Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB00020B
|
00:01 Welcome back. We're exploring Matthew chapter 24.
00:03 The disciples asked Jesus a question with three parts 00:07 and that question is found in verse 3. 00:11 Tell us, when will this be? 00:12 What will be the sign of your coming, 00:14 and of the close of the age? 00:16 We've been exploring that Ranko. 00:17 Yes, yes. 00:18 So Jesus provided the answer with answers. 00:22 It's better to say in accordance with the questions that the 00:29 disciples were asking. 00:31 First He tried to tell them there will be signs to remind 00:36 the disciples and all Christians coming after them of the 00:42 nearness of the Second Coming of Christ. 00:44 We have to keep in mind that when Jesus gave these generous 00:49 signs, He never wanted us to take those signs to establish 00:53 the date of the Second Coming of Christ. 00:55 But these signs remind us of the nearness of the Second Coming 00:59 of Christ. 01:00 Does it makes sense? 01:01 A very important distinction. 01:03 But not to establish the date of the Second Coming. 01:05 Then Jesus went to more specific. 01:09 The disciples asked Him about the destruction of Jerusalem. 01:12 So He told them, there is a sign. 01:14 When you see the Roman army that surrounds Jerusalem, 01:18 you know that the end of Jerusalem and the temple 01:22 is here. 01:23 By the way, we have that church father and historian Eusebius 01:28 actually telling us that when the Roman army surrounded 01:33 Jerusalem finally they made a withdrawal for a short time, 01:37 and Christians immediately in that recognized the warning 01:42 of Jesus. 01:43 They left Jerusalem. 01:44 They found shelter and protection in a small place 01:50 called Abila there in Galilee. 01:53 And according to Eusebius no Christian actually suffered 01:57 during the destruction of Jerusalem. 01:58 They recognized very, very, very... 02:00 So this prophecy was fulfilled during the lifetime of some 02:03 of the listeners, and it saved them. 02:05 Yes. 02:06 And then after Jesus talks about the destruction of Jerusalem, 02:10 there will be a long period, century long period, 02:14 of the middle ages. 02:16 Okay. 02:17 The time of the great tribulation, and then after 02:20 that Jesus goes to the next point. 02:22 Keep in mind that the disciples did not ask Jesus about the 02:26 signs of His coming. 02:29 They asked about the sign. 02:31 Why? 02:32 Because evidentially that's the sign that the prophet Daniel 02:35 mentioned about the Son of Man coming on the clouds. 02:41 So they ask Jesus about that sign. 02:43 When would that sign appear so that they know that the Second 02:49 Coming of Jesus Christ would take place. 02:51 And Jesus gives them the sign. 02:53 What do you notice here in verse 13? 02:56 After this darkening of the sun, darkening of the moon, 03:01 the earthquake, and the falling of the meteors, in verse 30 03:05 Jesus says, and then the sign; do not disappear. 03:08 It's singular. 03:09 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, 03:12 and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will 03:17 see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power 03:20 and great glory and he will send his angels to gather the elect 03:25 ones from before the winds from one end of the sky to another. 03:31 By the way, we know that the same identical words are found 03:35 in the book of Revelation, chapter 6 in association with 03:38 the Second Coming of Christ. 03:40 So when are we going to know the exact date of the Second Coming 03:44 of Christ? 03:45 When Jesus actually appears On the clouds. 03:48 We cannot calculate, but we know that it is near according to 03:52 these signs. 03:53 It doesn't make sense. 03:54 There an urgency. 03:56 I want to make sure we caught a point you made earlier, 03:58 and that is that Jesus had to separate in the disciples minds 04:01 the destruction of Jerusalem from the end of the world. 04:05 And He had to show that there will be a period of time. 04:07 This whole millennium of time, and then there will be more 04:11 signs, and then... 04:12 The end. 04:14 ...then with the end. 04:15 Yeh. 04:16 Okay. 04:17 Now we are moving on to verse 32 because there is much more 04:19 to be said. 04:20 Glenn, can you read verses 30 to 35? 04:25 From the fig tree learn its lesson. 04:28 As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves 04:31 you know that summer is near. 04:33 So also when you see all these things, you know that he is near 04:37 at the very gates. 04:39 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away 04:42 till all these things take place. 04:44 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. 04:49 Let's go to verse 32. 04:51 Jesus said, From a fig tree learn a parable. 04:56 We talk about the parable. 04:58 See the illustration. 04:59 Jesus says, When its branches have already become tender 05:02 and put forth its leaves, you know that the summer is here. 05:06 So when you see all these things, recognize that he is 05:10 near; right at the door. 05:11 Actually, in the last several decades some of the books that 05:16 appeared on the market here in the United States impacted 05:20 the beliefs of millions and millions of Christians 05:23 in the United States. 05:24 Let me tell you how these books are trying to explain 05:29 these texts. 05:30 Actually the fig tree here is the symbol of the nation 05:34 of Israel. 05:35 And when Jesus said, When you see the fig tree put forth its 05:41 leaves, it actually points to the establishment of the modern 05:45 state of Israel. 05:46 So when Christians see that the modern state of Israel was 05:51 established there in Palestine, that they will know that it is 05:56 just a matter of time until Jesus will come, 05:59 and we can strictly calculate the Second Coming of Christ. 06:03 How to calculate? 06:04 Because they go to the next text, verse 34. 06:08 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away 06:12 until all these things take place. 06:14 They see the generation that witnessed the establishment 06:19 of the modern state of Israel; that generation will not die. 06:24 That's becoming problematic though. 06:26 That's right, why? 06:27 What is the... 06:28 Because the same books, and people do not notice it, 06:31 they several times change the date of the Second Coming 06:35 of Christ because Jesus did not come according to the first 06:38 calculation that they made, then the second, and evidently they 06:41 will now have to change to the third one because the generation 06:45 that witnessed the establishment of the State of Israel in 1949 06:49 is already gone. 06:50 They will have to establish a new one. 06:52 Actually, how do you know that Jesus did not mean that the 07:01 fig tree represented the State of Israel? 07:04 Glenn, we have to go to the Gospel of Luke. 07:06 You remember we mentioned chapter 21? 07:09 Parallel passage. 07:10 The same parallel passage. 07:11 Here it is. 07:12 It's verse 29. 07:14 Let's see how Luke said it. 07:15 Glenn, can you read it? 07:16 Luke 21:29 And he told them a parable. 07:19 Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 07:22 As soon as the... 07:23 Let's look here. 07:24 Can you read it one more time? 07:26 Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 07:28 All the trees! 07:29 So Jesus did not mean to take one fig tree as a metaphor 07:34 for Israel. 07:35 He simply uses a metaphoric saying illustration; 07:38 Just look at the fig tree. 07:40 When you see that the leaves are shooting out, you know, 07:45 you know that the summer is close. 07:47 So when you see all these events taking place, 07:50 pointing to my coming, you know that my coming is near. 07:55 Can you imagine how the Christians can miss the point, 07:57 because right after the fig tree and this generation, 08:01 what is that that Jesus said? 08:02 Verse 36? 08:04 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels 08:09 of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 08:11 See how people can miss the point? 08:14 Now there are other Christians, and Christians that we know 08:21 very well, that in history try to deal with and interpret this 08:29 expression: this generation will not pass away. 08:32 We have enough time, Glenn. 08:34 You have to help me that we go and see what is this generation. 08:41 Do you know where this generation is mentioned 08:43 for the first time? 08:44 Actually, it's mentioned in chapter 23. 08:47 We're at it. 08:48 It's verse 36. 08:50 Glenn, would you read this text? 08:52 We're back to Matthew? 08:53 Matthew chapter 23, verse 36. 08:56 And this is after the woes that we just described. 09:00 That Jesus says that Jerusalem will have judgment; 09:03 the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. 09:05 Then Jesus said what? 09:06 Truly I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. 09:09 What is this generation? 09:11 Is it the generation of the disciples? 09:14 Uh huh. 09:15 Does it make sense? 09:17 I would like for you to notice something that usually 09:21 the readers of the Bible do not notice when they read 09:24 Matthew chapter 24. 09:26 It's the expression that Jesus used: you, you, this generation. 09:31 Okay, in verse 24, please, you will allow me to go quickly 09:37 through that. 09:38 Verse 24: Jesus says, See that no one misleads you. 09:44 Let's read verse 6. 09:46 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. 09:49 See that you are not frightened. 09:52 Let's read verse 9. 09:54 Then they will liberate you to tribulation. 09:58 They will kill you and everybody will hate you. 10:02 Verse 15, Therefore when you see Jerusalem surrounded by 10:08 Roman army; abomination of desolation. 10:10 You will say that when you see that. 10:11 Verse 23, Then if anyone says to you. 10:15 Let's stop here. 10:16 What are the disciples, you know you, it refers to the disciples, 10:22 and the generation of Jews at the time of the disciples. 10:27 What were the disciples and the Jews of that time supposed 10:30 to witness? 10:31 All the signs and the destruction of Jerusalem. 10:35 Does it make sense? 10:36 It's making sense; yep! 10:38 They were supposed to; this is the generation who will not 10:40 pass away until they witness all these signs, including the 10:44 destruction of Jerusalem to take place. 10:46 But then notice something. 10:48 When Jesus talks about His coming, in verse 13. 10:52 I'd like to invite the viewers to pay attention to that. 10:56 Jesus says, verse 13, And then the signs of the Son of Man 11:03 will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth 11:08 will mourn. 11:09 Now watch out! 11:10 It doesn't say, and you will see the Son of Man. 11:14 It says, and they. 11:16 Do you see the switch from you to they? 11:19 What Jesus made very clear was the disciples were not supposed 11:24 to watch the Second Coming of Christ. 11:26 Who are those who watch the Second Coming of Christ? 11:28 One generation in the future. 11:31 They, not you, they will witness the Second Coming of Christ. 11:36 Does that make sense? 11:37 That helps us with verse 34 doesn't it? 11:40 Please, please. 11:41 And verse 34, Truly I say to you, this generation will not 11:45 pass away. 11:46 What was the generation supposed to witness? 11:49 All the signs, and the destruction of Jerusalem, 11:54 but not the Second Coming of Christ. 11:56 Jesus never said, you, this generation will witness 11:59 the Second Coming of Christ. 12:00 It's always in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem. 12:05 It was such a tremendous message of warning, and of hope, 12:11 and protection. 12:13 How should we live with the urgency of the Second Coming? 12:18 Yes. 12:19 In the conclusion of this study, I would like to remind 12:23 our viewers that Christ in His promise is giving us all those 12:30 signs to remind us of the reality of His Second Coming. 12:34 We don't know the day or hour that He will come, but we know 12:38 that He is coming, and He urges us to be ready for that day. |
Revised 2014-12-17