and his disciples are at the Temple. The disciples point to the stones and marvel at how amazing it is. They say “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

And Jesus responds by saying: “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.”

This obviously disturbs them and so they ask Jesus: “When will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

And everything after that is an answer to those two questions.

The “end of the age” is not the “end of the world”. The age that is coming to an end is the Jewish age because their priesthood, their daily sacrifice, their temple and their status as a nation is about to be wiped off the face of the earth.

In this context, the “coming of the Lord” is similar to what is said about the Lord riding on the clouds as He brought judgment against Egypt:

“Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.” – Isaiah 19:1

Did God saddle up a cloud and come riding through the sky when He judged the nation of Egypt? No, that’s not what happened. 

What did happen was that armies from another nation attacked Egypt and they experienced the “coming of the Lord” who was “riding on a swift cloud” against them.

This is what Jesus intends to communicate when, in the context of pronouncing a similar judgment against Jerusalem and their Temple, he says:

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” – Mark 13:26

Jesus even goes so far as to let them know the time frame of when these events will take place:

“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” – Mark 13:30

And Jesus was correct. The temple was destroyed in AD 70, just as He predicted it would be, with no stone left upon another and in the lifetime of those who were hearing Him pronounce this prophetic judgment.

What about where Jesus refers to the things like the sun and the moon not giving their light? What about His prophecy about the stars falling from the sky? Doesn’t that mean the world and the universe are being destroyed?

Yes, and no.

Much like the previous use of the “fire is not quenched and their worm does not die” language mentioned above, this is apocalyptic hyperbole.

Here’s a few examples:

Isaiah prophesies against Babylon:

“For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” - Isaiah 13:9-11 

Ezekiel prophesies against Egypt:

"And when I shall put thee [Pharaoh] out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God." - Ezekiel 30:18; 32:7-8

Amos prophesies against Israel about how the Assyrians will destroy them:

"in that day, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight" - Amos 8:9


Isaiah prophesies against Edom: 

"...Hearken, ye people: let the earth hear....All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll....For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment....For it is the day of the Lords vengeance." - Isaiah 34:1-8
Notice anything? 

Did you see how these prophets pronounced a very real-world judgment against them and yet used cosmic destruction-language? 

Notice how they each promise that the stars will go dark, or the heavens will be dissolved and rolled up like a scroll? Notice how they foretell that this destruction will be marked by the sun and moon not giving their light?

All of that? It’s apocalyptic hyperbole. Prophetic and poetic overstatements about the cosmic-level judgment that is about to come upon them all.

Poetic, not literal.

No stars were harmed in the destruction of Edom. No moons or suns were actually extinguished when Babylon and Egypt got sacked. No heavens were actually rolled into a taco .

Hyperbole.

Now, go back and read what Jesus says about the destruction of the Temple and the “end of the age” that is coming to Jerusalem within a single generation. If you do, you’ll notice he uses the exact same phrases, and when he does the disciples understand that the moon, and the sun, and the stars and the sky will not literally turn to blood, or be extinguished, or fall, or be rolled up in a rubber band.

They knew – where we do not seem to know – that this was very common Old Testament-style apocalyptic language used to communicate a very real day of destruction and judgment that was about to come to pass.

The language is figurative, but the destruction is very, very real.

Notice a few more examples of this type of apocalyptic hyperbole:

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord...The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth" - Zephaniah 1:2-3 

Note: Zephaniah prophesied against Judah prior to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. God did not destroy the entire planet or wipe away everything from the face of the earth, in this event.

When the prophet Joel prophesies against Judah he says this about the armies that will be used to bring the Lord’s judgment:

“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining…” - Joel 2:4-11

Once again, this is not a promise to snuff out the sun and the moon, or to extinguish the stars in the sky. It’s a promise to bring a cataclysmic level of doom upon Judah because of their sins.

Got it?

[I hope so]

Here’s a bonus example for you.

When Jesus says: 

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” [in Matt. 24:21]...

...you already know what he’s trying to say here, right?

Of course you do. Because in the Old Testament this sort of language was used over and over again to overstate the severity and horror of the judgment to come:

“And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.” – Ezekiel 5:9 

This was about the impending destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Jesus applied the same language to the impending destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Matt.24:21). Both events, in the common hyperbole of the day, are spoken of as if they were each uniquely horrendous, but this is simply for emphasis.

The same language is used of the locust plague mentioned in Exodus 10:14, yet the language in Joel 2:2 seems to be describing another locust plague, also uniquely horrendous and “unequaled since the beginning of the world”, etc.

But can these three events all be the worst of all time and never to be equaled again? Of course not, but that’s not the point here. The hyperbole is not literal, but the destruction is.

Similarly, Solomon was said to have been uniquely wise and magnificent, using the exact same hyperbole (1 Kings 3:12-13). Yet we know of one [Jesus] who is "greater than Solomon" (Matt.12:42).

The language of "never before, and never after" is common hyperbole, and should not be pressed to a literalness beyond that which was intended in any of its uses.

In Daniel 9:12, he says of the destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzer: 

“You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.”

Really? Well, maybe up to that point, but certainly not for all time. 

The point – and I do think I have made it – is that hyperbole is never literal, but the destruction always is.

If any of this helps you, please let me know in the comments below and please share it with your friends on social media.

Thanks!

-kg

What is the Abomination of Desolation?

If you’ve ever studied any of the End Times scriptures, or even heard someone talk about prophetic scriptures about the end of the world or the second coming of Christ, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “The Abomination of Desolation”. But what is it? What does it mean?

The phrase appears more than once in the scriptures. Three times in the OT book of Daniel, and three times in the NT during the “Olivet Discourse” by Jesus which is recorded in Matthew 24:15-16, Mark 13:14 and Luke 21:20.

In the three references in Daniel the reference appears to be about three different things (not about one single thing, and therefore not necessarily about the same event that Jesus is talking about in his Olivet Discourse).

First, let’s examine what Jesus calls “The Abomination of Desolation” in his Olivet Discourse which is recorded in three of the four Gospels. Each of these are nearly identical, with a few changes here and there – and this is for our benefit as it turns out.

For example, if we could lay these three passages side-by-side we would notice that all of them follow the exact same flow, except for a few sections in Matthew where he consolidates a few references from other encounters where Jesus spoke on the same topic. (This is something Matthew does often and it’s also why you shouldn’t look to that Gospel for chronological info about what Jesus did and when, but more on that in another blog).

Laying these three passages side-by-side we notice a similar flow of thought. They are, after all, the same Olivet Discourse that Jesus’ gave to His disciples regarding a prophecy about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (which would occur roughly forty years later in AD 70).

The part in the Olivet Discourse that deals with the “Abomination that causes desolation” look like this in Matthew and Mark:

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16)

“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.” (Mark 13:14)

Notice that both use the similar phrases, but Matthew adds “spoken of through the prophet Daniel” and Mark adds “where it does not belong”. Otherwise, they are identical.

Now, look at what Luke reports in his Gospel:

“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...” (Luke 21:20-21)

Hmm…that’s fascinating, isn’t it? Whereas Matthew and Mark used the phrase from Daniel – “The abomination that causes desolation”, Luke instead simply explains exactly what it means – “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies…”

Mystery solved. Matthew and Mark quote the phrase from Daniel about the “Abomination that causes desolation”, but Luke plainly describes what that looks like for the reader who might not understand (as both Matthew and Mark suggest in their more cryptic phraseology).

Let’s look at the three Daniel references now. These are found in Daniel 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11.

First, Daniel 9:27:

"And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:27)

This prophecy appears to be about Jesus Himself. Notice that it says that “he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week”. Who is “he”? Let’s back up to verse 25 where the angel Gabriel tells Daniel: “Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince…”

Who is the “Anointed one”? Well, keep in mind that “Messiah” means, “The Anointed One” and it will be clear that this is a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah.

That means that in verse 27 the “He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week…” is Jesus, who made a New Covenant in the upper room with His disciples the week that we was crucified.

Notice also that the verse goes on to say that “he” would “cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease”, and that’s exactly what Jesus did since during His crucifixion there was an earthquake and the veil in the Temple was split from top to bottom. That most certainly stopped the sacrifice in the Temple as the prophecy says. What’s more, since Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross was as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”, there is now no need for any other sacrifice within the earthly Temple.

The following note about one who “upon the wing of abominations shall come..(and) maketh desolate…” is most likely about the Roman armies that came in AD 70 and destroyed Jerusalem and finally put a decisive end to the daily Temple sacrifices. (And these remain so more than 2,000 years later).

The second passage, Daniel 11:31, says:

"And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering, and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate."

Many scholars feel that this was fulfilled during the reign of Antiocus Epiphanes, a Greek king who, many years before the coming of the Messiah, erected an idol to Zeus and offered a pig on the altar in the Temple.

Finally, in Daniel 12:11 we read:

"And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand and two hundred and ninety days."

This passage appears to be a reference to something that happens after the abomination of desolation is over, but never tells us what happens, only that the time span between the abomination and the end of the daily sacrifice will be 1,290 days…and then? We don’t know exactly.
 

The prophecies about the Anointed One – that’s Jesus – and the eventual Abomination of Desolation which would culminate in “the shattering of the power of the holy people (the Jews)” (12:7) and the “end of the (Jewish) age” (12:13), have already been fulfilled.

So, the references in the Bible to the “Abomination of Desolation” refer either to: A) The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, as Jesus predicted, or B) to the event where Antiocus Epiphanes profaned the temple in 167 BC.

Thoughts?

-kg

[Subversive Radio] House Church and the Coming End Times Persecution

Current Religion Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Subversive Radio on BlogTalkRadio

House Church is often seen as practice for the time when Christians will be forced to "go underground" when the Anti-Christ rises up and forces people to take the Mark of the Beast. But, what if all of that never happens? Is there any other reason to participate in an Organic Church? Listen as host Keith Giles explains why this futurist view of Revelation and the Olivet Discourse have nothing to do with why you should consider gathering as a member of the holy priesthood with Christ as the Head of His Church.

[Subversive Radio Podcast] JESUS: The Prophet (Final)

Keith finishes up the series on the Olivet Discourse and Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70.

In this final podcast, Keith explains the phrase "Where the carcass is, there the eagles will gather" from Matt. 24:28 and Luke 17:37.

[Subversive Radio Podcast] JESUS: THE PROPHET (Part 2)

*Apologies for the abrupt ending here. Part 3 will pick up from where we left off.

[Subversive Podcast] JESUS: THE PROPHET (Part 1)

Part 1 of the new Subversive Radio Podcast Series looking at Jesus' Prophecy on the Mount of Olives, or The Olivet Discourse, and how the fulfillment took place during the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70.