Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 12)
Part Two – The Timing of the Second Coming
Chapter 2 – What the Gospels Say
“When Are You Coming?” (continued)
Jesus has completed the whole timetable without mentioning the temple so now He comes back to it in verse 15. He says that when they see the “abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15) they should flee Judea (the region in which Jerusalem was located). In giving his version, Luke says
“when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.” (Luke 21:20) and then goes on likewise telling them to flee Judea. Since our main concern in this chapter is timing, we will not bog ourselves down with determining exactly what Daniel meant by “abomination of desolation.” Whether the disciples saw what was “in the holy place” or “the armies” lining up outside, the instruction was the same: flee Judea!
The reason for fleeing Judea was that a great tribulation would be about to ensue. There would be no deliverance from it except to escape to some other location. Normally, under such circumstances the people of Israel would flee to Jerusalem, seeking safety within her walls. Jesus wanted to make absolutely clear that such a strategy would be fatal in this case – for this destruction of Jerusalem was inevitable – even to the foundation of the temple.
Therefore, the fall of the temple was not the end, but it was the beginning of the end. There would be tribulation before that event, but it would be small compared to the tribulation after it. This tribulation would be so great that God would cut it short by finally bringing about the glorious kingdom of Messiah for which heaven and earth had been waiting for so long.
At this point in Matthew’s narrative (we are about halfway through Matthew 24), the disciples realize when Jesus would come: it would be some time after the temple was destroyed, but not too long after. Jesus went on to confirm to them that their generation would not pass away until all these things took place. Here are His words:
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Matthew 24:34
It would be hard to construct a sentence which communicated more clearly and emphatically that all the things that Jesus was talking about would occur in that generation. We know that Jesus spoke these words around 33 A.D. and that the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. Since Jesus promised to come sometime not too long after the tribulation that was ignited with the destruction of the temple, we see how the promise that His generation would experience all these events was to be fulfilled. The simplicity and consistency of his remarks on this timeline make us marvel at how we have so misunderstood them! There was only one century in which He told His followers to look for His return – the one that He and they lived in!
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