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
***
(Today’s Reading)
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 13)
Part Two – The Timing of the Second Coming
Chapter 2 – What the Gospels Say
The Key Sign
The key sign of the temple being destroyed was now understood. It was Jesus’ mention of this fateful event that prompted the disciples’ questions in the first place. Note also what came before His bringing it up: His indictment of the scribes and Pharisees.
Matthew 23 (of course, the Bible wasn’t written in chapter and verse – those markers were added later) is Jesus’ stark warning to his fellow religious leaders in Israel. “Woe to you,” He repeatedly declares…and then explains. He finishes by saying,
“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!” Matthew 23:38
As He leaves the Pharisees, Jesus tells His disciples that the house that was being left desolate to the Pharisees was going to be completely torn down. Not only do we now see the flow of thought connecting Matthew 23 with 24 and 25, but also get a hint about what Daniel’s expression “abomination of desolation” meant. Jesus had taught, “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,” (Matthew 16:25). The Pharisees could not let go of the temple God had given, even though its time had elapsed; its period of usefulness had expired. Rejecting the greater glory of Jesus, they clung to the lesser glory, and fading glory, of the temple. But having tried to save their life (that is, cling to the temple), they were only to lose it in utter devastation. “But whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (continuing in Matthew 16:25) Jesus had gone on to say. And so those humble Jews who followed Jesus, though they lost the temple and the land, would inherit the presence of God…and the whole earth as well (see Matthew 28:20 and Matthew 5:5).
God’s signs are not just signs of timing but of meaning as well. Fortune-telling, horoscopes, and the like have in common with the Bible the element of predicting the future. But anyone who had read from both types of literature notices the vastly different way they approach the subject. One aspect of this difference is that a Bible sign is not something you
check off your list unemotionally, but rather is full of meaning, emotion, and your own experience. The destruction of the temple is something to be pondered and understood – something that is meant to communicate to us even today. Just as there is more to understand about Jesus’ healing a blind man than that God loves people and has the power to cure blindness. (For example, what does it illustrate about spiritual blindness?)
The temple was convenient as the key sign because it is a fixed, historically ascertainable structure – and its destruction a historical ascertainable event. That is, Jesus picked something that would be easy for subsequent generations to verify. But it was not merely convenient; it was immeasurably significant. And since its destruction has lasted even until our day, perhaps we should be pondering its significance even in our day.
Before going on, let’s remember that though the temple may have been the most notable sign, it was not the only one, nor was it the immediate sign of His coming. Jesus goes on to show this later in the chapter when He tells a parable of a fig tree. His point will be that a fig tree’s tender branches and new leaves tell you that summer is near. Summer is something you can’t see; rather, you experience it. It is a change in conditions, the results of which you see. When you look out your window, you can’t “see” summer or winter. You see a street, trees, and so on. Just so, Jesus was giving signs that led up to the Second Coming – signs they would be able to see. But the Second Coming was like summer – something you couldn’t see. It was a change in spiritual conditions (as summer would mark a change in meteorological conditions).
This will become more clear when we discuss the spiritual nature of the Second Coming. For now, let’s return to the signs that would lead up to when “He was near.”
***
A Bible Reader's Website 