Sunday Morning Service

Matthew 24:1-14 (Click title for audio access)

"And The End!" • 1.23.10 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- At the end of the last chapter, Jesus left us with the following words: "You shall see me no more until you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."

- Someday, the people of Israel will see and acknowledge Jesus as their long awaited Messiah. At the time that Jesus said this, the Jews believed that this might have been imminent.

- They believed that they had been through tribulation because of the cruel Roman occupation.

- They had a temple built by an Idumean, Herod the Great, that needed spiritual renovation because of the hypocrisy of their leaders.

- There were many who believed that Jesus was the Messiah that would usher in the Kingdom, that would raise Israel back into prominence and would destroy her enemies.

- Jesus speaks towards these issues in this, His final sermon, known as the Olivet Discourse.

Text

• Matthew 24:1,2 : "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus 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.'" : The beauty of the temple was visually impressive despite it's spiritual emptiness.

- The disciples were looking at Zerubabbel's temple, which, at this time, was under renovation.

- Herod the Great had begun an "expansion" project that was about the same in scope as an entirely new building project.

- When Jesus spoke these words, it was a little over 30 years into the 60 years it would eventually require.

- This project employed 10,000 skilled laborers. Because the holier places were only accessible to the priests, Herod trained 1,000 Levites in construction, additional to their sacrifices.

- The main idea for this expansion was to provide a larger platform for the temple mount to exist upon, which led to the use of giant, perfectly cut stones.

- Some stones weighed in excess of 50 tons and could be anywhere between 30 and 70 feet in diameter! These weren't small stones by any account.

- The temple was a beautiful edifice and certainly, awe-inspiring to look at. The disciples, being simple Galilean fisherman, were really impressed.

- They are giving Jesus a bit of a tour, but He takes the wind out of their sails. This impressive, seemingly indestructible building was due to be laid out!

- This beautiful building, vibrant and full of life, was going to become a desolate wasteland.

- It will be a place of ruins. I mentioned a moment ago that this project took 60 years. It was completed just 6 years before the Romans sacked it in AD 70.

- In the 60's, there was a movement of rebelion by the people of Israel against Rome. The Romans did not take kindly to this and eventually seized upon Jerusalem with 3 legions.

- Eventually, the seizure of the city brought the remaining citizens to the temple.

- According to Josephus, one fire brand from a drunken soldier began the entire destruction of the temple, to the regret of Titus, who had hoped to save it.

- People rushed in to save it and crushed each other to death. It was a grisly scene.

- As the temple burned, the gold between the stones began to melt, prompting the soldiers to do exactly what was predicted: Turn the stones down in every direction in order to collect the gold.

- This is what happened in AD 70. When Jesus said this, the actual event was still 37 years away from taking place. Jesus was giving them a glimpse into their future.

• Matthew 24:3 : "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?'" : The Lord's prediction excited the disciples. Israel's eschatology was playing out right before their eyes.

- The Old Testament prophets had predicted that the Messiah would come and it was interpreted by the Jews that it would happen once.

- They did not understand that Jesus was coming twice! This was not part of their theology. Therefore, to these disciples, they believed that the events that Jesus was describing were imminent.

- This is why these questions take on that flavor. The phrase "When will these things be?" has an implication in the original language of immediacy. "Will these things be this week?"

- First, they ask when these things will be, that being the destruction of the temple.

- Their second question regarded their apprehension that Jesus would "come." The word there means to be revealed in full presentation.

- The disciples had seen Jesus revealed on the mount of transfiguration. They wondered aloud here when He would show that publically and permanently.

- They wanted to know what sign they could expect. What unusual activity would signal Christ's return, His appearing to finally set up the Kingdom? They wanted to know what to look for.

- Finally, they asked, "What will be the sign of the end of the age?"` The end being the climax that all things are headed toward with regard to redemption hope.

- You have to love the disciples. "Hey it's no big deal or anything! Just tell us everything about the end of the world as we know it and we'll be happy!"

• Matthew 24:4,5 : "And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." : Jesus answers His disciples. There is such a privilege to be with Christ both for the disciples then now. He has given us advance knowledge.

- First, Jesus tells us that a sign of His coming, His appearance as the manifest King, will be widespread deception.

- His word to His disciples is that they "take heed." Beware. Be on watch. One commentator wrote that it was akin to our euphemism, "Keep your eyes peeled!"

- Guard yourself from those who would try to deceive you. Deception is a deliberate act and there are those in this world that will do their best to deceive.

- The concept within the word "deception" is one that might lead you away from the truth or cause you to wander.

- That is the art of deception: Make somebody wander from what they know to be true.

- How does deception happen? By a lack of value placed upon the Word of God. Deception will be much more strong concurrently with the lack of true proclamation of the Word!

- This last week, I was listening to a Bible study where the man teaching literally did not reference the Bible! Next week, I'll be speaking out of the phone book!

- Why should one be on guard? Because many, not a few, but many will come in the name of Christ. There will be a multiplication of sources claiming that they are God's Messiah.

- In history, there have been many who have come in His name, from Bar Kochba in the 2nd Century, to Sun Myung Moon to Marshall Applewhite.

- This has been happening throughout history. The real Messiah came and now we have false ones! They will come and they will deceive many.

- We are to be on our guard against deception. The best way is to know the truth. Hear, study, ingest the Word of God and His Spirit will guard your soul.

- As the end of the age approaches, the deceptions will become more frequent, more dangerous and more believeable.

• Matthew 24:6-8 : "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." : After deception, Jesus tells us that there will be divisions. Wars and rumors of wars are going to be in the wind.

- The sound of hostility will be happening or will be rumoured to happen. The language is indicative of a constant theme ringing.

- It will be everywhere and it will be consistent. There will be a lack of peace everywhere.

- Again, we can say that wars and rumors of wars have consistently been our companion throughout time. As we edge closer to Christ's unveiling, war on a world level will increase.

- Today, the pieces are setting up nicely, as various governments rise to power and gain the potential of have the properties available for nuclear capacity.

- One commentator mentioned that there are ships at sea that carry a payload greater than all the artillery used in WWII, including the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki!

- When Jesus says this, He quickly adds, "Don't be troubled!" Easy for you to say!

- The word translated "troubled" comes from a word that means to "raise a clamor or a tumult." Jesus is saying, "Don't get people riled up!"

- When the report is war or potential hostility, we're not to go sounding a bell! These things are inevitable, but are not in and of themselves, the end. They are signals that the end is beginning.

- For those who are looking for a peaceful world, Jesus says that it's not going to happen!

- Jesus describes where the hostility will exist. It will happen between ethnicities. That is the word "nation." It literally reads that people will stir up against people.

- There will be an awakening of hostility between ethnic groups. At the same time, there will also be hostility between Kingdoms or political systems.

- The realm of politics and the reality of war will dominate the scene. Divisions in the realm of humanity and devastation will be the case in the earth.

- Famines, pestilences and earthquakes will occur everywhere. Famines refer to hunger and destitution and the lack of production of food for people and livestock.

- The scarcity of food will also wreack havoc upon the economy, as food prices will skyrocket.

- Pestilences refers to disease or plagues. Today, there are all sorts of diseases that have no cure and that are horrifying! Remember Ebola? AIDS!? Sars? Country Music!?

- Earthquakes are exactly what they sound like. The disctinctive attribute is that they will happen everywhere and at the same time!

- All of this is just the beginning. Literally, it's the pangs of birth! They are the contractions that begin when a woman is about to give birth.

- They don't happen all at once, but are happening more frequently and with more intensity as the final day arrives.

• Matthew 24:9,10 : "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another." : This final sign is desecration. All respect is lost for those who believe in Christ and then those who do are treated in the worst of ways.

- When Jesus says “you,” He is referring to His disciples, in the universal sense. The word deliver up is a Greek term for imprisonment.

- It's entirely possible that Christians will one day soon be put away for promoting hate speech or words against the government. Whatever the reason, Jesus says here that it will happen.

- For the disciples, this would have been the religious leaders, who would deliver, turn over, betray, them to tribulation, or affliction, for the purpose of putting them to death.

- For eleven of these men, this would be their fate. They would be chased from town to town and murdered for the sake of Christ.

- This happened to them and I would not doubt that one day, it could happen to us as well!

- The disciples were martyred and maybe we will not be, but we will, as they were, be hated for our association with Christ.

- Today, men hate Christ passively, in that they are willing to disregard Him. Some day soon, they will actively hate HIm and His followers by aggressively coming against them.

- Because we love Christ and honor His every word, we will also be hated! Why? Because we represent a judgment upon people who shrink away from the call of Christ.

- In the days that Jesus talks about, many will be stumbled, will betray and hate one another!

- Jesus is saying that the trouble, the persecution that is coming, will render the closest associations and relationships meaningless!

- The pressure of what is going on outside in the world will trickle down into the community of Christians! Where there should be safety, there will be stumbling.

- Where there should be trust, there will be betrayal. Where there should be love, there will be hate! How can this be?

- As the world moves closer to the end, the people who are Christians in name only, will for their own safety, turn against those who are true to the faith.

- Today, it's easy to call oneself a Christian. There's virtually no cost.

- Someday, when open hatred, loss of freedom and martyrdom are the price of membership, you can be sure that the true and false will be easily seen.

• Matthew 24:11 : "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many." : Jesus has noted that false Christs will arise. Where there are false Christs, there are false prophets! They'll come out of nowhere and many will listen to their message.

- We tend to wonder how this could be possible, but there are thousands of false prophets that are able to rent huge stadiums and fill them with people today!

- If there is a market for this now, how much more of a market will there be in times to come?

• Matthew 24:12,13 : " And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." : The word "lawlessness" means without law. Anarchy, disorder, chaos. This will mark the end.

- Think of it like this: There will be no safe refuge. No institution. No family relationship. No friendship that can be trusted. There is no law governing any of these formerly safe places.

- How can love exist in such a world? How could those in Christ continue?

- Literally, the fervency and fire of their love for Christ will be blown out and utterly cooled. In these last days, that is exactly what you see.

- Today, I see people who once loved Christ with all their beings, have walked away, cold, discouraged and disheartened. Some of us have felt the same temptation. Imagine it then!

- In that day, and to some degree in our own, you know who is saved by the fact that they have endured! They have continued in the faith. They have remained with the Lord.

- Jesus tells us "endure." Stand firm. Persevere and you will be saved! You will be rescued. Don't let your love grow cold. Hold on!

• Matthew 24:14 : "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." : In all that we have looked at this morning, from the deception, to the division, the devastation to the desecration, one thing stands as the pillar of hope: The Gospel.

- Funny, but don't you think that in the midst of these problems that Jesus would say, "I'll get rid of those who attempt to deceive!"

- "I will end world conflict and bring peace to the Earth!" "I will provide relief by raining bread from heaven!" "I will avenge those who desecrate my people."

- The answer to it then is the same answer that we have right now: The Gospel!

- Every man will have a chance to hear that the judgment that man deserves because of sin has been endured by Christ on behalf of all who have believed upon Him and walked away from sin!

- Every nation on the planet, every ear will hear, the declaration of the truth. Every man will have a chance and then the end will come! Jesus will stand alone above a devastated earth!

- He will be King and the Gospel will culminate into His great Kingdom, forever and ever!

Conclusion

- Today, I realize that we are just scratching the surface of a great chapter. I want to close us with a few thoughts. Why does Jesus tell us this?

- He doesn't tell us so that we can put charts together and look out to identify the Anti-Christ.

- He wants us to know so that we'll be confident in Him. He will rule no matter what happens around us. It will all crumble down, but He will be exalted!

- He wants us to know so that we'll be compassionate in dispensing the Gospel, knowing that only Christ can rescue sinners now and then!

- And, He wants us to know this information so that we'll be considerate of the lives that we lead.

- Are we really His? Are we really concerned for the lost? Are we ready to endure? Is our love burning for Jesus? I pray that as we continue on in this chapter, that we'll know the answers.