In sharing God’s Word my aim is to try to make things simpler to understand. I want to convey God’s truth in a way that most Christians can receive and as a result, have more clarity than before. I also like to equip and empower people.
This desire is reflected in many of my books, such as Empowered! Discovering Your Place in God’s Story, and my book on Unlocking your Life Purpose.
Too Much Information
A downside of enjoying studying and teaching is that I can often give too much information. I try and address questions I think other people might be asking. However, this may mean that what I write gets too detailed. Sorry folks!
That was possibility the case with my most recent post about the destruction of the Jewish temple in AD70. So I want to re-post on this topic in a more concise way. If you want more details, please read my previous post (https://catalystmin.org/an-overlooked-bible-event-with-significant-implications/). So, here goes…
What was Jesus Referring to in Matthew 24?1
In Matthew 24 Jesus states that the Jewish temple will be destroyed. He also provides the signs that will come before this act of judgement.
Growing up I never really heard much preaching on this subject. There seemed to be an implication that these verses did have something to do with the end of the world before Jesus came back. References in many of the New Testament letters to ‘the day of the Lord’, ‘the last days’, or ‘the wrath to come’, seemed to fall into the same ‘end-of-the-world’ category.
Left Behind
I remember watching the 1972 movie, A Thief in the Night.2 This was pretty scary with the prospect of being forced to have ‘666’ (the Mark of the Beast) stamped on your forehead, otherwise you would be arrested or wouldn’t be able to buy anything.
The movie also promoted the idea of a secret rapture where millions of believers would suddenly vanish leaving chaos and terrible things to take place for those ‘left behind’. A popular Christian song about not being left behind added to the formation of this doctrine in my mind.3 Many years later there was the series of books and movies named after this very concept – Left Behind.
Connecting Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 with a rapture of Christians and a great tribulation for those left behind was reinforced by listening to different American preachers. They taught that the signs He mentioned somehow related to current events some two thousand years later.
Judgement on Wayward Israel
The purpose of my post is to question this interpretation and to suggest that in the context of who Jesus was speaking to, and in the light of many other passages of scripture (see previous post), Jesus was only speaking about the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in the first century.
In the preceding chapters, Jesus gave a number of parables that highlighted Israel’s failure to be the people God had called them to be (e.g. parable of the vinedressers). Not only that, but they had rejected God’s messengers (the Old Testament prophets) and now they were rejecting Jesus as God’s Messiah.
They were guilty as charged and as a result, judgement was coming in the form of the Roman armies destroying their city and temple.
Cloud Coming
When Jesus referred to ‘coming on the clouds’ he was drawing on Old Testament language which would have been understood by his audience. It wasn’t about when He would return at the end of time but His coming in judgement in AD70. As He stated, this would occur within a generation of 40 years, which is what actually happened.
To those who would believe, Jesus gave a number of signs and warnings in order for them to escape the imminent judgement, such as fleeing from the city into the hills (Matthew 24:15-20). History records that although over one million Jews lost their lives, every true follower of Jesus who heeded His words was spared.
Why is this Significant?
The significance of this AD70 event is two-fold.
1. End of Old Covenant Era. Firstly, the destruction of Jerusalem and the revered holy temple brought to a complete end the old covenant system of sacrifice and following the Law of Moses. The new covenant and Jesus’ establishment of the kingdom of God on Earth was now able to advance freely, without the hindrances and competing teachings and practices of the old covenant era.
2. Impacts our Mission Engagement Today. Secondly, our understanding of this event and how we interpret Matthew 24 and other related passages of scripture is very significant because of how it impacts our worldview and our engagement with God’s mission project in the world.
If we think that the world is going to get worse and worse before Jesus comes to rescue and take us away, then we will probably feel less inclined to resist evil or do anything about improving things on Earth. Doing so would potentially hinder God’s end-time plan coming to pass. Why should we bother with discipling nations or seeking to be a kingdom influence in society or culture? Surely we should solely focus on getting as many people saved as possible to escape the ‘great tribulation’ and wrath to come?
However, this thinking goes against what Jesus has commissioned us to do (the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20) and His primary message of the gospel of the kingdom. He didn’t tell us to wait for things on Earth to get worse. He commissioned us to join God in bringing His kingdom – His will and intentions – to Earth.
Are We Waiting for Jesus or is He Waiting on Us?
Whereas some Christians’ focus is waiting for Jesus to return, I believe Jesus is waiting for His Church to be what Israel failed to be. To be salt and a light to all nations. To disciple and change the values and flavour of our nations. To demonstrate that the flourishing of both individuals and society comes about by making Jesus Lord.
For us as individuals, let’s therefore discover who God has made us to be, and what He has called us to do. Then, in whatever area of life that is, take up God’s invitation to join Him in seeing His mission in the world come to pass!
1 The equivalent passage of teaching can be found in Mark 13 or Luke 21.
2 The film presents a pre-tribulation, dispensational, futurist interpretation of Christian eschatology (including Matthew 24:36-44) and the rapture doctrine. Although popular among US evangelicals it is generally rejected by Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, Reformed Christians, and Roman Catholics.
3 I Wish We’d All Been Ready composed by singer/musician Larry Norman.