The New Covenant Heavens & Earth

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If you would open your Bibles to the New Testament, Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 24.

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Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 24. We're going to go to verse 32.

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Matthew 24, 32. Hear now the word of the living and the true

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God. From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

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So also when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates.

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Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

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As far as the reading of God's holy and inspired word, let's pray together. Father, we come before you as your people.

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This is your word. It is breathed out by you, God. Your word is holy, inspired, powerful.

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And, Lord, all of us bow before you and your word and recognize the tremendous gift that we have right now as your people to hold your word in our hands.

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Lord, we're grateful that you've given to us this gift of your revelation. We pray now,

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God, that as the word is spoken and preached that you, Lord, would challenge us, change us, equip us, renew us.

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And, Lord, I pray that you'd bless your people for the proclamation of your word today. I pray that you would get the preacher out of the way, that people would forget me.

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I pray that I would decrease, Christ would increase. Speak to your people today by your spirit, through your word, in Jesus' name, amen.

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So Matthew 24, this is the Olivet Discourse, this is the great tribulation passage. This is the passage where if you want to make a lot of money on Christian books or movies, you base it on this section here,

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Great Tribulation, Olivet Discourse. We've got stars falling from the heavens, wars, famines, plagues, pestilence, all those things here.

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This particular text, and this is from the Synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Matthew 24,

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Mark 13, Luke 21, Synoptic Gospels all have the Olivet Discourse. I've said this before, you have differences between the two in terms of, in some places, more explanatory power, say, for a

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Gentile mind, where Luke will take something that Matthew says that's very Jewish, like, let the reader understand the abomination of desolation.

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And Luke says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then flee. So there's differences like that, helpful differences at times.

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But we have here this amazing moment that I firmly believe is rooted very deeply in the anticipation and expectation of the

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Jewish people, the covenant people. My argument has been, through about a year or more of preaching on this one chapter, that this is covenantal.

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It's covenantal. It's concerning the covenant breakers, the covenant people of God. My argument has been, over the last year, as we've unpacked this passage, that if you know your

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Old Testament, then what Jesus is doing now on the Mount of Olives, with the

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Olivet Discourse, should have been something you expected. You expected this moment.

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And the reason I say that, we're going to do some of this today, not unpack in detail everything that we've done, but a little bit of review as we finish this up.

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The reason I say that is because the Old Testament is actually very clear in a number of places that the coming of the

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Messiah was going to have two primary things attached to His coming. And that was judgment and salvation.

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It's expected. The covenant breakers were going to experience covenantal curses and judgment.

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And there was going to be also, at the same time, salvation. Salvation, of course, for the covenant people.

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Not all of them, but the covenant people. But also for the world. The nations were going to come to God.

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You see, here's the point. I mentioned in my last message, as we talked about the Gospel according to Matthew, and how to read this rightly, that in order to understand the

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New Testament revelation, you have to have watched the first part of the film. There's an intermission there, a long intermission in the middle.

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And I talked about those old films that would have that beginning portion of the film, and then the intermission, and then the second part of the film.

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If you came back after the intermission to a completely different story, it would jolt you.

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You'd be wondering, did you put the wrong tape in? What is going on after the intermission? We have to understand that this

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New Testament revelation, this story of the Messiah in history, is not a novelty dropped in history that would have shocked the

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Jews. Now, truth be told, there were certain things, of course, with the revelation of Jesus Christ, that expanded their understanding.

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Certain things with the coming of Christ, that actually correct their misinterpretations.

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But the story of the Messiah and His kingdom in history is not a novelty. It wasn't new.

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It was something that was attached to a revelation before it. Now, here's what's really important. If you've been with us through the

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Gospel according to Matthew, this series, and in particular, the Olivet Discourse, you know that I've stressed over and over again that we need to read the

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Bible biblically. Amen? Yes? You need to think with your Bibles.

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And in this particular case, as we look at a few things that often startle 21st century

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Gentiles, you need to read this with Jewish eyes in many ways. And I'll just give you one example.

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It's actually, I think, one of the most potent parts of this. And that's the portion where people say, are you saying that the

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Olivet Discourse, when Jesus says that that generation wouldn't pass away, until all those things took place, and it actually happened?

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My answer is yes. And the mind immediately goes to, but wait a second. There's all these cosmic events that Jesus refers to.

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Stars falling from the heavens? You really believe that took place? And this is where we have to read the

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Bible with Jewish eyes. We need to think biblically. Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 13.

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It wasn't a novelty for Jesus to actually say those words about stars falling from heaven.

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It's something that actually God had said before. Only in Isaiah 13, He's using it about a different nation and how

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He was going to turn their world upside down and destroy them. In other words, when

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Jesus is telling them the stars are going to fall from heaven, and He's talking about judgment upon the Jerusalem Temple and the

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Jewish people there, and now He takes a passage that was in reference to a Gentile, pagan nation and its destruction, and Jesus now uses it against the covenant people, they knew judgment was coming.

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Judgment was coming. Jesus wasn't speaking literally. This happens often in Scripture.

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Dramatic, prophetic hyperbole. Things like the stars shaking off a tree and hitting the earth.

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Things like, in the King James Version, the blood melting the mountains. Things like that.

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This dramatic, prophetic hyperbole that God uses all the time in the Old Testament. If we think biblically, if we actually look with Jewish eyes, we'll better understand the covenantal nature of the

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Olivet Discourse and what's taking place here. It's very much, you know, in my house,

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I used to think that my wife was the worst when it comes, let me finish that thought, when it comes to watching a movie, right?

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She'll be in the kitchen doing something, you'll be watching a movie, you're like, you know, more than halfway through the film, and then in comes

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Candy, and she sits down, and she starts making assumptions about what's going on on the screen, and she just comes in, wandering in, right?

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And just throwing out, well, why is he doing this? And what's happening here? And why would she do that? And asking

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God to sanctify me, I've always tried to like, you really need to watch the whole film.

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You're like a child wandering in a theater. You have no idea what's happening here. You really need to watch the first part of the film.

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There's character introductions, there's whole storylines that lead to this. I'm trying to finish the movie.

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And now you're coming in, and you're interrupting. I used to think that Candy was the worst, and then I created a spawn, and his name is

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Stellar, and he's the worst. By far. He drives even

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Candy nuts. Like, you can't walk in here, at the last five minutes of the film, and start asking us, what's going on?

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This is the climax. I'm trying to finish the movie. Watching yourself. But this even happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

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Candy found a new series to watch, and I was into it, the first two episodes, and then

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I got really busy with ministry stuff, and I just really couldn't pay attention. So she started staying up and watching the rest, and the next morning, she's like, you've got to watch this, it's excellent.

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So I go, okay, fine, I'll sit with you, and just start where you started. And she's like, you can't do that.

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You've got to go back, and start where you left off, or you're not going to have any concept of what's going on.

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You have to actually understand the story prior, before you understand anything else that's going on.

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We all sort of instinctively understand that, when it comes to things like films, and books, and movies today.

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But oddly, we sometimes forget that, in terms of interpretation of the Bible. If you're reading, say, the book of Revelation, as a 21st century,

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Gentile Christian, and you start reading all this apocalyptic imagery and language, you start reading about locusts with men's faces, you've got, like, manhoppers in the book of Revelation, you've got a harlot, a whore, riding a beast, drinking blood, wearing purple and scarlet.

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You know, if you walk into that story, without understanding the previous Revelation, and the fact that John is actually quoting from the

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Old Testament, you're going to do some serious damage to the book of Revelation, like many prophecy writers have done in the last generation, specifically the last 30 years.

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I mean, the end of the 90s was an epic time for prophecy. Remember Y2K? Woo! I mean, it was like, we're not going to last past 2000,

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Y2K, end of the world, and then we just move right past it. People were just speculating with things in the book of Revelation as though it made sense with modern times, and they would just do all kinds of weird gymnastics.

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Words matter. Context matters. Now, I want you to get this, because this is a big premiere part of the message today, in terms of when we talk about, what is

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Jesus referring to when he says the temple's going to be destroyed, and heaven and earth will pass away?

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Words matter. Context matters. Environment matters. I was thinking about this this week, like, how do

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I get this across? And I thought, this is a perfect example. You can look this up later on YouTube.

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Don't do it now. Look this up. Look up Home Depot bomb scare.

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There's a news report about a bomb scare at Home Depot in Kansas, and the report goes that the law enforcement was actually brought to Home Depot because somebody had told an employee that a man in the building in the bathroom said that there was a bomb.

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And police showed up, and they came and they got the guy and started investigating, asking him questions, and he said,

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I didn't mean to cause any problems. He had walked into the bathroom and told everybody in the bathroom they had better evacuate, because he was, quote, fixing to blow it up.

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He said, when I did that, everybody in the bathroom laughed, but apparently some people heard the words, made assumptions, didn't think about the context and environment, and then the law enforcement descends on Home Depot, and Home Depot, of course, didn't press charges, and the man was let go.

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Words matter. Context oftentimes matters a whole lot more, right?

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It matters a lot. And so when we think about this question of heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away, we need to think about context, we need to think about language,

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Biblical language, and this very important fact, we don't have a right as Christians to go running to the

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Bible and imposing upon Scripture our 21st century traditions, understandings of words that may actually not comport with what the original meaning was or context was.

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We need to do exegesis. That means, let the text speak. Let the author's intent be understood.

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Let the Scripture itself interpret Scripture. We draw from the text its meaning, so that we are not imposing upon the text our own interpretations and ideas.

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We want to have God speaking to us. We don't want man speaking to us and distorting

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God's revelation. Amen? So when we think about this question of language from the Old Testament, we need to consider, well, what did that mean?

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When God said that before, what was it in reference to? Why did God speak like that? What was the original context of Jesus' say in language, quoting from Isaiah 13 and Isaiah 33 or 34 in the

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Olivet Discourse, well, what was the original intention of that passage? What was it in reference to? Again, Isaiah 13,

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God actually makes this claim about these cosmic events and darkness and blood and stars falling from the heavens, but that was used before in reference to the destruction of a city -state, a pagan nation.

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And Jesus now applies it in His context to His first -century hearers after saying, these are the days of vengeance.

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All the blood of the righteous is going to be upon this generation, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who were sent to her.

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This is where Jesus has just now indicted the religious leadership in Jerusalem, and He says,

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He says to them, you're whitewashed tombs. You're full of dead men's bones.

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He indicts them. The seven woes that He pronounces upon the first -century generation.

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There's a context to this. And look, this question of language, let's dig into this a bit.

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Everyone go to Psalm 114. Psalm 114. And look at this from Psalm 114, verses 1 through 4.

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When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob, from a people of strange language,

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Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled,

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Jordan turned back, the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

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Think about that language. When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob, from a people of strange language,

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Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled, Jordan turned back, the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

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Literally? That literally happened? The sea literally fled away?

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Mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs? We can see that God uses this dramatic language, this at times poetic language, to get across a point that causes your mind to think beyond typical categories.

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But this specific language here, in reference to the physical creation itself, fleeing away, the sea fleeing away, mountains skipping like rams, something to keep in mind in terms of what came before the

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New Testament Revelation. Now go to something probably more familiar to you, Genesis 9. Genesis 9.

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Genesis chapter 9, sorry, 39, Genesis 39, 9 through 10,

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Genesis 39, 9 through 10, this is the story, sorry guys,

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I can't read my own handwriting, 37, 37, 37, 9 through 10.

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A familiar story, everyone knows about Joseph and his brothers, Joseph's brothers throwing him into a pit, lying about his death,

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Joseph going into Egypt, Potiphar's wife, all of that, saving

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Egypt and the surrounding nations from the famine. It's an amazing story of God's providence and power and sovereignty.

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But in Genesis 37, 9 through 10, this is the famous dream. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, behold,

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I've dreamed another dream, behold the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.

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But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have dreamed?

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Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?

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And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. So here's an example of course,

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Joseph sort of says, well I had this dream and here's what's going on. And they understand that, you're talking about us, sun, moon, and stars.

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We're talking about the heads of the tribes of Israel here. Sun, moon, and stars bowing down before Joseph.

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We have this here in this dream, the people of Israel, the head of all this, the start of all this, represented as sun, moon, and stars and bowing down to Joseph.

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Now mind you, this is in the mind of Jewish people. We understand this before we even get into the story of the

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Olivet Discourse. This is already laid down prior to that. Now, go now to Leviticus.

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Leviticus 26. Leviticus 26, this is

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God speaking to his people. Verse 17. I will set my face against you and you shall be struck down before your enemies.

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Those who hate you shall rule over you and you shall flee when none pursues you.

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And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins and I will break the pride of your power and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze and your strength shall be spent in vain for your land shall not yield its increase and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

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Here's an example in God's previous revelation, in the Old Testament revelation of God. Here's God talking to his people, talking about judging them for their sins against him, for their covenant unfaithfulness.

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And when he talks about judging his people for their covenant unfaithfulness, I will break the pride of your power and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.

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God is going to judge his people, but notice the language, the language there, cosmic language, language of heaven and earth.

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Now go to Isaiah 51. I hope you're also recording these so you can go back and read this more in detail later, but Isaiah chapter 51, this

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I think is compelling in particular because it is in the my favorite book of the prophets,

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Isaiah, the book that speaks so much about the Messiah, the Messiah's kingdom, the hope we have for the future, the

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Messiah's victory over the nations, but in particular Isaiah chapter 51 verses 15 through 16

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I think is important as we think about this question of heaven and earth and the kind of language that's used.

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Look what he says to his people, he says this in verse 15 of 51, I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar.

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The Lord of hosts is his name, and I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth and saying to Zion, you are my people.

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So here's an example in Isaiah where God is speaking to Israel, his servant, his people, he's speaking to them and he actually refers to where he took his people as establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth and saying to Zion, you are my people.

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So this is powerful. Get this and you're going to get a significant part of this. Here is God saying that when he comes to Israel and he takes

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Israel as his people and he says to them, you are my people, that was the establishing of the heavens and the earth.

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That was a creation, an establishment of essentially a new world, a new order.

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So when he says to Zion, you are my people, it's an establishing of the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth.

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That's Isaiah 51. Now, go to Isaiah 24, last one on this point of language.

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Isaiah chapter 24 and read here about the judgment.

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Isaiah 24 verses 3 -6 It says this, The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered, for the

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Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers. The world languishes and withers.

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The highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants, for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, here it is, ready, broken the everlasting covenants.

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This is all covenantal. It's all covenantal language. And notice also the dramatic language being used in terms of the judgment upon people who are violating his statutes and breaking the everlasting covenants.

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But now as you move forward to verses 19 -20, same passage, look at the words.

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The earth is utterly broken. The earth is split apart. The earth is violently shaken.

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The earth staggers like a drunken man. It sways like a hut. Its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls and will not rise again.

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On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven in heaven and the kings of the earth on the earth. Now, look in verse 23.

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Then the moon will be confounded and the sun is shamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.

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So here we have everlasting covenant being violated, broken, violating God's statutes, this dramatic language being used here, and the earth shaking and breaking and splitting apart, heavy upon it, all of that in terms of covenantal judgments.

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Covenantal judgments. So, laying that down, the language I think is important here in terms of, if you're

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Jewish and you were raised on these scriptures, you've been in the book of Isaiah, you were waiting for the

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Messiah's kingdom, you've read through the Torah and the Tanakh, you've read through the Old Testament, this is part of your worldview, it's part of your language.

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When God says He calls His people His people, He's laying the heavens and the earth to the

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Jewish mind, they're able to take those categories and put them together. God was making a new creation when

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He brought Israel to Himself. This is something that they understood in their own minds. Now, so there's a language we have to understand.

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Next is expectation. Just go read these later. Joel 2. Write that down.

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Joel 2. Why is that important? It's important because Peter, at Pentecost, he quotes

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Joel 2. And he says this, the signs and the wonders that you're seeing now, is that which is spoken of by Joel the prophet.

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But if you read Joel 2, Joel 2 is actually speaking about judgment upon the covenant breakers.

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That there was going to be signs and wonders before blood, fire, pillars of smoke, judgment.

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Upon who? The covenant breakers. Now Peter, at Pentecost, said that this was what they were seeing.

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Joel 2 was what they were seeing in their myths with the signs and wonders. The signs and wonders were supposed to actually be a testimony against the covenant people to say the judgment was about to come.

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The same judgment actually that they were hearing the whole time from John the Baptist.

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What did John the Baptist say in Matthew 3? Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The winnowing fork at hand.

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The winnowing fork is in his hands. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. He says, repent and bear fruit of repentance.

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That they were about to be judged. This is what they were expecting. If you read Malachi chapter 3 and on, you'll see again that testimony that Yahweh himself is going to come to his temple.

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There's Jesus. Yahweh in human flesh coming to the 1st century 2nd temple.

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Visiting his own temple. And then what takes place in Malachi 3? It says there's going to be what? It says there's going to be judgment, specific covenantal judgment, and purification and salvation.

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And there's a warning in Malachi. There's a warning in Malachi towards the covenant people.

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And of course, this is consistent. Judgment and salvation. Now I'm going to point you to this.

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Ready? I would love to spend all the time in the world right now in Isaiah 65. All I can give you is now a pointer to it.

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I'll show you a few things that hopefully excite you about the passage. But let's go now to Isaiah 65.

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This is something that was written near 700 years before Jesus came in his earthly ministry.

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And this is really important. It's actually a powerful one. Pastor Luke said that this was the passage that made him a post -millennialist.

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That this was the passage that made him a post -millennialist. By the way, praise God, Pastor James is a post -millennialist now, huh?

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That's what happens when you hang on an apology at church for too long, right? Victory! Right?

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But he already does a better job now of explaining it than me. Isaiah 65 is powerful.

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Because if you read Isaiah 65, Isaiah 65 talks to the covenant people, and it says to them that they're going to be judged.

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But I want you to see something specific. Look, Isaiah 65, verse 1. I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me.

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I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, Here I am. Here I am to a nation that was not called by my name.

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I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices.

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A people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks, who sit in tombs and spend the night in secret places, who eat pig's flesh and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels, who say,

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Keep to yourself. Do not come near me, for I am too holy for you. These are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

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Who's he talking to? He's talking to his people. He's talking to his people who pretend to be so religious, who pretend to be so holy, but they violate

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God's covenant. They don't live consistently with their profession. They're supposed to be God's people, and yet they're just perverting this whole entire thing, and God's speaking to them.

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And now what's interesting here is what he says, what he says to them. He says in verse 6,

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Behold, it is written before me, I will not keep silent, but I will repay. I will indeed repay into their lap, both your iniquities and your father's iniquities.

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Together, says the Lord. Here it is. Verse 8,

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Thus says the Lord, as the new wine is found in a cluster, and they say, Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it.

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So I will do for my servant's sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah, possessors of my mountains.

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My chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.

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But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for fortune, and fill cups of mixed wine for destiny.

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Here it is. Ready? I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because when

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I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. But you did what was evil in my eyes, and chose what

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I did not delight in. Now watch. Therefore, says the

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Lord God, behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty.

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Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame. Behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart, and shall wail for it, breaking of spirit.

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You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse.

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And the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name.

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So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the

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God of truth, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. For behold, I created new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

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Isn't it interesting? Isaiah 65 is God speaking to the covenant people, saying to them that he's going to judge them for their covenantal unfaithfulness and give his people a new name.

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They're going to eat, you're going to starve. They're going to drink, and you're going to be thirsty. I'm going to give my people a new name, and I'm going to destroy you.

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I'm creating a new heavens and a new earth. What's the context? Covenantal judgment, and God actually taking his people, saving these people, and judging these ones.

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Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth. Isn't it interesting that this is the very same book, the very same book where he just said in Isaiah 51, 15 through 16, that when he called

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Israel his people and brought them together as his people, he established the heavens and the earth. When he made a covenant with them and brought them into his hands, and now he says he's going to judge the covenant people, give his people a new name, and create a new heavens and earth.

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Literally? Well, if you look at the passage, and I can't unpack it all today, you'll find some interesting things about the new heavens and new earth described here, like physical death taking place.

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Now, brothers and sisters, if this is the eternal state being described here, then what are people doing dying in it?

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Further, it also says that there's building of houses and agriculture taking place, that there are descendants being made, and oh yeah,

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Isaiah 66, 19 says evangelism is taking place in the new heavens and new earth. So if that's describing the eternal state, how are all those things taking place?

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Or should we read our Bibles biblically and allow the Bible to interpret the

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Bible? So, there's the background in terms of language and expectation. Are we there now, everybody?

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Yes? We good? You with me? We only have two hours to go. I'm just kidding. Not really.

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Okay, so just a quick thing in terms of turning back to Matthew 24. Go back to Matthew 24. Now, something to consider as you're in Matthew 24.

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Go to the text with me. Verse 32. From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

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So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away. Quick thing. Move back. Don't do it now.

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Just later in your studies. Go back again to Matthew 20, 17.

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And that's where Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. And he says, I'm going to Jerusalem. They're going to kill me.

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Three days later, I'll rise again. Then, of course, Jesus goes into the triumphal entry. They're welcoming

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Jesus, palm trees, branches. And then Jesus goes to the temple and the second cleansing of the temple takes place.

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Jesus goes into the temple and he cleanses the temple, which was, of course, the duty of the priest.

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And then Jesus starts talking to them about judgment. He gives them the famous parables that are actually pretty specific.

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He talks to them about a vineyard. And the owner of the vineyard keeps sending people to the vineyard.

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And he's not getting the fruit of the vineyard. So he says, okay, I'll send my son to the vineyard. They're going to respect my son.

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And then when he sends his son, the people at the vineyard say, oh, look, it's the heir. Let's kill him and take his inheritance.

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He says to the Jewish people of his day, Jesus does, when he tells this parable, he says, what's the owner of the vineyard going to do when he finds out what they've done?

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And they say, oh, he'll destroy those miserable wretches and give the vineyard to others, which will give him the fruit of it.

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And Jesus says, and that's you. Then Jesus tells another parable about people invited to a wedding feast, and then they won't come.

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So the king sends the armies to the city to burn it down. Then Jesus, of course, goes into his indictment upon the

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Jewish leadership. The seven woes are pronounced. Woe to you! Woe to you!

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Woe to you! And he tells them that desolation is taking place upon them. Your house is being left to you desolate.

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That's the context leading all the way up to Matthew 24. And then, of course, Jesus, as he's departing the temple, he goes to the

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Mount of what? Mount of Olives. Now, here's what's amazing. Again, read your

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Bible biblically. Think with a biblical mind. If you're Jewish, you know that first temple was destroyed, and it says that Yahweh's glory departed the first temple and rested on the

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Mount of Olives before its destruction. Now Yahweh is incarnate, declaring woes upon that generation, saying your house is left to you desolate, and that Jesus takes the same path as Yahweh in the

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Old Testament before the first temple's destruction, and he sits on the Mount of Olives. He's recapitulating, reenacting what took place before.

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I should have been assigned to them. Your temple's about to be destroyed. And this, of course, is the famous section where Jesus says, do you see all these things?

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There shall not be left one stone upon another. He says, what about it?

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All in this generation. Now, quick thing. Who's he talking to? Come with me now. Who's he talking to?

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You? Don't be afraid. I'm going to let you talk now, okay?

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Is he talking to you? Who is he talking to? Them. That generation.

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He uses the near demonstrative. This generation. And everywhere in the

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New Testament, in the Gospel record, where he refers to this generation, he says it actually quite a few times, he's referring to that current generation living.

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What shall I compare this generation to? It's like this. He uses this before, and he's talking, everybody sees plainly, to them.

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Near demonstrative, them. The generation that's before him. Now, Jesus promises that the temple's destruction, along with all the other things in the

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Olivet Discourse prior, are going to be upon that first century generation.

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Now, we can't go over it all again, but I think I can demonstrate, and we have demonstrated, and Christians have throughout the centuries, that those things did, in fact, take place on time, and as planned, just like Jesus promised.

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But, Jesus says, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

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Context. Marker. Are you ready for it? Put a pin in this. What started this discussion?

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The destruction of the Jewish temple. He departs from the temple, Mount of Olives, and he says, do you see all these things?

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Theirs will not be left one stone upon another. Are you kidding me? To the Jewish mind, this glorious building, this amazing temple, is going to be taken apart, not one stone upon another,

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Lord Jesus, before we all die? That's the question. He just indicted the

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Jewish leadership. He promised they're going to be desolate. These are the days of vengeance. All the blood of the righteous upon this generation, and now they ask the question, when shall these things be?

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What things? The judgment he just described. Upon whom?

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The covenant people. Upon their temple. Now watch this. Here's the context. You're going to get this.

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You'll get the whole thing. That temple represented heaven and earth.

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I'm going to show you in just a moment here that in Jewish thinking, this is not something that is new and understandable.

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This is written about. They understood the temple itself to be the meeting place of heaven and earth.

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Jesus just told them the temple is going to be taken apart, not one stone upon another. And that's the context of their question.

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When will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?

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The word there is not cosmos. The word there is not physical creation. It's age. Because what did the

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Old Testament say? You had the age of the old covenant and then the promise of the new covenant age.

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I'll make a new covenant. My law will be inside them. They'll be my people.

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I'll be their God. You've got the old covenant age, new covenant age, the old covenant age, and the age of the

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Messiah. They understood that that's the distinction they have, at least in their minds, where we're at now, and this coming messianic kingdom with a new covenant.

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Now, they understood the destruction of this Jewish temple means the end of an age. And that's the substance of their question.

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It's not about us. It was about them. Does that bother you, by the way?

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Aren't we so arrogant as to say, well, wait a second, if the Olivet Discourse isn't about me and my future, then what's the point?

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Oh, because it has to be about you? It can't be about God's glory and his keeping his promises and judging the covenant people like he said, and the vindication of Jesus as Messiah.

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When I go to Matthew 24, I use this text to prove that Jesus was exactly who he said he was.

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That he is vindicated as the Messiah. That he said it was going to happen, and it happened, and the principle behind it is you better pursue

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God, trust him, and obey him. Because he judges. He's a holy

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God, and he judged his people as he said he would. But when you look at this passage, there's a context to their understanding this temple's about to be destroyed.

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My argument has been, again, that this passage, the Olivet Discourse, here it is, covenantal.

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That's the context. It's covenantal. As a matter of fact, what's interesting here, watch, this is a big one, it was a big one for me, the light bulb came on.

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When Jesus is describing these judgments that, by the way, did in fact happen in the first century, exactly like Jesus said before that generation passed away, it's interesting that he tells his people when you see this, flee.

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Judea. Brothers and sisters, that's local. The context of the destruction of Jerusalem, the context is what they're going to experience, and he says, when you see all these things, flee.

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And isn't it interesting that we know from history that actually Christians recorded this history and tradition, that the

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Christians actually escaped the judgment on Jerusalem. Why? Because they actually had a word from God that told them what to look for, and they escaped the judgment on Jerusalem, and they went to a place called

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Pella. The Christians actually escaped because Jesus warned them as to what to look for.

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And they did escape by obeying Jesus' prophecy. Isn't that amazing, by the way? Jesus' preservation of his people, his people escaped the judgment on Jerusalem, the

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Christians fled the city when they saw Roman armies surrounding the city, it's a powerful thing. Okay, quick thing,

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I pointed you to the Old Testament, just the consideration of heaven and earth and the establishment of covenants, but I wanted to read you this.

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I did this in this one page, I took it from an article because I thought, that's a great summary. I would probably turn this into three messages, so I was like,

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I'll just keep it tight and just do it from this. This is a great article about heaven and earth and what that meant for first century

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Jews. Jews did not always mean the physical universe when they spoke of heaven and earth together.

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In Jewish literature, the temple was a portal connecting heaven and earth.

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They called it, quote, the navel of the earth and, quote, the gateway to heaven.

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Enoch 26 .1 some historical writings. Just like the Mesopotamian tower in Genesis 11, the temple connected

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God's realm to where humans lived. To reflect this belief, the Jerusalem temple had been built to look like a microcosm of the universe.

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We typically overlook how literally true the temple hymn preserved in Psalm 78, 69 is, he built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.

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The actual holy place and most holy place inside the temple building were constructed like earth and heaven.

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The courts outside represented the sea. According to Josephus, two parts of the tabernacle were, quote, approachable and open to all, but one was not.

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He explains that in so doing, Moses, quote, signifies the earth and the sea since these two are accessible to all, but the third portion he reserved for God alone because heaven is inaccessible to men.

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Did you get that? The temple was built in such a way as to represent the earth, the sea, but there was a place where heaven was on earth, and that was the place that was inaccessible.

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What was there? What was there? A veil. So the temple itself was supposed to be an expression of heaven and earth, and it was even built in that way.

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The veil between the accessible and inaccessible parts of the temple was designed to represent the entire material world during Jesus' day.

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Josephus and Philo agree that the veil was composed of four materials representing the four elements earth, water, air, and fire.

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Heaven was beyond this material world. It was behind the curtain. Outside the temple, the temple's microcosm of heaven and earth, the courts look like the sea.

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Numbers, Rabbah 13 .19, records, quote, the court surrounds the temple just as the sea surrounds the world.

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In Talmudic tradition, rabbis described how the inner walls of the temple look like waves of the sea.

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From heaven and earth inside the temple, you looked out at the sea surrounding the world. Why? Ancients believed the earth had one giant land mass surrounded by sea.

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The temple reflected that in some respects, but here's the point. You have Jewish literature and writing in terms of what they understood and their symbolism and understanding about the

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Jewish temple. Heaven and earth. Heaven and earth.

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So if you were in Jesus' day, and this is the kind of discussion going on, you've got Isaiah.

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You've got covenant heavens, earth, establishing. You've got this representation of heaven and earth here in front of you with the temple complex itself.

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It's not a difficult thing to understand that if this temple is being destroyed, heaven and earth are passing away.

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God's giving his people a new name. He's judging the covenant breakers, giving his people a new name.

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Old heavens passing away, new heavens being new covenants. New covenant.

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Now, this, I'm going to zip through quickly. You ready for this? I'm going to hit you with the fire hose.

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Are you ready? Yes? Okay. That'll at least keep you awake through this, but also I'm going to move at a rapid pace so you can see that actually this language is pretty prevalent within the

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New Testament itself. I showed you the Old Testament. I showed you Jewish context and understanding and language and symbolism, and now let me show you that this is actually something that you find throughout the

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New Testament in a pretty powerful way. Go to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4.

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In Galatians chapter 4, verse 21 through 31, the

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Apostle Paul is speaking to the issue that is going on in Galatia where they were trying to bring circumcision back over and say that you still have to circumcise these converts.

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That whole conversation of justification through faith in Christ alone, that's all there, but now he actually does something pretty powerful.

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Listen to this. In verse 21 of chapter 4, he says, tell me, he's talking to these first century

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Jewish context, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?

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For it is written, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, one by a free woman, but the son of the slave was born according to the flesh while the son of the free woman was born through the promise.

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Now this may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants.

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One's from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now Hagar is

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Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present

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Jerusalem. Now stop for a second because you've got to put your mind in this. Paul is writing when?

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First century. That Jerusalem is there. It's still standing. The temple is still standing.

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And he says, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present

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Jerusalem, not our Jerusalem today. His Jerusalem. It was still there, standing.

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You can go and touch the temple walls. For she is in slavery with her children.

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But the Jerusalem above is free. And she is our mother.

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Which direction is that Jerusalem? Where is it? Above. For it is written,

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Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud. You who are not in labor for the children of the desolate, one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.

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Now you, brothers like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit.

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So also it is now. But what does the scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son.

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For the son of the slave woman shall have not inherit with the son of the free woman. So brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free.

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You know what that is? That's actually a warning of judgment that's about to take place on that present

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Jerusalem. Are you getting it? Ready? Here we go. Paul says in his day he says there's a present Jerusalem that's in slavery and we are sons of the other one.

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Our Jerusalem is the one that is above. We are free. They're in slavery and ready?

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This is before the destruction of the temple. He says she is about to be cast out. So we have now this city referred to as a her, as a she and we've got a slave city and a free one and we're sons of the free.

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Again, quick question, where was the direction? Up. So this present

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Jerusalem and our Jerusalem that's above. Okay, so there's the apostle

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Paul, first century context. Quickly go to Hebrews chapter 12. Now, I believe there's a great commentary.

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I think Pink has an excellent exposition of this particular passage.

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Pastor James, you did through Hebrews. Was it Pink's commentary that really expands upon the idea that this is referring to the destruction of the old covenant order?

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Do you remember if Pink talks about that? What's that? Okay. So, okay,

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I just wanted to give you guys a good reference there. Okay, so just quickly, overview, can't do it all today. What's the whole context of the book of Hebrews?

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What's the main thrust? Better priest, better king, better, better, better, right?

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Don't go back! That's the main thrust of Hebrews, right? Like the temple is still standing and you've got people now tempted to flee.

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What's the context? That generation of Christians, it's in Stephen's own testimony and what he was accused of, he was telling them that Jesus was about to return to destroy all these things.

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They were warning that generation, you need to repent. There's judgment coming. Repent, repent, repent, and now time's going on.

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A decade goes by, another decade goes by, another decade goes by, and what are now the Jewish believers that are rejecting

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Christ, what are they saying to Jewish Christians? Guys, it was a good story, right?

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A criminal, crucified Messiah. Come back. Come back.

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Come back to the sacrifices. Come back to the temple. Come back to the priesthood. Come back, come back, come back.

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What's the writer of Hebrews saying? He's a better priest! He's a better king!

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He's a better sacrifice! It's a once -for -all sacrifice, and the whole argument in Hebrews is, guys, don't go back!

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Why? God's about to destroy this entire thing, and Jesus is better.

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Jesus is better. Now, you want to see that? Read Hebrews 12, and listen to the language.

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This is powerful. Hebrews 12. After that whole discussion of Jesus being better in every way, and don't go back, don't trample his blood underfoot.

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In verse 18, listen to the language. It's awesome. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

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For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it should be stoned.

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Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living

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God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in feastful gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

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Now watch. You have come. You have come to Mount Zion. You have come to this heavenly

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Jerusalem, the writer of Hebrews says to those Christians. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking, for if they did not escape when they refused him who was warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

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At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised yet once more

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I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase, yet once more, indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made in order that things that cannot be shaken may remain.

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Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our

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God is a consuming fire. You see that? We, we are part of this heavenly

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Jerusalem. We have come to Zion. God is about to shake the heavens and the earth, the writer of Hebrew says.

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God's about to shake the heavens and the earth. What's that mean? It refers to the removal of things that can be shaken, but we have a city that can never be touched.

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It can never be shaken. This was a warning that that whole system was about to be destroyed, but what's the language being used in reference to that whole system being destroyed?

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The shaking of the what? Heavens and what? Earth. And that's in reference to the old covenant order.

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All the last stuff that was hanging around was about to be shaken and destroyed. We are a part of the new

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Jerusalem. We are a part of the mother who is from above, the free one. That's our city.

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Now, this is, I think, where I'll end today, because I think it, I think it's potent.

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I think it's powerful. I did this before last year, but think about this in the context of all we've done today.

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We did Old Testament, language, covenant, heavens, earth. We talked about the dramatic language and the imagery.

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We talked about context from Matthew. I showed you that this discussion is in the New Testament itself.

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We're from the Jerusalem that is above. She's our mother. We're the free ones. This present

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Jerusalem is enslaved, but that is about to be cast out. All this heavens and earth is about to be shaken in reference to the old covenant order, and then you get to Revelation.

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Let's start in verse 1. I'm just kidding. And then you get to Revelation, and in Revelation, there's, interestingly,

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I would argue before the destruction of Jerusalem, a tale of two cities.

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There's a tale of two cities in the book of Revelation. Want to see it? Go to Revelation. I'll give you a place to put your finger so you can go read it later.

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In Revelation chapter 17, there is a woman.

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And it's interesting because if we think biblically and if we have Jewish eyes and we know our

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Old Testament, we should have these symbols smacking us in the face. For example, this whore, this prostitute, who's committed immorality with the kings of the earth, she's in the desert, the wilderness.

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Now if you're Jewish, you're like, okay, I know what you're saying. God called his wife in Ezekiel a harlot.

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You're a whore. You go and you go with all the people of the earth, you do all these awful sexual morality things where you're now betraying me and breaking covenant and going to these other nations.

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He calls his wife a harlot. So now you have a harlot in 17. To the Jewish mind, you go,

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God's called his wife a harlot before for her covenant of unfaithfulness. And interestingly, to the Jewish mind, this harlot happens to be in the wilderness.

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Now, you're Jewish, right? Shalom. Is the wilderness a good place or a bad place?

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It's a very bad place. What does it mean? Unfaithfulness, disobedience. And so John has this now, this harlot who's in the wilderness, who commits immorality with the kings of the earth.

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Now if you're Jewish, you're like, I know who you're talking about. And it says that she has

01:00:00

Babylon on her forehead. Now, Babylon, good place or bad place?

01:00:08

Why did the Jewish people go to Babylon? Covenant of unfaithfulness. Breaking covenant with God.

01:00:14

God judged them. Sent them into exile to Babylon. So now you have a harlot in the wilderness who commits immorality with the kings of the earth and she's got

01:00:23

Babylon written on her forehead. Now, what's interesting here is that the Jews were supposed to also have something on their forehead.

01:00:29

Our kids know this, right? Kids? What's this Shema? They were like,

01:00:36

I wasn't even awake, Pastor Jeff. You're talking about things that are, okay. Who knows this Shema? Okay, of course.

01:00:42

Mikey, stand up and tell us the Shema. Nice and loud so everyone can hear it. Do you know it in Hebrew?

01:00:53

Go ahead. Very good.

01:00:59

Nicely done. And that baby's as big as you are. Okay. Now, in that passage, the

01:01:05

Shema, which is part of the morning and evening prayers, Shema Yisrael Yahweh Eloheinu, Yahweh Yechad, that passage,

01:01:13

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, says that you're to write this here and there and talk about it on the way and you're supposed to put it as a sign on your head and your hands.

01:01:26

That symbolized ownership and what you do, your hands. But interestingly, this harlot in the wilderness has

01:01:35

Babylon written on her forehead. And it says that she's wearing purple and scarlet.

01:01:41

What are the priestly and temple colors doing on this harlot?

01:01:47

And it says that she's drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. What does

01:01:52

Jesus say to Jerusalem? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.

01:01:59

He says, I send you prophets and scribes. He says, you're going to persecute them. Jesus promised his people that that present

01:02:06

Jerusalem was going to persecute them. And now we have John saying that there's this woman who's a harlot,

01:02:11

Babylon, wilderness, who's drinking the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus and she's riding a seven -headed ten -horned beast.

01:02:19

Rome was known as Septimontium, the city of seven hills. It had ten imperial provinces.

01:02:25

If you were a first century Jewish Christian, you knew exactly who he was talking about. How is Jerusalem riding

01:02:30

Rome? Shall I crucify your king? We have no king but Caesar.

01:02:41

But the promise here in Revelation 17 is that the beast is about to turn on her, make her desolate and burn her with fire.

01:02:49

What happened within a few short years of John writing this? Rome turned on Israel and Jerusalem and did what?

01:02:56

Made her desolate, burned her with fire, burned the whole thing to the ground. You see, God promised this covenantally unfaithful bride is about to be judged.

01:03:06

So now we have a tale of two cities. One city, a woman, a harlot bride is judged.

01:03:12

And then in Revelation chapter 21. I'm going to end on this note and just whet your appetite with it.

01:03:23

It's all I can do. Because there's too much to unpack but I think it's amazing. You got the one city judged.

01:03:30

The harlot judged. And then it says this, 21 verse 1.

01:03:37

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

01:03:44

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

01:03:57

Which direction by the way did Paul say the new Jerusalem was? He said the present Jerusalem here but we're from the

01:04:03

Jerusalem that is above and in this vision you have the bride of Christ, the new

01:04:09

Jerusalem, the new heavens and new earth coming down out of heaven from God as a bride adorned for her husband.

01:04:17

The harlot bride is put away and now you have the bride of Christ, the new

01:04:23

Jerusalem, hitting the earth and amazingly if you read the text if you think it's literal you're going to be living in a cube that juts outside of the earth's atmosphere for eternity.

01:04:34

A bit of a problem. But if you actually read it as the Bible gives it to us in terms of the language of scripture you'll find great hope in the fact that it says the leaves on the trees in this new

01:04:44

Jerusalem are for the healing of the nations. If this is the eternal state why do the nations need healing?

01:04:52

And why are the waters of life being offered to the world from the new Jerusalem? Who's thirsty in the eternal state?

01:05:00

And why does it say outside the city gates are the immoral, the dogs? Do we have people when we're in the new

01:05:06

Jerusalem in heaven in the eternal state, sinners just hanging outside of heaven like throwing rocks at us or something?

01:05:13

Do you see this is Biblical imagery. When we have the old covenant, the covenant breakers destroyed, that present

01:05:22

Jerusalem destroyed, we have now the new Jerusalem, the new covenant. Now somebody might be saying, what's that mean for the future?

01:05:30

Here's what it means, healing for the nations. Here's what it means, the nations coming to God. Here's what it means, watch.

01:05:37

Someone says, how is this possible? It's not like I'm a new creation in Christ. Oh. If any man is in Christ he is a what?

01:05:48

New creation. The old is gone, what? Do you get it?

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What's it mean for the future? Well I think if you take this whole story and put it together you can have a lot of hope in the fact that God promised to judge the covenant breakers, give his people a new name, and then he was going to fill the earth with his glory.

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You can take a lot of hope in the fact that God says he's going to put his enemies under his feet, make them a footstool for his feet.

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You can take a lot of hope in the fact that the same apostle Paul who says that we are new creations in Christ says that Jesus right now is reigning on that throne, he is putting all his enemies under his feet, making them a footstool, and he says the last enemy to be defeated will be death.

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And that's when Jesus is going to deliver the kingdom to the Father finished. And Christ will be all in all.

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Do you see there is tremendous hope in seeing the fulfillment of Matthew 24 and all of its promises.

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There is tremendous hope in seeing that if we are part of this new Jerusalem, this heavenly city, then we are free.

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And we are the embodiment of God's reconciling message to the world.

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We are bringing the waters of life to this world to bring healing to the nations. It's our duty as Christians because we are free and we're from the

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Jerusalem that is above. It's our duty now to preach the gospel and win the world to Christ.

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You have been made alive in Jesus. You are a new creation. This is just the beginning.

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There is going to be an ultimate final victory of a renewed earth, a renewed heavens, a resurrected earth with us in physically resurrected bodies.

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That's where we're going. God kept his promises. That was the main point of my message today. God kept his promises.

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He said it. It happens. We should actually find a lot of encouragement that when

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Jesus referred to the destruction of the temple, he says heaven and earth will pass away. My word will by no means pass away.

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He kept his promise. Amen? What's that mean for us?

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He keeps his promises. He'll be faithful to us. Our role is to trust in him and be faithful back.

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Yes? Let's pray. Father, I pray you bless the word that went out today for your glory and for the good of your church.

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I pray that all of us would continue to grow in our understanding of your word and our faithful handling of it.