Hermeneutics: Matthew Chap 24 Pt. 6

Okay, hermeneutics, still in part seven, and we've got to move up a little bit. We've been examining Matthew 24, and again, the reason we chose Matthew 24 was basically because it's probably one of the most misinterpreted portions of Scripture in all of the Bible.

The Context of the Olivet Discourse and the Disciples’ Questions

And remember that this discourse is occasioned by the questions of the apostles coming out of the temple. Remember, context, context, context, and so it's important that we understand what occasioned Jesus to say these things.

First three verses set the context for the entire chapter, so I want to, each night we've been looking at this, we've been looking at these three verses, since they are so important. The disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him, and he said to them, Do you not see all of these things?

Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?

So again, those three questions are what occasion all of Matthew 24, Matthew 25, which has become known as the Olivet Discourse. And we've concluded so far, and we're up to, I think, verse 22, somewhere around there tonight.

We've concluded so far that these questions are not three unrelated questions, but they're all related to what the disciples asked Jesus in his response to them. So they're all related to the events concerning the destruction of the temple, and we've also concluded that the events being spoken of are the events of the end of the Old Covenant age, which took place between 30 and 70 AD, definitively at 70 AD when the temple is destroyed, because you can have no Old Testament worship system without the temple.

It's impossible. Jesus began his discourse answering those questions in verse 4, and we see, And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you. That sets up the whole thing. Now, what does that tell you when Jesus starts?

This is before he's starting to answer the questions, even. He says, See to it that no one misleads you. What's the obvious point that you can infer from that? People are going to try to mislead you. That's not the whole hermeneutics lesson, all right?

But that's just setting the stage for it. So let's review the elements of Jesus' answer. This is just a very brief overview of what we've seen so far in these verses. Many false Christs will arise. Of course, that occasion is occasioned by the let no one mislead you.

There will be wars and rumors of wars. There will be many natural disasters, famines and earthquakes. But these things are not the end. They are just the beginning of birth pangs. Remember how he went through each of those items and saw how it's exactly what took place during that period of time of 30 to 70 A .D.

But Jesus cautions him, says, When you see these things, you're going to be cautioned. But that's only the beginning, all right? Then there will be great tribulation, which will include persecution for the cause of Christ.

And this tribulation will spark apostasy and betrayal. And at this time, many false prophets will arise. There will be a time of lawlessness. And during this time of trouble, the gospel will be preached throughout the known world.

Things will grow worse and the abomination of desolation will take place in the holy place. And we examined what that referred to. And then Matthew inserts a parenthetical phrase at this point, cautioning the readers of his gospel to pay attention and understand what Jesus is saying.

In other words, you can remember that little parenthetical phrase coming from Matthew, says, Now, if you're reading this, pay close attention. So we see so many warnings built into this, telling us how important this really is.

Then Jesus warns that when the abomination of desolation appears, flee. Remember? Don't go into your house to get a jacket. If you're in the field, don't go back to get your belongings. Just get out because things are going to get worse.

And he shows the urgency of this warning, indicating just run. Forget your personal belongings. Why this urgency? Because when the abomination of desolation appears, the tribulation will reach its zenith at that point.

That's when things will get really bad. And we saw reading through Josephus and Eusebius. And I don't know if I read from Tacitus, but you could also read from Tacitus in there as well. And we saw just how bad things really got.

And it'll be so bad that if those days were not stopped by God, no life would be saved. Then Jesus again warns about the dangers of false Christs, false prophets. And this time he gets specific concerning what they will say.

They'll say, behold, he's in the wilderness. Behold, he's in the inner rooms. And remember, we saw exactly how that came true with great specificity. Jesus uses some very common biblical figures of speech and metaphors as he's going through this discourse.

And then for the first time in this discourse, Jesus refers to the judgment on Israel that he has described with these words in verse 27. So will the coming of the Son of Man be. Now that's a very important verse because that's, as you know, the coming of the Son of Man, or the coming of the Lord, or the great day of the Lord has been by virtually most of the church pushed off until some future time, at least 2 ,000 years from the time of Christ.

But if as we're going through the hermeneutics of this, we see that it can't be, because what we're looking at here is everything here is taking place within that time period between 30 and 70 AD. And then he says, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

So his coming also, did I say Son of Sam? I came close to saying Son of Sam. I've worked through that era too, so. So will the coming of the Son of Man be has to refer to the same time period because there's no hermeneutical, grammatical, or any other reason to remove that phrase.

Because look at what he goes, he goes right back. All right. That phrase is found in the middle of his discourse on the destruction of the temple and the judgment of Jerusalem. And it's one of the questions that was asked.

And then we see that they're all still related. So as we've seen so far, right up until this point, there is no legitimate hermeneutical, exegetical reason to separate any of these events from those three questions.

Everybody got that? Now, just because I said that there's no legitimate exegetical reason doesn't mean that people don't do it. In fact, that's one of the biggest errors in the church today, as we see people constantly breaking this down into, and this belongs to 7 AD, this belongs to sometime in the future, this refers to this.

It's amazing, but there's no legitimate reason to do that. Contextually, you cannot say that his words are describing anything else, let alone something thousands of years in the future. It's just poor hermeneutics, poor exegesis.

The events that Jesus has described are called the coming of the Son of Man. And so we pick up our study this evening in verse 28. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Memorize that, review it tonight before you go to bed.

It'll help you sleep. All right, what does that mean? Why does he insert that in the middle of his discourse of the destruction of Jerusalem? Wherever the corpse is. This verse is another example of the need to study and to implement biblical hermeneutics.

Otherwise, you can look at that and say, I don't know what that means, and just continue. But it's important. This verse is typical apocalyptic language. This is nothing new. This is nothing strange if you're a student of the Bible.

The apostles were used to this type of language. We're not. We don't talk in terms like this anymore. In fact, if you see somebody wearing a sign, this is where the corpse will gather. The corpse will be, the vultures are going to gather here.

Picture a guy walking down Times Square with that sign and everybody razzing him. Which is a shame because it's right in the middle of this discourse. What does it mean? Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

It's the language of judgment. Okay. The word vultures can also be translated eagles. It's the same word in the original language, and it just depends. Sometimes it's translated eagles, sometimes it's vultures.

Doesn't really matter. I think it might just be easier, birds of prey, because that's what you're really looking at. And I gave you just a couple of examples here. Habakkuk 1 .6 -8. I'm raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs.

Boy, that's quite a description. They are dreaded and feared. Their justice and authority originate with themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping.

Their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. Now notice, this is Habakkuk, and God is raising up the Chaldeans as his arm of justice. And notice what he says. They're swooping down like eagles to devour.

Again, remember, that word could be translated vultures or even just bird of prey. That's judgment. So when you see this, what's the picture? What happens during battle? People die. What happens after people die?

The birds of prey come down, especially the vultures come down and have a feast. It's a language of judgment. Isaiah 46. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things which have not been done, saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country.

Truly I have spoken. Truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it. Surely I will do it. Anybody know what that prophecy is about specifically? Anybody remember? Cyrus. Cyrus the Mede comes up fierce, fierce emperor.

And look at what it says. Calling a bird of prey. He's called the bird of prey. The man of my purpose. So God was raising up the Chaldeans. Now I want you to start to see what's going on here because this is important as well.

God raises up even wicked men and wicked armies, wicked nations to be his army to execute judgment. All right. And in some places even calls them the army of the Lord, even though they're wicked. Of course, he doesn't let them get away with it because they do it with the wrong motivation.

So he'll judge them for what they've done. But they've accomplished his purpose. We have other Old Testament scriptures prophesying of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus' Olivet Discourse is not the first time the fall of Jerusalem is prophesied.

And so I'm going to show you a couple of those. And I want you to see the language, how similar it is to what Jesus says. Jeremiah 7, 33. And the dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them away.

This is specifically judgment against Israel. Then I'll make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land will become a ruin.

That's the same event that Jesus is speaking about in the destruction of Jerusalem in the Olivet Discourse. Notice the similar language. And notice what he says. Devastation, food for the beasts of the field, food for the birds of prey, and there will no more be the voice of joy and gladness.

That's talking about utter destruction. And again, this is a prophecy concerning the judgment on Israel, which was future. Jeremiah 19, 7. And I shall make void the council of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I shall cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life, and I shall give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

Again, same thing. Hosea 8, 1. Put the trumpet to your lips like an eagle. The enemy comes against the house of the Lord because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. Ongoing theme.

But here's the important thing. Notice how many times have you heard this put off for the future, and nobody even mentions these other Old Testament verses. Jesus is using Old Testament language of judgment and destruction.

Jerusalem will be like a corpse. The old system will be dead. The Roman army will enter the dead city like a flock of eagles or birds of prey. And we had read from Josephus exactly what happened when the Roman army finally entered into Jerusalem after the siege was over.

And it's just unspeakable, you know, the things that you found out that what they did. Oh, one interesting note. One of the symbols on the Roman shields and armor was the eagle. Now imagine this. You have these words of Jesus telling people to flee.

Now imagine all the Christians. As far as we know, all the Christians believe the prophecy. They fled Judea when Cestius pulled back before Titus came in for the final destruction. And here they are. They're fleeing.

They're way away from the battle. And here come the Roman armies with eagles. I mean, it gets down almost so specific. It's incredible. That brings us to the next verse, 29. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heavens will be shaken.

Apocalyptic Signs of Judgment in the Sun, Moon, and Stars

Notice, but immediately after the tribulation of those days. So what's coming next, there's no gap. We're not looking at something. Well, up until this point in 70 AD, now we're going to start looking at something that's 2 ,000 years hence.

The wording of this takes it away immediately. And the Scripture gives us these time texts, which are important for us. Immediately, the Greek word means straightaway, forthwith, immediately. There's no equivocation on this.

So whatever is coming, whatever is coming next is coming without delay. And there is no time interval between the events in the text. So what happens immediately after the tribulation? The sun will be darkened.

The moon will not give its light. Stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken. That's what he says comes next. This is now talking about the end. Remember, because the end wasn't yet, but now he's starting to talk about this coming of the Son of Man and judgment, which is the end.

And these are the things that will happen. Now, it should be obvious to all that this, too, is apocalyptic language. I say that recognizing that a good percentage of the church doesn't recognize it as apocalyptic language, and they really expect stars to fall.

Let me ask you a question. What would happen to Earth if one star fell on it? Do you realize how insignificant our sun is compared to the stars that are out there? Our sun is one of the smallest of the stars.

So sun will be darkened. Moon will not give its light. Stars will fall from the sky. It should be obvious that this is apocalyptic language, which means we should be able to discern its meaning from Scripture.

And we find that the Scripture uses the sun, the moon, and the stars as symbols. So let's take a little trip down this road. Go back to the beginning. All right, Genesis 1. Then God said, Look at that wording.

And the lesser light to govern the night, he made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth and to govern the day and the night and to separate the light from the darkness, and God saw that it was good.

Extremely significant portion of Scripture. The sun, the moon, the stars were not made solely to give light. They do. Remember, he divided. Sun's going to rule the day, give us light. Moon's going to be there at nighttime.

Stars, again, the same thing. But besides that, they were for signs, seasons. They define what day and night is. They define what the seasons are, okay? They tell us what a day is, what a year is. But also, they are for signs.

And what are they signs of? Govern the day, govern the night, govern the day and night. So, what do we mean by that? Besides the use for giving light, defining time periods, the heavenly bodies are given to be used for signs and symbols, specifically signs of governors, rulers, or authorities.

We see this usage in Genesis 37 concerning the dream of Joseph. You all know this. Now, he had still, talking about Joseph, he had still another dream. And related it to his brothers and said, Lo, I've had still another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and the 11 stars were bowing down to me.

Everybody knows that, right? And what is the response? And he related it to his father and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him. Oh, wait a minute. What would you expect his father to say? What do you mean, Joseph?

What's this dream of yours mean? Would you expect that? I mean, if your son comes to you with a dream and he says, Oh, I had this dream about the sun, the moon, and the stars. But notice, his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have had?

Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground? Notice, Jacob doesn't skip a beat. He knows exactly what the dream means. He's the son because he's the patriarch of the family.

His wife is the moon, all right, and his brothers are the stars. Joseph's dream came true, and he ruled over the sun, the moon, and the stars. His whole family depended upon him. He actually was a greater ruler than even that because he was number two ruler in all of Egypt.

So everybody is bowing down to him. Now, even futuristic dispensational theologians recognize the significance of the sun, moon, and stars, and I had to put one in there. All right, so here's another verse that comes just before I do the quotation.

This is from Revelation 12. One, and a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed in the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars, okay? Now, if we're looking at this, we have to say, what is this?

Some sort of authority situation is going on here. Charles Feinberg. Charles Feinberg was a, I don't know if he's still there, but he was a professor at Dallas Seminary, a noted dispensationalist who favors the dispensational premillennial view.

Look what he says. The sun, moon, and stars indicate a complete system of government and remind the reader of Genesis 37 .9. God had caused royal dignity to rest in Israel in the line of David. So this idea of having the sun, the moon, and the stars representing a complete system of government, I couldn't have said it any better until you said it right here.

Interesting note. I threw a couple of those in here. How many national flags use one or more of these symbols? Think of it.

Son? I would even also add how many pagan cultures like the symbol of this. I went to Mexico on a trip and went to one of the temples there, and they talk about how the man is the sun and the woman is the moon and the significance of that.

Even within these pagan cultures, the truth of God's creation will happen in there. What's also interesting is that Roman Catholics used that verse to identify marriage.

Yeah. What then is the significance of verse 29? But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, moon will not give its light, stars will fall from the sky, the powers of heaven will be shaken, the whole of Israel will fall and be destroyed, which is exactly what happened in 70 AD.

The entire authority of the nation will fall. And as Jesus warned, the kingdom is being taken away from them and given to a new nation, which is the church. Just as Jesus told them. Remember how he really ticked the Pharisees off at that time when he said the nation will be taken away from you, the kingdom will be taken away from you.

So with the coming of the new creation, which is what the new covenant is called in Scripture, behold, we are new creations in Jesus Christ, old things passed away. The old must pass away for the coming of the new.

We see the same language used in Isaiah's prophecy against Babylon. For the stars of heaven and the constellations will not flash forth their light, the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light.

So obviously this was apocalyptic language as well, because we know that there were not stars falling when Babylon was destroyed. Babylon was once the greatest empire on earth, but it was judged by God and its lights went out.

Ezekiel prophesied similarly for Egypt. And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights in heaven, I will darken over you and will set darkness on your land, declares the Lord.

So we see that this language of sun, moon being darkened is a typical biblical imagery for judgment from God and taken away. And you know, we even see this different symbol but the same idea. The church in Ephesus that Jesus writes to in Revelation chapter 2, what does he tell the church in Ephesus?

If you do not repent, I'm going to come and what? Take away your lamp stand, take away the light. Same idea, taking the light away. That's judgment. The instrument that God used was the might of Babylon in this case.

Ezekiel 32, 11, for thus says the Lord God, the sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. Now notice, in this case, God used the kingdom of Babylon to execute his judgment. Milton Terry, one of the foremost authorities on hermeneutics wrote in his text titled aptly, Biblical Hermeneutics.

He says, we are driven then by every sound principle of hermeneutics to conclude that Matthew 24, 26 to 31 must be included within the time limits of the discourse of which it forms an essential part and cannot be legitimately applied to events far separate from the final catastrophe of the Jewish state.

The last phrase of verse 29 indicates the same principle. The last phrase, the powers of heavens will be shaken. That should be familiar to everybody as well. Hebrews 12, and he shook the earth then, but now he has promise saying, yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.

This is referring to the same events that Jesus is referring to in Matthew 24. Because remember, Hebrews is written prior in the early 60 AD. All right, so he's still looking forward to this. He shook the earth, but now he promised saying, yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.

The old creation, old earth, old heaven passing away. However, here's the good news. Yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Listen again to John Gill. He says, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, meaning all the ordinance of the legal dispensation, which shaking and even removing of them were foretold by Haggai chapter 2, 6, and explained by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews in chapter 12, 26, and 27,.

Do you see how important this is? You can see why theologies can rise or fall on our view of the covenants. If a new covenant is coming, the old covenant is done away with. It's not put on a shelf to be taken out again, which is what one major theology teaches, that we're in a parenthetical phrase, and now God's going to have to go back to the old covenant again.

Old covenant is over. The destruction of the temple, destruction of Jerusalem settled that once and for all, and now that was God shaking the heavens and the earth, removing them, and now establishing the new covenant in his blood, and that shall remain until his second coming.

Hebrews 12,. All right, how's about that? Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, and keeping in mind, lest we become arrogant in our demeanor, for our God is a consuming fire.

God hasn't changed from the old to the new covenant. Just the covenant has changed, and we still serve our God who is a consuming fire. It is a terrible thing, an awesome thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The destruction of Jerusalem and the removal of the Old Testament system are described in biblical apocalyptic language. Lights of the heavens falling, eagles feeding on prey, and the coming of the Son of Man.

Any questions? And again, I'm looking at this not to convince anyone to a particular eschatological view, but just to look at it from a hermeneutical perspective and see what does the text demand. No?

Good? Okay.