An Interpretation of Matthew 24-25 (Part 2)
Dr. Thomas Ice
AnInterpretation of Matthew 24-25
Part II
by Thomas Ice
The disciplesquestion in Matthew 24:3 is divided into two parts. The first question relates to the destruction of the Temple,which took place in a.d. 70. The second question, composed of two partsbut related to one another, refers to events that are still yet to come. The disciples apparently thought thatall three items, destruction of the Temple, the sign of Christ's coming, andthe end of the age would occur at the same time. Yet this is not the case.
The DisciplesMisunderstanding
It was a commonthing for Jesus to correct the misunderstandings of the disciples that usuallyrepresent popular belief of their day.[1] Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost tells us thefollowing:
The questions showed that they had arrived at certainconclusions. . . . To these menChrist's words concerning the destruction of Jerusalem was the destructionpredicted by Zechariah that would precede the advent of the Messiah. In Jewish eschatology two ages wererecognized: the first was thispresent age, the age in which Israel was waiting for the coming of the Messiah;the second was the age to come, the age in which all of Israel's covenantswould be fulfilled and Israel would enter into her promised blessings as aresult of Messiah's coming.[2]
Dr.Stanley Toussaint echoes this notion.
This sequence is so clearly in view that Luke records thequestion concerning the destruction of Jerusalem only (Luke 21:7). That is, the disciples took thedestruction of Jerusalem to be completely eschatological. Therefore, Luke records this questiononly, as though Jerusalem's destruction would mark the coming of the King toreign. Bruce is correct when heasserts, "The questioners took for granted that all three things wenttogether: destruction of temple,advent of Son of Man, end of the current age."[3][4]
Even though thedisciples merged these events, Christ did not merge these events into a singletime period. In fact, Matthew andMark do not deal with the destruction of Jerusalem in their accounts of theOlivet Discourse. Their focus isupon the future days of tribulation leading up to Christ's return. Only in Luke's account does Christ dealwith the issue (21:20-24). ButLuke also deals with future days of tribulation and Christ's return as well(21:25-36). For whatever reason,Matthew and Mark's entire focus is upon the last question that speaks of "thesign of Your coming, and of the end of the age."
The First Question
The firstquestion by the disciples is "Tell us, when will these things be" (Matt.24:3)? Since Christ had beenspeaking about the Temple and a time when "not one stone here shall be leftupon another, which will not be torn down" (Matt. 24:2), it is clear that Jesusprophesied the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in a.d. 70. Jesus had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and theTemple earlier in His ministry.
Jesus had justearlier spoken of Israel's "house [Temple] is being left to you desolate"(Matt. 23:38). Luke recordsanother prediction of judgment upon Israel, as in Matthew 23:37-39, preceded byChrist weeping over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). This prophecy occurred at the time ofChrist's triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, based upon Israel rejection of Jesusas their Messiah (Luke 19:42). Jesus prophesied in Luke 19:43-44 as follows:
"For the days shall come upon youwhen your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hemyou in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children withinyou, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did notrecognize the time of your visitation."
We learn a numberof things from this prophecy. First, "your enemies" undoubtedly refers to the Romans who destroyed thecity in a.d. 70. Second, "willthrow up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side," isa clear description of the Roman siege used to defeat Jerusalem. Third, the Roman siege resulted in atotal destruction of the city and of life within the city. Usually in a war time situation, ifanyone is spared it will be the children, but even most of them werekilled. Fourth, the very words ofChrist from Matthew 24:2 were used by Him earlier in this passage when He said,"they will not leave in you one stone upon another." Fifth, the reason for the destruction of Jerusalem by theRomans will be because "you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
Fulfillmentof the First Question
Since I will notbe dealing specifically with Luke's version of the Olivet Discourse throughoutmy exposition, I will now look at Luke 21:20-24, since it records the prophecyabout the first question of the disciples. The passage reads as follows:
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is athand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those whoare in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the countryenter the city; because these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may befulfilled. Woe to those who arewith child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there willbe great distress upon the land, and wrathto this people, and they willfall by the edge of the sword, and willbe led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalemwill be trampled under foot by the Gentilesuntil the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:20-24)
Preterist andfuturists do not agree on much when it comes to the Olivet Discourse. However, when it comes to theinterpretation of Luke 21:20-24, we both agree that it is a literal prophecy ofthe a.d. 70 judgment. Preterist Dr. Kenneth Gentry says, "Thecontext of Luke demands a literal Jerusalem (Luke 21:20) besieged by literalarmies (Luke 21:20) in literal Judea (Luke 21:21)-which as a matter ofindisputable historical record occurred in the events leading up to a.d. 70."[5] However, when expounding on Luke21:25-28, preterists resort to massive doses of symbolic interpretation in their attempt to give theseverses a first-century fulfillment. The futurist does not need to make such adjustments and continues a plain or literal reading of the text. I believe that Luke 21:25-28 is a briefprophecy that parallels Matthew 24 and Mark 13, as I will expound upon in thefuture.
Luke 21:20-24demonstrates that preterists take prophecy literal when it is alleged tosupport their view, but if a passage would lead to a non-preterist view, ifinterpreted literally, they allegorize. On the other hand, futurists are able to take all parts of Christ'sOlivet Discourse, and all prophecy literally.
It is clear thatLuke 21:20-24 is spoke of the first-century Roman invasion of Jerusalem. Note that I have placed in italics thekey phrases from Luke 21:20-24 above, that supports the a.d. 70 fulfillment. The entire passage speaks over and over again of judgment and wrath uponthe Jewish people and their city, just as Christ prophesied in Matthew 24:2 andthe other passages noted above. Yet, when one searches prophecies of Matthew 24 and Mark 13 thislanguage is missing. Instead of"great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people," Matthew 24 speaks ofrescuing the Jewish people who are under great distress (Matt. 24:29-31).
Contrasts Between a.d.70 and a Future Temple
Preterists liketo misuse Luke 21:20-24 and say that all of Matthew 24 was a prophecy of theRoman conquest in a.d. 70. Dr. Randall Price has noted six majordifferences between the a.d. 70Temple and the Temple of the future tribulation period spoken of in Matthew 24.
During this time Jesus speaks of a signal event connected withthe Temple-its desecration by an abomination which was prophesied by theProphet Daniel (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). What Temple is being spoken of here by Jesus? Was the Temple that was to bedesecrated the same Temple as the one predicted to be destroyed? There are a number of contrasts withinthis text that indicate that Jesus was talking about two different Temples:
(1) The Temple described in Matthew 24:15 is not said to bedestroyed, only desecrated (see Revelation 11:2). By contrast, the Temple in Jesus' day (or Matthew 24:2) wasto be completely leveled: "not one stone would be left standing on another"(Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:44).
(2) The Temple's desecration would be a signal for Jews toescape destruction (Matthew 24:16-18), "be saved" (Matthew 24:22) andexperience the promised "redemption" (Luke 21:28). By contrast the destruction of the Temple in Matthew 24:2was a judgment "because you did not recognize the time of your visitation[Messiah's first advent]" (Luke 19:44b) and resulted in the Temple beinglevel[ed] to the ground and your children [the Jews] within you" (Luke 19:44a).
(3) The generation of Jews that are alive at the time that theTemple is desecrated will expect Messiah's coming "immediately after" (Matthew24:29), and are predicted to not pass away until they have experienced it(Matthew 24:34). By contrast, thegeneration of Jews who saw the Temple destroyed would pass away and 2,000 years(to date) would pass without redemption.
(4) The text Jesus cited concerning the Temple's desecration,Daniel 9:27, predicts that the one who desecrates this Temple will himself bedestroyed. By contrast, those whodestroyed the Temple in a.d. 70(in fulfillment of Jesus' prediction)-the Roman emperor Vespasian and his sonTitus-were not destroyed but returned to Rome in triumph carrying vessels fromthe destroyed Temple.
(5) The time "immediately after" (Matthew 24:29) the time ofthe Temple's desecration would see Israel's repentance (Matthew 24:30),followed by, as Matthew 23:29 implies, a restoration of the Temple. By contrast, the time following thedestruction of the Temple only saw a "hardening" happen "to Israel," which isto last "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25)-still2,000 years and counting.
(6) For the Temple that is desecrated, the scope is of aworldwide tribulation "coming upon the world" (Luke 21:26; compare Matthew 24:21-22;Mark 13:19-20), a global regathering of the Jewish people "from one end of thesky to the other" (Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27), and a universal revelation ofthe Messiah at Israel's rescue (Matthew 24:30-31; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:26-27). This scope accords with the prophesiedend-time battle for Jerusalem recorded in Zechariah 12-14, where "all nationsof the earth will be gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3). By contrast the a.d. 70 assault on Jerusalem predicted in Luke 21:20 is bythe armies of one empire (Rome). Therefore, if there are two different attacks on Jerusalem, separated bymore than 2,000 years, then two distinct Temples are considered in Matthew24:1-2 and Matthew 24:15.[6]
The above pointsdemonstrate preterist problems that have no resolution in their attempt to cramstill future prophecy into a past mold. Details of Matthew 24 cannot be made to fit into a first centuryfulfillment. Maranatha!
(To BeContinued . . .)
Endnotes
[1] See the following passages for examples of Christcorrecting the disciples beliefs: Matthew 5-7; 9:1-8; 12:1-8, 46-50; 13:10-23; 15:1-20; 16:13-26; 17:1-9;18:1-6, 21-35; 19:3-12, 13-15, 27-30; 20:20-28; 21:33-46.
[2] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works ofJesus Christ: A Study of the Lifeof Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), p. 398.
[3] Alexander Balmain Bruce, "The Synoptic Gospels"in W. Robertson Nicoll, editor, The Expositor's Greek Testament, 5 vols. (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1976), vol. I,p. 289.
[4] Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold The King: A Study of Matthew (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1980), pp. 269-70.
[5] Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Before JerusalemFell: Dating the Book ofRevelation (Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics,1989), p. 176.
[6] Randall Price Jerusalem in Prophecy: God's Stage for the Final Drama (Eugene, OR.: Harvest House, 1998), pp. 251-55