Fighting for Real Estate: Part #13
By Richard Allen – December 29, 2024
For several Blogs in this series: “Fighting for Real Estate,” I have called attention to the apparent disagreement on how Jesus answered His Apostles question: “When will the Temple be torn down, not leaving one stone upon another,” and His warnings about another “specific day” in which He promised to come again to judge all mankind. Today, we have the benefit of hindsight – we know the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD! Notice the flow of Jesus’ words over the 11 verses of this passage from Matthew’s Gospel:
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming ” (Matthew 24:32-42).
In verses 32-35, Jesus culminates the litany of warnings and signs that He told them (the Apostles) to look for locally within the confines of Israel, saying: “When you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Here’s a partial list of the things Jesus told His Apostles to look for: False Christs and False Prophets – deceiving many, The Abomination that would bring Total Desolation (a.k.a. Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem - see Luke 21:20), Nation rising against Nation, Turmoil and Persecution as believers betray one another, Earthquakes and Famines in diverse places, and Persecution of Jesus’ Followers! Most Biblical Scholars have pointed out for nearly two millennia that all these things happened during the time prior to the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. A Romanized Jew named Flavius Josephus is one of the main chroniclers of these events as he was actually with the Roman Army, used by the Roman Generals to try and persuade Israel’s leaders and zealots to surrender and stop their attempted overthrow of Roman rule. This revolt, that started in 66 AD, led to the final standoff which brought about Jerusalem’s 3 ½ year (42 month) siege. This siege ended with the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple in 70 AD. But Jesus was also contrasting many cataclysmic events that are clearly “universal and worldwide” in their extent:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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 out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31).
This should make all of us ask: What was Jesus talking about? What was He telling his Apostles to look for in approximately 33 AD? Are we to look for a multitude of signs to recognize that the end is near – even at the gate – OR, as verse 36 states: “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” This is a dilemma that most Dispensationalists and so-called experts on “end-times” never bother to answer. After giving a multitude of physical, earthly, political and cataclysmic signs – some of which would let His followers know it was time to “leave Jerusalem” – not even to return for their things – just leave! Now He says: “But of that day, no one knows, not the Angels in Heaven or Jesus Himself – only the Father!” It’s obvious, if Jesus the Son didn’t know when “that day” would happen – He could not prophetically tell them what signs to look for! It’s also obvious that Jesus’ earlier prophetic words about the Fall of Jerusalem and its Temple, was only for that first generation of Believers – including His Apostles. But our Lord does speak to all Believers of all ages warning us about “that day” when Jesus shall come, using His Angels as Harvesters. And with a “trumpet call” He’ll “gather His elect” (Matthew 24:31), as the powers of heaven and earth will be shaken! Then in Matthew 24:36-42 our Lord gives us an example of “that day” to help us get ready: Noah!
It's quite interesting that the admonition Jesus gives during His Olivet Discourse as recorded by Matthew, is also used and expanded in Luke’s Gospel. But Luke’s account of Jesus using Noah as an example was not during Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, which Luke records in Chapter 21. Rather, Jesus taught about Noah on a different occasion, recorded in Luke Chapter 17. This tells us that Jesus spoke about His second coming in other passages – not only on the occasion of His Olivet Discourse. I would also say that during the Olivet Discourse in Matthew Chapter 24, Jesus speaks about “that day,” that is, the Day of His Coming Again to Judge. He says this to differentiate between the Day of Universal Judgment – and the Destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple, the last Temple made of “stone with human hands.” Luke’s account of Jesus’ teaching expands upon Noah – offering another example, Lot:
“And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, Look, there! Or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all – so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left’ ” (Luke 17:22-36).
What’s most amazing about this passage is what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t say: “Look for False Christs and False Prophets, Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem, Nation rising against Nation, Turmoil and Persecution as believers betray one another, Earthquakes and Famines!” No, Jesus doesn’t tell His followers to look for anything! Rather, He reminds them about the unexpected judgment that fallen mankind experienced during the Flood of Noah and the sudden destruction from heaven of Sodom and Gomorrah! No warnings, no signs, no cataclysmic events to give His followers the signal that “these things are near – at the very gate!” Again, Jesus likens His coming to that of Lightning, lighting up the sky from East to West! It will be universal, and as He warned in Matthew 24:30, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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.” Do not be mistaken, Jesus’ Second Coming, “that day” will be “sudden, unexpected, universal – bringing dread upon all peoples on the earth!” Nothing secretive about it.
It's quite intriguing that before Jesus’ coming in judgment, there are no signs of wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines or political upheaval. From Jesus’ example of Noah and Lot – it appears to be just the opposite:
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all, so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30).
Jesus makes it clear that just prior to the unexpected and sudden worldwide Flood in Noah’s day – a flood that destroyed all life on earth – people were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. Likewise, just prior to Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed in a sudden burst of fire from heaven, people were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. These conditions certainly don’t sound like “wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines,” the signs that actually happened prior to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD! Paul says the same thing regarding Jesus’ coming with the “voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God:”
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘there is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape ”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16 – 5:3).
It goes without saying, Jesus knew and foretold all the signs preceding the Destruction of Jerusalem and the ending of the Jewish Sacrificial System in 70 AD. But regarding the “day and the hour” when He will come again in flaming fire – like the days of Noah and Lot – there will be no signs. Furthermore, in His humanity, Jesus Himself doesn’t know the day or the hour! In my next Blog, I’ll have more to say about Jesus’ coming, and our being “caught up to meet Him in the air.”
Soli Deo Gloria