(Matthew 24–25)
Regina, SK – August 5, 2006
I would like to speak this afternoon on the Lord’s discourse on “the Mount of Olives” in Matthew 24-25. These two chapters, as you know, are prophetic. There has been quite a bit of talk lately of the things that are heating up again in the Middle East. Since a number of questions are being asked regarding prophetic issues, I thought it would be nice to take up something along those lines.
Not too long ago someone asked me, “So where are we now in prophecy?” I said, “Well, we are really not in prophecy—the Church actually forms no part of the subject of prophecy.” Then he said, “Oh yes, of course, I know that; it has to do with Israel—right?” Then I told him, “Actually, Israel is not the subject of prophecy either!” He was a little taken aback, and said, “Well, what then is the subject of prophecy?” I told him, “The great subject of prophecy is CHRIST Himself!” Though Christ may not be mentioned directly in every single verse in the prophetic Scriptures, yet the spirit of each prophecy pertains to what will ultimately be for the display of His glory and His honour. This is what is meant in the statement, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).
To say it again, the Church is not the subject of prophecy, nor are Israel and the nations; prophecy has to do with that which pertains to Christ and His glory. Every prophetic detail regarding Israel and the nations in the Scriptures is merely subservient to the great purpose of God glorifying Christ. It is His purpose to glorify His Son in two spheres—in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10); prophecy simply gives us various details as to how God will reach that end.
The subject in these two chapters is the Lord’s coming in relation to the three responsible sectors of the human race—Israel, Christendom, and the Gentile nations. To save time, I won’t read the whole two chapters at once, but I will pick out various parts as we go along. Let’s begin by reading verses 1-3 to get the setting, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world [age].”
The disciples asked the Lord Jesus three questions. Their first question had to do with when the stones of the temple would be thrown down. They naturally wanted to know more about that. The Lord was referring to its destruction by the Roman army in AD 70, which happened approximately 40 years after His death.
That very day marked the last time that the Lord would set foot in the temple (Matt. 23:38-39). He will not enter the temple in Jerusalem again until He returns at His second coming! When the Roman armies moved in and destroyed the city, orders were given not to destroy the temple. But one soldier, not knowing of the command, threw a torch into it, and it burned down. The gold that covered the walls melted and ran down between the great stones. After the fire the people salvaged the gold, digging it out from between the stones, and in doing so they removed each stone until there was not one left upon another. Thus, the prophecy of our Lord was fulfilled.
The Lord didn’t answer their first question directly, but focused on their other two questions, which had to do with “the sign” of His coming and “the end of the age.” As we know, the Lord’s coming has two phases: His coming for His saints and His coming with His saints. The Lord’s coming for us is commonly called the Rapture. That will be when the Lord descends with a shout and calls us away to heaven—the dead in Christ will arise and the living saints will be caught up together (1 Thess. 4:15-18). That’s what we’re waiting for, and what a moment it will be! Then a seven-year period of tribulation will come upon the earth. It will be the fulfillment of the seventieth week of Daniel. (See Daniel 9:24-27.) After the Great Tribulation, the Lord is going to come back again, but this time He will come with His saints in judgment, whereby He will establish His kingdom in righteousness according to the promises of the Old Testament prophets. This phase of His coming is called the Appearing of Christ. The two parts of Christ’s coming, therefore, are the Rapture and the Appearing—the seven-year tribulation coming between the two. The emphasis in this prophecy is on the second phase.
The “sign” that the disciples were asking about has to do with the Lord’s appearing and the “consummation of the age” (J. N. Darby Trans.); it has nothing to do with the Church. There are no signs for the Lord’s coming for the Church—the Rapture.
The night is far spent, and the day is at hand:
No sign to be looked for; the Star’s in the sky;
Rejoice then, ye saints, ’tis your Lord’s own command;
Rejoice, for the coming of Jesus draws nigh.
John Brereton had an illustration that explained how the Church has no signs to look for as it waits for the Lord to come. He said that when you journeyed to Gordon Hayhoe’s cottage, which was about seven miles short of Parry Sound, you could calculate how near you were to Gordon’s place by subtracting 7 miles from the distance the road signs said it was to Parry Sound. For instance, when you went past a sign that said it was 40 miles to Parry Sound, you would know that you were 33 miles from Gordon’s cottage. The signs were for a place to which you were not going, but by them you could figure out how near you were to your destination. Similarly, the signs that prophecy speaks of have nothing to do with the Church, but with Israel and the nations. We are called away to heaven seven years before those signs (which have to do with the Lord’s Appearing and the setting up of His kingdom) are fulfilled. While they don’t directly apply to the Church, when we see such things on the horizon, we know just how close we must be to His coming for us!
Three Parts to the Discourse
First, I want to give an overview of the discourse as a whole. The Lord takes up His coming in relation to each of the responsible parts of the earth, speaking of each one separately, so that the disciples wouldn’t be confused. Hence there are three parts to the discourse:
His coming in relation to Israel (Matt. 24:4-44).
His coming in relation to the Christian world—Christendom (Matt. 24:45–25:30).
His coming in relation to the Gentile nations (Matt. 25:31-46).
PART I