The Temple Mount as seen across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives (1)
A Continuing Exposition of Matthew 24 & Luke 21
It is
morbidly interesting to see what the "God is the Temple / The Temple is
God" mentality led to. After the
destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans, the
remaining Jewish fighters fled to the mountain top fortress in the wilderness, Masada. It was thought that no army could ever defeat
it. The Romans, however, never got the
message and built a siege ramp and entered the fortress. Sadly they discovered the Jews there had all
committed suicide. Why? Suicide had always been looked upon with
distain by God's people. The reason is
that with the Temple destroyed, there could be only one conclusion. There is no God, there is no afterlife, life
is meaningless. Suicide was the only
answer to their now atheistic minds. Had
they only listened to Jesus! He had (and
STILL has!) the words of life!
In vs. 4,
Jesus began to answer the disciples first question; "Tell us, when will
these things be?" He clearly states
that before "one stone is not left upon another," deceivers will
arise and attempt to draw away the disciples.
One of the keys to understanding this passage is to observe the almost
redundant use of the personal pronouns of "you" and "your"
by Jesus referring exclusively to the disciples. The text tells us that the "disciples
came to Him privately." There was
no one there but Jesus and His disciples when he answered their two
questions. He is not speaking to someone
in the distant future, He is speaking to His disciples in the flesh and in
their own time.
Throughout
this discourse, Christ will give many detailed clues as to when and under what
circumstances the destruction of the Temple will take place. His instructions were so precise that the
disciples were able to warn the Christians in Jerusalem at that time to the
extent that there is no record of even a single Christian perishing in Jerusalem
in 70 A.D.! We will detail these very
clear signs.
As noted, the
first sign Christ tells the disciples of the Temples destruction is that there
will be an attempt to "lead YOU astray." Not people in the future but the disciples in
their lifetime. Vs. 5 gives four vivid
predictions that begin the signs of the coming destruction of the Temple and
Jerusalem in which it is located. (1)
The deceivers will be "many."
(2) They will come in the Name of Christ. (3) They will claim to be the Christ. (4) They will lead many astray. These are warning signs that are spiritual in
nature but very observable. There were
also physical warnings that would be very observable to the disciples as well.
Jesus begins to
detail these physical warnings in vs. 6.
He says that YOU (the disciples) will "hear of wars and rumors of
wars." Many today fret that the end
of time is approaching because we continually hear of "wars and rumors of
wars." Really? Name a time in history since Cain slew his
brother Abel that there has NOT been "wars and rumors of wars?" War is a constant in the ongoing saga of
fallen and sinful man. Jesus was
speaking "privately" to His disciples answering two very distinct
questions, the first of which he answered with multiple signs and the latter
which He answered with absolutely no sign whatsoever. Jesus here is referring to specific wars and
rumors of wars..."The War of the Jews" as Josephus puts it. In 66 A.D., after years of protest, violence,
civil disobedience and several small but open revolts, the Jewish nation rose up
en masse in open rebellion against
the hated Romans. The Romans, in the
process of establishing their pax romano (The Roman Peace), were
determined to once and for all stamp out all Jewish resistance in a most
complete and dramatic way. The result
was so profound that the entire empire took note and complied to Roman rule for
the next 300 years. The destruction was
as Christ said it would be; "...great tribulation, such as not been from
the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be." TO BE CONTINUED
[1]
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.photos8.com/the_old_city_of_jerusalem-wallpapers.html The extant “Dome of the Rock” is the approx.
location of the Herodian Temple.
