Be Ready – He Is Coming
Jesus Foretells the Future
Jesus Teaches on the Mount of Olives
Matthew Chapter 24; Mark Chapter 13; Luke chapter 21
“Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent
buildings!”
“Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not
one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Later, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, Peter,
James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things
happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
Thus began what has become known as the Olivet Discourse.
Jesus does not initially answer either of these questions. Instead, he warns
his disciples to watch out for false Messiahs, impending wars (and rumours of
war), famines and earthquakes in various places.
Jesus then explained that because they were his disciples
they will be hated, persecuted and put to death. Many will turn away from the
faith, will betray and hate each other; false prophets will deceive many
people. The ones who stand firm to the end will be saved and the gospel of the Kingdom
will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end
will come.
Jesus continued his prophecy, revealing that no one, not
angels nor Jesus himself, knows the day and hour that these things will come to
pass; only the Father knows when. He warned them to keep watch “Because you do
not know on what day the Lord will come”.
“Immediately after the distress of those days
‘the
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give up its light;
The
stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken’”
Isaiah
13:10; 34:4
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And
then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his
angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four
winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Matthew 24: 30,31
The disciples would be struggling to understand exactly what
Jesus was prophesying because, although he had already predicted that he would
be taken by the religious leaders, killed and would be raised on the third day
(see Matthew 16:21), they were still expecting the Christ to deliver Israel
from the Roman occupation.
On the day Jesus ascended to heaven, following his death and
resurrection, the accompanying angels had to explain, “Men of Galilee, why do
you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from
you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven.”
Acts 1:11
Biblical Prophecy
More than a quarter of the Bible consists of prophecies, including over three hundred references to Jesus’ second coming. Of all the prophecies mentioned in the Bible, it is believed that more than three quarters have already been fulfilled. It therefore follows that those prophecies as yet unfulfilled will prove to be true in time.
Jesus told his disciples that no one apart from God the
Father knows the time or date when his second coming will occur. What we can be
sure of, as followers of Christ, is that Jesus will return to bring justice and
restoration to his people.
Jesus Tells the Truth
The destruction of the temple
Jesus’ first prophecy, regarding the fall of the Temple,
happened in A.D. 70. Josephus, the Jewish historian, informs us that following
a siege of some five months future emperor of Rome, Titus, sacked Jerusalem and
destroyed the temple. At the same time, Daniel’s prophecy, made 606 years prior
to this event, came true:
“he will put an end
to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that
causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him”.
Daniel 9:27.
More about the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ later.
The persecution and deaths of Jesus’ apostles
Simon Peter
Eusebius of Caesarea, known as ‘the Father of Church
History’, quotes Origen, whose manuscripts Eusebius had studied under Pamphilus
in the Library at Caesarea, as stating that Peter, also known as Simon, was “crucified
at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer”.
Andrew
Peter’s brother, Andrew, reputedly suffered a similar death
but the source of evidence is less reliable, so not as conclusive. Andrew was
allegedly crucified, bound to an ‘x’ shaped cross, because he deemed himself
unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord Jesus. The origin of the account of
Andrew’s martyrdom is from am apocryphal book, “Acts of Andrew” which was
considered untrustworthy by the early Church leaders. That said, it would
appear that the Church recognised the following entry, regarding Andrew, in Foxe’s
Book of Martyrs:
“He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his
arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which
were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term, St.
Andrew’s Cross.”
James is the only apostle (other than Judas Iscariot) whose
death is recorded in the Bible:
“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who
belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother
of John, put to death with the sword.”
Acts 12:1
John is widely believed to be the only apostle to have died
of old age. Before Jesus was crucified, he told John to look after his mother,
Mary. After Mary died, John is believed to have travelled to Ephesus, where he wrote
his three epistles. Later, John was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching
the gospel. While on Patmos John described his visions in the Book of
Revelation.
The remaining apostles died by the following means:
Philip We
are not sure; there are conflicting stories. Natural causes, crucifixion,
beheading and stoning are all possible options.
Bartholomew Probably
martyred; the popular belief is that he was flayed by knives and beheaded.
Thomas Martyred
in India, most likely was killed by a spear.
Matthew Again,
there are several conflicting reports, which include being burned, stoned,
stabbed, or beheaded.
James (son
of Alpheus
or James
The Just) James
the Just was reportedly pushed from the pinnacle of a temple where he was
preaching, then beaten with a fuller’s club and stoned to death.
Jude It
is believed that Jude was martyred while on a mission with Simon the Zealot in
Syria. As with many of the reports concerning the apostles’ deaths, there is
much doubt surrounding the actual circumstances.
Simon the
Zealot Too
many conflicting reports to make an educated guess.
Judas
Iscariot Judas’
death is recorded in the Bible. He committed suicide, but we have two differing
accounts:
Matthew
27:6–10 and Acts 1:18–19.
Matthias Matthias
replaced Judas Iscariot but again there are conflicting reports of how he met
his end. Stoning, beheading and old age have all been mooted.
Paul Although
not one of the twelve, Paul was universally considered to be the Apostle to the
Gentiles. Although not mentioned in the Bible, Paul is widely believed to have
been beheaded by the Roman Emperor, Nero.
With so much conflicting evidence or lack of evidence, it is
difficult to confirm what actually happened, but even given the above sketchy
information, we can surmise that nine out of the fourteen apostles mentioned
were most likely martyred. Therefore, we can safely ascertain that another of
Jesus’ prophecies was realised (Matthew 24:9).
Jesus himself emphasises three times, “Truly I tell you” in
Matthew chapter 24, so we should expect that all of his predictions will come
true in time.
Persecution
Persecution and death didn’t stop with the apostles.
Christians around the world today are subject to violence solely due to their
faith. We read on a regular basis of the horrors inflicted in Afghanistan,
India, North Korea, Pakistan and Nigeria, as well as other nations.
Jesus warns that many will turn away from the faith and will
betray and hate one another (Matthew 24: 10,11). The one who stands firm to the
end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Remarkably, Jesus then prophecies that the Gospel
of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations before the end comes (Matthew 24:14).
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God is in control of even the length of persecution. He will
not forget his people. This is sufficient for us to know about the times to come,
to encourage us to live correctly now.
The Abomination that Causes Desolation
Matthew 24:15 refers to the “Abomination that Causes
Desolation”, as mentioned in the book of Daniel:
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one “seven”. In
the middle of the “seven” he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at
the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end
that is decreed is poured out on him.”
Daniel 9:27
‘His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple
fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the
abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who
have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly
resist him.”
Daniel 11:31,32
What was the “Abomination that Causes Desolation” that both
Daniel and Jesus warn us about? It is likely to represent more than one
specific individual, incident or entity. It could be perceived as any
deliberate challenge to reject the truth of God’s presence.
Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled in 168 B.C. when Antiochus
Epiphanes, a Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire, sacrificed a pig to Zeus
on the sacred Temple altar.
Jesus’ prediction was proven correct when Titus placed an
idol on the site of the burned Temple in A.D. 70, following the destruction of
Jerusalem.
Jesus tells us that all these things must happen before he
returns; then “He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other”.
Matthew 24:31
What should we be doing?
Wait;
Watch;
Work and
Witness.
1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18
“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we
may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build each
other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:10,11
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