WWUTT 2093 When You See the Coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:29-35)

The Olivet Discourse and the Destruction of the Temple

Jesus tells his disciples what to expect with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He also tells his disciples what to expect when He returns. And these are separate events. When We Understand the Text.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we've been in the Olivet Discourse this week, Jesus speaking to His disciples on the Mount of Olives about what to expect regarding the destruction of the temple and then His eventual return.

Let me pick up where we left off yesterday in verse 29 and read to verse 35 out of the Legacy Standard Bible. Hear the word of the Lord. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the one end of the sky to the other. Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer.

Is near.

So you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

And this is the section where I think things really begin to get confusing. This is where people's eschatology, or their differing opinions on the subject of the end times, begins to differ. And we'll look at the language a little bit here and try to understand the specifics of what we're reading.

But let me remind you, first of all, of our outline. Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jerusalem. It was after Jesus had issued the seven woes to the Pharisees. They leave the temple. They're leaving the city.

And as they're going out, the disciples are awed by the temple structure and the surrounding buildings that accompany the temple. And Jesus says to them, you see all of these, I tell you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.

So the disciples think that Jesus is talking about the end of the world. Because a Jew could not imagine a time without the temple. And here Jesus is just now talking about the destruction of the temple.

The temple is the place where God dwells with us. That's what the Jews believe. The presence of God was not in that temple like it was in the days of Solomon up to the destruction of the first temple.

God's presence never re-entered the temple again, even though there was still the Holy of Holies and the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies only one time a year on Yom Kippur. Even though that practice was still in effect, God did not dwell with His people in that temple like He had previously.

But the Jews nonetheless believed this is the place where God dwells with us. This is Yahweh we're talking about. No nation can come against this temple and destroy it because God dwells there. And so if Jesus is going to be talking about the destruction of the temple, He must also be talking about the end of the world.

So the disciples come to Him and say, tell us when will these things happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? All of these things they think are interconnected. And so what we have in verses 4 to 14, Jesus tells them, you're going to hear about wars.

You're going to hear about natural disasters. But this is the natural course of things in a world that has been subjected to futility because of man's sin. Do not think when you see all of this, that that's a sign of the end of the world.

He even says, all of these are but the beginning of birth pains. And Paul uses the same language to talk about the world being subjected to futility in Romans chapter 8, that it's like a woman in labor crying in the anguish of birth pains.

And so these things are not a sign of the end. It's just the usual stuff that happens in a fallen world. But then he tells them about the destruction of the temple. And this is from verses 15 to 35. And even here, he warns his disciples not to be deceived, thinking that the destruction of the temple is the end of the world.

So don't be deceived when you hear of wars and famines and earthquakes and all that. And don't be deceived when you see the destruction of the temple. These things are not a sign of the end. And then in the third section, which begins at verse 36, Jesus says he is eventually going to return.

And don't think that just because you haven't seen the end, that means that the end isn't coming. And so he gives them some warnings there in verses 36 to 51. So this next section we're looking at, verses 29 to 35, which I started out in reading, this is really the second part of part two.

So this is part two of part two, where Jesus is warning his disciples not to be deceived when they see the destruction of the temple, thinking that that's the end of the world. Now there are going to be false Christs that arise.

And he has warned them of that as well. If anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ or there he is, do not believe him. While all of this stuff is going on, there's going to be somebody who's going to pop up and claim, yeah, I'm the Messiah.

I'm the one who's going to save you and lead the revolt against the Romans. Because they think that the Messiah who is coming is going to be a political emancipator. He's going to assume the throne. He's going to kick out the Herods and the Romans.

And then Israel is going to be a great empire once again. So many false Christs will arise and will claim, I'm the one you've been waiting for. I'm the one that's been prophesied. And here we are at the end of the world with all this chaos going on.

Follow me and we'll defeat our enemies. Don't follow after them. And Jesus says in verse 25, behold, I have told you in advance. He says in verse 27 that his return will be as visible as lightning. As lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will be the coming of the son of man.

Different Views of Matthew 24:29-35

Now, as I said, verses 29 to 35, this is where things get a little confusing and where people begin to differ on their opinions about eschatology, a study of the end times. So in verse 29, Jesus says, but immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Now, the hyper preterist, the full preterist, as we might call them, will say that what Jesus is talking about here is that he returns right after the destruction of the temple. So Christ did return in 70 A .D. and I have encountered these hyper preterists and have heard them go as far as saying that even the resurrection of the dead has taken place.

No, it has not. Absolutely not. These things have not happened. When you read the early church fathers in the first few centuries of the church, none of them, none of them say that Jesus had already returned with the destruction of the temple.

That would be such an incredible sight. If all the world is going to see it, if it's going to appear like lightning, as lightning shines from the east to the west, so will be the coming of the son of man.

If the whole world is going to see it, you better believe the early church fathers would have written about it. And none of them do. And so that is not what Jesus is talking about here. And that is not what happened in 70.

The hyper preterists will say that they are following what the scriptures say. They're not relying upon the tradition of any man. They're just going with what the scripture says. But I tell you, they don't understand the scriptures.

What does Jesus mean when he says immediately after the tribulation of those days? There's two possibilities. I'm going to give you the two possibilities. I think both of them are valid. Like if you fall in one of these camps, I might not necessarily agree with you if I'm in one camp and you're in the other one.

But I don't think you're straying far from the text if you fall in one of these two camps.

Okay.

So the first possibility is that the word immediately does not mean that it's going to happen in like the days immediately following the destruction of the temple. All Jesus is indicating here is that it's the next prophetic event that will take place.

There's nothing that happens in between. There's the destruction of the temple. And then what you have to look forward to after that is the return of Christ. He doesn't put a time in there. He doesn't say anything about it being, you know, a few days, a few weeks, months, years, centuries, millennia, as we would even understand it now.

He doesn't say anything about that. Later on, of course, he says, but of that day and hour, no one knows. But at least as far as him talking about his return is concerned, the word immediately only means that it's the next event that's going to happen.

It doesn't mean that it's going to happen like somewhat simultaneously with the destruction of the temple. So that's the first way that we could understand this, that the word immediately only means that it's the next event prophetically that will occur.

Nothing else that happens in between. So immediately after the tribulation of those days, talking about the Jewish Roman War and possibly even talking about the persecution that will come upon the Christians, which doesn't end in 70, actually continues on for a couple hundred more years.

So Jesus is saying all of that is encompassed in the tribulation. It could be could be what he's referring to there. And so after the tribulation of those days, then the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Now, Jesus is actually referencing Isaiah 13 here in Isaiah 13, 9. And this was about the judgment that was going to come upon Babylon and how God was going to rescue his people from Babylonian captivity.

In Isaiah 13, 9, behold, the day of Yahweh is coming, cruel with fury and burning anger to make the land a desolation and he will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light.

The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will also put an end to the pride of the arrogant and bring low the lofty pride of.

The ruthless.

Now, again, the immediate application of that is God talking about the judgment he's going to bring upon Babylon. And of course, that did happen. But Jesus references it here as something that's going to happen on a larger scale, just like you've seen this happen before.

So it's going to happen again on a grander scale. Now, we had considered that even yesterday with Jesus referencing Daniel when Daniel talked about the abomination of desolation in Daniel chapters 11 and 12.

The Jews believed that that prophecy was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes the fourth came into the temple, erected a statue of Zeus, sacrificed a pig, which was an unclean animal on the altar. All of that happened in 167 BC.

So the Jews think that's already been fulfilled. Here's Jesus referencing it again. And the disciples surely would have been shocked by that. We've already seen the abomination that causes desolation.

Jesus is saying it's going to happen again, standing in the holy place, specifically in the temple. And that was in reference to the Romans that would come in, erect their banners and demand worship and allegiance to their Caesar and their gods.

And then they would set the temple on fire and completely destroy it, wrecking all of its stones right down to the very foundation in fulfillment of exactly what Jesus prophesied to his disciples. So even there, Jesus says, yeah, what Daniel referenced happened with Antiochus Epiphanes, but it's going to happen again.

And we might even see that what happens with the destruction of Jerusalem and the tearing down of the temple is even a microcosm of something that's going to happen on a grander scale later in the future.

That there will be an abomination of desolation that happens again. As we talk about the lawless one that might be standing in the holy place, demanding absolute worship. Paul goes on to describe those things too in 2 Thessalonians chapter two, but that's a discussion for another time.

So anyway, Jesus referencing here Isaiah 13 with regard to the judgment that would come upon Babylon and just as that was seen in the past. So even that was prophetic to something else that's going to happen in the future.

Stars will fall from the sky. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. And that's something now reading from the legacy standard, the powers of the heavens will be shaken is not in all caps. Whenever you read from the new American standard or the legacy standard, if there's an Old Testament reference, they put it in all caps.

The end of verse 29 should be in all caps, but it's not because it's a reference to something that Haggai predicted in Haggai chapter two. It's the same phrase, the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And we see the same phrase referenced again in Hebrews 12. And there in Hebrews 12, it is in all caps because it's a reference back to an Old Testament.

Verse.

Let me read in Hebrews 12, starting in verse 25. See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven.

And his voice shook the earth then. But now he has promised saying yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. Again, that's reference to Haggai chapter two. Now this expression yet once more indicates the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. So the possibility here where he says the powers of the heavens will be shaken, he could be talking about his return.

He could also be talking about things that will be happening in the earth after the destruction of the temple and even after the persecution that Christians will endure for the next couple of centuries, the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

So those things that are transient, those things that are not permanent will be shaken with the spread of the gospel, the advancement of the kingdom that's going to happen in the earth for the next 2000 years, what has continued to happen even up to this day.

And so Jesus goes on in verse 30 to say, and then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and great glory.

Now that could be literally exactly what it says. And again, this is an event that is not in fellowship with the destruction of the temple. Jesus is talking about a separate event, but the son of man will come on the clouds of the sky with great power and great glory.

You will see him just as lightning. It shines from the west to the east. It will be as visible to everybody. There will be no mistaking what it is that happens when Christ returned. This could also be in reference to the fact that after the destruction of the temple has happened, then it will be evident to everybody that what Jesus said was right.

And suddenly it will be to them as the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and glory. They're going to see it. They're going to know it. They're going to understand it. So that would be symbolic in the sense it wouldn't be literal.

They wouldn't literally see him coming on the clouds of glory, but they would know and understand after the destruction of the temple that everything Jesus prophesied is true and his kingdom continues to stand, though the kingdom of the Jews and even the kingdom of the Romans has fallen.

And the world will know and understand that the son of man comes on the clouds with power and great glory. Daniel saw the son of man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. So just as he got to see that, so there will be people that will know and understand that with regards to the fulfillment of all that Christ had prophesied.

Verse 31, and he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other. Now that could be in reference to his second coming.

It could also be in reference to the fact that angels are just that's just another word for messengers. Sometimes it means the holy angelic beings. Other times it means messengers that go forth. And so Jesus could be referring to those who go out with the gospel into the world and therefore gather his elect.

Remember what Paul said at the start of Titus, that his mission as an apostle was to preach the gospel for the sake of the faith of God's elect. And so going out with the gospel is so that the elect would be known all who come to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.

That is the gathering of his elect. And then of course, it could also mean Jesus returns and he gathers his elect to himself. Maybe it means both. Maybe there's something symbolic about it in the way that Christ sends out his messengers to go preach the gospel and everyone who comes to faith in the gospel is part of his elect.

And then there there's another fulfillment in the sense that Christ is literally going to return and he's going to send out his holy angels to gather up his elect to himself. And we will meet the Lord in the air as the apostle Paul talks about in First Thessalonians chapter four.

So we have something we have a figurative interpretation, a symbolic interpretation of things that are talked about here in verses 29 to 31. And we could also take it literally, but however way you look at it, it is not the same as the event that happens with the destruction of the temple.

Again, the word immediately doesn't mean that it happens in those days following the destruction of the temple. It just means that it's the next prophetic event that will be fulfilled. There's nothing else that you need to be looking for in between.

There's the destruction of the temple and then you're looking for the return of Christ. So Jesus goes on to say in verse 32 that now he's he's said distinctly the destruction of the temple, the return of Christ, separate events.

Don't think that a destruction of the temple is the end of the world or the return of Christ and then talking about his return as being a separate event. And so now he summarizes those things in verse 32 here.

Now learn the parable from the fig tree when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves. You know that summer is near. So you too, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near right at the door.

Now that is in reference to both the destruction of the temple and his eventual return. Look for the signs. The signs will indicate that the season has come. You will know this is the destruction of the temple.

That's what's about to happen. We know the season has come upon us. You will know that Christ is right at the door. He's about to return, that the season is upon us. Things are looking pretty good for the return of the son of man to happen right about now.

So you should know that he is near. He is right at the door. When you see these signs, you know he's right there. And that's even the case with the destruction of the temple, because when the temple is destroyed, you know that God is right there.

There he is, fulfilling the things exactly as he said they would happen. And then even with the signs of his eventual return, you'll know he's near. These things are happening just as he said they would.

So verse 34, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. And when he says all these things, he's talking about the destruction of the temple. He's not talking about his literal return that all the world will see.

Heaven and earth will pass away, he says in verse 35, but my words will not pass away. You will see things destroyed. You will see those things that are transient pass away. You will witness that. You will see that with that which you thought that would endure for the rest of the age of the earth.

The temple, you thought it would always be there.

Nope.

Even that will be torn down. Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not pass away. All that Jesus has spoken here will come to fulfillment, whether it's the destruction of the temple or his eventual return.

So that's what we've read thus far in the Olivet Discourse. Once again, Jesus gives three warnings, warns his disciples not to be deceived in three different ways. Number one, don't be deceived when you hear of wars and famines and earthquakes, thinking that that's the end of the world.

That's not the end of the world. That was in verses one through 14. Number two, don't be deceived into thinking that the destruction of the temple is the end of the world. That's not the that's not the sign of the end either.

And don't be deceived by those people that are going to come along saying, I'm the Christ. Here I am. Follow me. He's not going to be out in the wilderness. He's not going to appear to people in secret.

His return will be as visible as lightning. And then he goes on to describe to them exactly what that return will be like. And that's what we have in verses 29 to 31. But then he comes back to saying, look for the signs.

You will know when these things are about to take place when you see the signs. And this generation, because it's going to be 40 years, generation was understood to be 40 years. This generation from 30 to 70 will not pass away until these things have taken place.

And these things are with regards to what Jesus had said to his disciples in the beginning. Do you not see all these things? That's chapter 24, verse two. Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn.

Down.

So when Jesus says this generation will not pass away until these things take place, he's talking about the destruction of the temple because that's what he described as these things back at the beginning of the chapter.

His return is a separate event. Understand that. So when we come back to this next week, as we finish this up with verses 36 to 51, I'll come back to it on Monday. Tomorrow we got to do our Isaiah study.

But in verse 36 to 51, Jesus gives his third warning for his disciples not to be deceived. Just because you haven't seen the end yet doesn't mean the end is not coming. So endure to the end. The one who endures to the end will be saved.

We'll come back to our text on Monday. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read here and may these things fill us with.

Hope.

We are looking for the return of Christ. We don't become lazy. We don't become panicky when we see things happen in the world, whether it's natural disasters or wars, thinking that's the end of the world.

No, the return of Christ will be seen by everybody. It will be evident and there will be no mistaking. Here is the Christ returning on the clouds of heaven and we will be gathered up together with you to live with you in your eternal kingdom, a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

The kingdoms of this world will be shaken. The kingdoms of this world are being shaken now. Even the nations that we live in are falling apart, but we are part of a greater kingdom that is still being built and looking forward to that day when we will all be together with you in eternity.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. In his name we pray, amen.

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