KING'S BUSINESS PROPHECY SECTION Edited by Dr. Charles L. Feinberg,
What Jesus had to say about the times beyond His own day is largely contained in the Olivet discourse found in Matthew 24. In the context of our modem nuclear age this discourse has startling significance. In fact, all the prophetic utterances of the Bible have new significance in this context. For instance, when it speaks about “ sudden destruction” it has an entirely new meaning, for nothing can be more sudden than ICBM’s that can reach any place in the world in twenty minutes. The USAF says that if World War III ever comes, it will be over in sixty days. That, my friends, is “ sudden destruction.” These develop ments lend new meaning and great urgency to the words of Jesus that are found in His great prophetic utterance in the Olivet discourse. In this discourse you will find truth in pairs. For in stance, there are— I. Two Places (verses 1-3) The first place mentioned is the Temple. This is a short range prophecy concerning the destruction of the Temple. The detail went so far as to say, “ There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The disintegration of such a building seemed incredible from the point of view of those who knew of its remarkable construc tion and great durability. But the prophecy was ful filled with minute accuracy within forty years of its utterance when the Roman legions under Titus took the city. The Emperor had given specific instructions that the city be saved; but in their greed for booty the soldiers got out of hand, fired the city, and when the fire reached the Temple area, the gold in the inner sanctuary melted and ran into the cracks of the stones. In their frenzy the soldiers pried loose the stones and Jesus’ prophecy was dramatically fulfilled. The second place is the Mount. The Mount is, of course, the Mount of Olives from which this proph ecy was uttered, and it has a significant place in Biblical history. From it Christ left the earth at His ascension to go into heaven. To it He will return at His second advent to establish His Kingdom. Jesus began His ministry with a sermon from a mount. He concluded that ministry with a prophecy from a mount. Both the sermon and the prophecy are significantly united by His death and related to the life of the Church. The first question is asked in these words, “When shall these things be?” The answer is, of course, determined by the question. About what things are the disciples asking? Very obviously, the Temple II. Two Questions (verse 3)
and what Jesus had just said about its destruction. The disciples were not to suppose that the things that would happen to the Temple would mark the end of the age and precipitate the second coming. The second coming is a separate matter and is in volved in the second question. The concomitant events of the capture of Jerusa lem and the destruction of the Temple were to mark another phase of the age of Gentile supremacy which began in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. The age which began under Babylon and continued under Rome and the intervening empires would be con cluded when Christ would return, and Jerusalem would no longer be trodden under feet by the Gen tiles. But Jesus did not answer specifically when the Temple would be destroyed. We only know that it was. The second question is “What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the age?” It has to do with two simultaneous events, the second coming and the end of the age. Christ is the pivot of the ages and is important to the future of the world. The disciples were talking about the second coming be fore Jesus had finished the redemptive work of the first coming. The disciples ask for “ the sign” of Christ’s coming but do not immediately get an answer. But they are told about a number of “ signs” relating to the age just beginning. These signs or conditions are not so much signs of the end of the age in which we are living as they are of the course of the age. The specific and ultimate sign of the end of the age is not given until the 14th and 15th verses. In the 4th verse Jesus deliberately cautions against too hasty conclusions by reading into natural events and national conflicts the evidences of His return. He says, “ Take heed that no man deceive you.” He also said, “ the end is not yet” and after giving all these signs says, “ A ll these things are the beginning of sorrows.” We are to conclude that what is stated from verses 4 to 8 contains the symptoms and char acteristics of a diseased social order and a disordered natural world. These things are not necessarily the death pangs of an age. War is not in itself a sign of the second coming. This is also true of famines, pestilences and earthquakes. We are unfortunately prone to label almost every natural calamity as a sure sign of the end. Among the characteristics of the age the most prominent.is war. War would be universal and almost continuous. Not since the time this was uttered has the world been without war or
20
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online