Jesus Teaches About The End of the World

Mr. Moderator,
This prophecy carries an expiration date: "this generation" (verse 24). This does not concern the 'end of the world', but the end of the Old Covenant, and Israel's role as God's one chosen nation. Moses prophesies of this event in Deut 31-32 as well. Also, Jesus described the vengeance coming upon Jerusalem in 70 AD in Matthew 23, stating again that the then present generation would live through it. (Matt 23:34-39)

Christ placed His divinity on the line when predicting Jerusalem's fall in 70 AD, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Therefore, to continue to use a passage of scripture that speaks of past events, in order to predict future events, is to make Christ out to be a liar. We MUST become more responsible students of the word.

It has been demonstrated that these events did in fact occur. There was both a great apostasy and a great persecution, which Jesus references in Matthew 23.

I believe it is unwise to dismiss out of hand that the Olivet Discourse was in fact referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

RC Sproul and Hank Hanegraff believe this, as did John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards.

And there are degrees of Preterism-- Full preterists believe that all prophecy has been fulfilled; partial preterists still believe in a future second coming of Christ but believe that much of the book of Revelation and certainly the Olivet Discourse had a past fulfillment.

The modern evangelical church has had dispensational "left behind" theology ingrained into its psyche; this seems to be because many of the popular evangelical teachers have attended seminaries that teach this viewpoint. But really this view has not been around all that long (mid 1800s?)

So peterists who not believe in second coming of the Lord? If not then how will they explain 1 Thessalonians 4:16?

hi, all the end time talk reminds me of the foolish virgins who wondered about the future but were not ready today.;let us take no thought of tomorrow,but be about the Fathers business.jimp

Amen to that Jimp!!

Sree wrote:

"So peterists [do] not believe in second coming of the Lord? If not then how will they explain 1 Thessalonians 4:16?"

Full preterists do not; partial preterists do.

Believe me, full preterists have an explanation for 1st Thess. 4:16. You can find it if you wish. I certainly believe they are incorrect.

Greg said,

"If you read the below Scriptures carefully these were never "fulfilled" even in part during AD 70."
[Greg is referring to Matthew 24:4-14]

Not so Greg!

Matthew 24:1-3 (NKJV) Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

The disciples here ask Jesus a twofold question. First, they ask, "When will these things be?" All three of the synoptic gospels ask, "when." The "these things" refers to the temple's destruction in verse 2. In verse 1, the disciples point out the temple buildings to Jesus. In verse 2, Jesus says, "All 'these things' shall be destroyed." It should be clear that they are asking, "WHEN will the temple be destroyed? When will our house be left desolate?" After all Jesus had just said about judgment on Jerusalem, and then about not one stone being left upon another, the disciples' response is, "When?" That makes sense, doesn't it?

The second part of their question is," What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age."The disciples had one thing, and only one thing, on their mind, and that was the destruction of the temple. With the destruction of the temple, they connected the coming of Messiah and the end of the age.

Now, again, the "these things"-- the destruction of the temple, are connected with the end of the age. Some translations render this "end of the world." That is very confusing. The Greek word used here is aeon which means, "age." It is not talking about the end of the physical world; the word aeon means: "age, era, or a period of time." The expression "end of the age" refers to "the end of the Jewish age." The disciples knew that the fall of the temple and the destruction of the city meant the end of the Old Covenant age and the inauguration of a new age.

We could put the disciples' question this way, "When will the temple be destroyed and what will be the sign of your presence in power and glory as Messiah and the end of the Jewish age?" Amazingly, there is almost unanimity among commentators that the disciples associated the fall of Jerusalem with the Lord's parousia and the end of the age.

With these questions in mind, we move to Jesus' answer.

Matthew 24:4-5 (NKJV) And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

Who is the "them" in verse 4? It is the disciples. Please keep this in mind as we move through this chapter. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. Whatever Jesus' answer means, it must have meaning to them. Any application that we make to ourselves from Scripture can only be made after we understand what it meant to the original audience. Keep in mind the principle of original relevance. Why do I belabor this point? Because most folks today miss it.

James Stuart Russell in his book, The Parousia, says this concerning Matthew 24:4-14:

It is impossible to read this section and fail to perceive its distinct reference to the period between our Lord's crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem. Every word is spoken to the disciples, and to them alone. To imagine that the 'ye' and 'you' in this address apply, not to the disciples to whom Christ was speaking, but to some unknown and yet non-existent persons in a far distant age, is so preposterous a supposition as not to deserve serious notice.

So, Jesus tells his disciples that they will see FALSE MESSIAHS. Then in the next verse he tells them that "THEY" will hear of WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS:

Matthew 24:6 (NKJV) "And YOU will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that YOU are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but THE END IS NOT YET.

Wars are NOT a sign of the end, as the end of verse 6 clearly tells us. He will tell them later in this chapter that when they see a war, not hear of one, they are to flee.

Then Jesus tells THEM that they will see NATION FIGHTING NATION, FAMINES, PESTILENCE, and EARTHQUAKES:

Matthew 24:7 (NKJV) "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Did the disciple experience earthquakes in their life time? Yes, they did. Tacitus mentions earthquakes at Rome. He wrote, "Frequent earthquakes occurred, by which many houses were thrown down," and, "Twelve populous cities of Asia fell in ruins from an earthquake."

In spite of what Jesus said, "The end is not yet," many today take this passage out of context and speak ignorantly about "The signs of the times," trying to show that this or that battle, serious earthquake, or devastating famine is a sign of Christ's imminent return. ALL these things happened in the time prior to AD 70 and the fall of Jerusalem. They are not signs! As we look back over history, when has there been a time when there were not wars, famines, pestilence and earthquakes? These things are not signs. Jesus said to his disciples that these things are the "beginning of sorrows."

Matthew 24:8 (NKJV) "All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Earthquakes were not signs to the disciples and they are not signs today. Earthquakes are earthquakes, nothing more.

Matthew 24:9 (NKJV) "Then they will deliver YOU up to tribulation and kill YOU, and YOU will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.

Who will be delivered up and killed? THE DISCIPLES! Jesus said the disciples would be afflicted, beaten, imprisoned; they would be hated for his name's sake and some would be killed; they would be brought before councils, rulers, and kings, for a testimony; they would be given a mouth of wisdom which their adversaries could not dispute. The disciples experienced all of this before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, just as the Lord said they would. It was unmistakably fulfilled in every detail!

The disciples asked Jesus for a sign of the end and the first sign he gives them is in verse 14:

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and THEN THE END WILL COME.

Remember the disciples' question? "What shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" What end is he talking about here? Unless we take this verse clear out of its setting, "the end" in view here is the end or destruction which was to come upon Jerusalem and the temple ending the Jewish age. Jerusalem would be destroyed, but "first" the gospel would be preached unto all nations.

Well, if all this happened in their day, and all was fulfilled before AD 70, was the gospel preached to all the world before Jerusalem fell? YES! Paul declares that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven:

Colossians 1:5-6 (NKJV) because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

Colossians 1:23 (NKJV) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

In Matthew 24:14, the Greek word for preached is kerusso; it is in the future tense. But in Colossians 1:23, the same word kerusso is in the aorist tense (past). Jesus said that it is to be preached, and Paul says in AD 62, that it has been preached to every creature.

Listen, people, we are not living in the "Last Days." The last days ended in AD 70, they were the last days of Israel.

Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has IN THESE LAST DAYS spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

Jesus was speaking in the last days. Last days of what? The last days of the Old Covenant age.

Hebrews 9:26 (NKJV) He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the END OF THE AGES, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

When was it that Jesus appeared? He was born not at the beginning, but at the end of the ages. Jesus was manifest at the end of the Jewish age. Peter says the same thing.

1 Peter 1:20 (NKJV) He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest IN THESE LAST TIMES FOR YOU

Jesus came during the last days of the age that was the Old Covenant age, the Jewish age. That age came to an end with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. All the things prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24 occurred at the end of that age. - D.B.C.

"All the things prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24 occurred at the end of that age. - D.B.C."

That would be nice and comfy, however that's one of the things happening in the near future : Matthew 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

...also this translation is correct, as we can see, if we would willingly choose to open our eyes, because of the context of Noah mentioned:

Matthew 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Noah was an almost-extinction level event, only 8 souls survived. That's why Jesus took THAT example to compare his future coming and how his prophecy ties into the book of Revelation, and the the end of the world.

Matthew 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

And knew not, "and knowest not" - should sound familiar...it's still the same today among historians that do not want prophecy to mess up their private lifes.

Jesus does not prophesy about his first coming, as only the severity of his second coming will be like the days of Noah where almost nobody survives ...."and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

Think for a moment all you Preterists, did Jesus give the warning to some that "shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming" regarding his first or second coming? Obviously He talks about a future event when He says:

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

Absurd! History alone proves that a great number of landmasses,from small inhabited islands to the huge continent of the Americas could not have received the Gospel by even the end of the first century,let alone when Paul's writings were transcribed. They couldn't even build ships that could traverse the great expanse of the oceans at that time.

As long as new babies are born on the earth and until each one of those born reach the age or maturity in which they can then be held responsible, by God, for understanding the gospel preached to them, it is impossible for the gospel to have been preached to all the world or to every creature in Paul's time of ministry if even one child was conceived or yet to be born out into the world. I am no scholar, but as a parent and grandparent these basic facts occur to me as inarguable.

If the gospel was already preached to every creature during Paul's lifetime when that was written, then I suppose the Great Commission was then also fulfilled, even made redundant by one possible translation of a word Paul wrote. Following this same mindset then what would have been the point of the lives of all believers from then on down through history until now if there was no one left to preach the gospel to ? No,it makes no sense.

Whomever came up with that absurd twist obviously didn't bother to think it through. I do not bear witness to the doctrine that insists the prophecies are already long over and done. Utter nonsense!