Can we agree that God, in times past, has made His faithfulness to His people known by explaining beforehand the events He promised to bring to pass and also by His instructions explaining what they must do in faith, in the light of His revelation to them?
For example, consider the Lord's communication of His faithfulness to His people, when they were in Moab, before they went into the promised land -- the words He delivered through Moses.
Moses explained a chastening that awaited the Lord's people if they turned to other gods (Deut 29). The Lord commanded Moses to stand before the people and testify a covenant to them, words of blessing and cursing. In paraphrase, he said, "If you turn your heart away from the Lord your God and worship idols you will provoke the Lord's wrath, making His anger and jealousy smoke. You will be scattered among the nations and the land will be as brimstone and salt, even like Sodom and Gomorrah that the Lord overthrew in his anger. For generations, many will come from afar and see the desolation and plagues upon you. All the nations will ask, "Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land…?" In answer, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord, because they went and served other gods. The anger of the Lord was kindled, to bring upon them all the curses that are written in this book." Did He not explain this to His people ahead of time in order that they would know Him and remember His words?
Moses explained that this chastening would be wearisome and would eventually cause them to remember in order that they would hope in His deliverance (Deut 30). To paraphrase, he said, "Being scattered among all the nations that the Lord has driven you to, it will come to pass that you will recall to mind all these sayings that I have told you this day. He will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed and you will turn your hearts again to the Lord to obey His voice, together with your children. With all your heart and with all your soul you will obey His voice according to all that I have commanded. Then the Lord thy God will return and have compassion on thee, and will gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any have been driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven, even from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee. And He will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it, and be multiplied above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and upon them that hate thee." A wearisome road awaited them but there was hope that the Lord would eventually deliver them, even from His chastening.
In light of God's communication of what events and circumstances would come to pass, Moses provided encouragement and warning to them. "The word is very nigh unto thee, in they mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it" (the righteousness of faith, Deut 30:14, Rom 10:8). He continued, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
It seems to me that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke a very similar communication of God's faithfulness to His people by explaining beforehand events that He promised would come to pass and by giving them encouragement and warning… instructions that they must follow in faith, in light of His revelation to them.
For example, consider the Lord's communication recounted in Matthew chapters 23-25. He began by recalling Moses. He told the multitudes and His disciples to observe and do the words of Moses. "The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not."
Jesus pronounced the grievous woe coming upon the scribes and Pharisees because they lived contrary to Moses (Matt 23). He said all the righteous blood shed upon the earth would be upon them. He lamented, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate." In fulfillment of Jesus' words, not one stone of the temple effectively was left one upon another, during Jerusalem's destruction of 70 AD.
This pronounced desolation is reminiscent of that spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 29. When Moses warned of the desolation, it was explained to be a means of chastening and therefore it provided a measure of hope that the Lord's people were not fully cast off (Moses' Song, Deut 32). Was it any different when Jesus spoke of the desolation to Jerusalem? "Behold your house is left unto you desolate." Was this a permanent desolation with no hope of ever being gathered again by the Lord? Well, He told them the duration of their desolation.. It would last until they saw Him again and said, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord" (Matt 23:39, referring to Psalm 118, which summarizes also the joys Moses declared in Deut 30… Joys of deliverance to them when the Lord would return and gather them.) Has God cast away His people? Is there no remnant, according to the election of grace, that understands the chastening against Jerusalem (if it was a chastening for a remnant) and is there no remnant that is waiting/hoping for the merciful deliverance that Jesus referred to in Psalm 118? The desolation was determined.
Once Jesus eliminates any confusion regarding the imminent desolation of Jerusalem, is it not the case that His first concern for His disciples is that they be not deceived by another that will come falsely in His name, promising a false deliverance (Matt 24)? It seems to me he tells them beforehand of the many struggles and temptations (part and parcel to the interim desolation) that will occur until He returns to save them.. save them as He referenced according to Ps 118. There will be many trials and temptations threatening to overcome them as they wait. Wars will be wearisome. All nations will hate them. Many will betray one another. False Christs will deceive many, but he that endures to the end will be saved. Saved not by the false Christ who is in the desert or hiding in a secret chamber, but by the Christ who comes and gathers His elect from the four winds, even from one end of heaven to the other to perform the hope of Ps 118. They can look forward to being saved but they also are to know that the level of tribulation while they wait will not remain constant, but when it increases there will be signs to know that their redemption is nigh.
In times past, God's people brought upon themselves tribulations by joining themselves to idols. Moses warned the people not to commit themselves to the idols of the nations, idols that were merely made of wood, silver, and gold. They departed from their God and eventually they were overcome by the Babylonians. In Jesus' day the Lord's people had committed themselves to a religious system subservient to Rome and together they were overcome by their cruel masters. In both of these case God's people adopted false "idols" of their own choosing and were deceived to claim for themselves a false utopia. Their hopes of enduring peace collapsed upon them as their world degenerated into grievous tribulations upon them. It is the Lord who pronounced desolation and deliverance. It is He alone who chastens and He alone who has mercy. If they tried to escape the chastening of the Lord by casting their hope to idols, could they reasonably expect anything but greater tribulation? What circumstances would precipitate a greatest tribulation?
In the times to come after Jesus spoke to His disciples, He warned them that false Christs would arrive with signs and wonders to lead away even the very elect if possible, leading them to a new utopia, a false deliverance from the desolation the Lord pronounced. In order to be convincing, wouldn't a false Christ have to claim to be the one who establishes the merciful deliverance of Psalm 118, the true paradise Christ referred to? What would happen if the Jews accepted the one who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God? What if this false Christ deceived them, and they joined themselves to him, to receive the promised comfort for which Jesus told them to wait for? And what if the Jews not only enthusiastically received such a persuasive false Christ for themselves, but they also persuaded everyone on earth (accept for the very elect) to also worship him as the long awaited Christ? What degree of systemic degeneration, collapse, and tribulation would everyone deserve? As great as that tribulation would be, it would not compare to the consequences for those who don't remain faithful waiting for the true, triumphant Christ, nor would it compare to the glory to be revealed in those who do patiently overcome, waiting for Him until the end.
Is not the the warning and encouragement to endure to the end laid out in Matt 24:36 and on through Ch 25?
It seems to me that in Matt 23-25, the Lord Jesus Christ foretold the two events, the desolation of Jerusalem (a chastening?) and His second coming (the deliverance?), in order to explain once again to them God's faithfulness to His people (in like manner as Moses, a type of Christ, understood and testified) and to give them encouragement and warning to persevere in faith, hope, and love, as they wait for Him, strengthened in the light of His revelations to them. What do you think?
Rejoice, O ye gentiles, with His people: for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to His people. (Deut 32:43, Rom 15:10)
For example, consider the Lord's communication of His faithfulness to His people, when they were in Moab, before they went into the promised land -- the words He delivered through Moses.
Moses explained a chastening that awaited the Lord's people if they turned to other gods (Deut 29). The Lord commanded Moses to stand before the people and testify a covenant to them, words of blessing and cursing. In paraphrase, he said, "If you turn your heart away from the Lord your God and worship idols you will provoke the Lord's wrath, making His anger and jealousy smoke. You will be scattered among the nations and the land will be as brimstone and salt, even like Sodom and Gomorrah that the Lord overthrew in his anger. For generations, many will come from afar and see the desolation and plagues upon you. All the nations will ask, "Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land…?" In answer, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord, because they went and served other gods. The anger of the Lord was kindled, to bring upon them all the curses that are written in this book." Did He not explain this to His people ahead of time in order that they would know Him and remember His words?
Moses explained that this chastening would be wearisome and would eventually cause them to remember in order that they would hope in His deliverance (Deut 30). To paraphrase, he said, "Being scattered among all the nations that the Lord has driven you to, it will come to pass that you will recall to mind all these sayings that I have told you this day. He will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed and you will turn your hearts again to the Lord to obey His voice, together with your children. With all your heart and with all your soul you will obey His voice according to all that I have commanded. Then the Lord thy God will return and have compassion on thee, and will gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any have been driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven, even from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee. And He will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it, and be multiplied above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and upon them that hate thee." A wearisome road awaited them but there was hope that the Lord would eventually deliver them, even from His chastening.
In light of God's communication of what events and circumstances would come to pass, Moses provided encouragement and warning to them. "The word is very nigh unto thee, in they mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it" (the righteousness of faith, Deut 30:14, Rom 10:8). He continued, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
It seems to me that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke a very similar communication of God's faithfulness to His people by explaining beforehand events that He promised would come to pass and by giving them encouragement and warning… instructions that they must follow in faith, in light of His revelation to them.
For example, consider the Lord's communication recounted in Matthew chapters 23-25. He began by recalling Moses. He told the multitudes and His disciples to observe and do the words of Moses. "The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not."
Jesus pronounced the grievous woe coming upon the scribes and Pharisees because they lived contrary to Moses (Matt 23). He said all the righteous blood shed upon the earth would be upon them. He lamented, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate." In fulfillment of Jesus' words, not one stone of the temple effectively was left one upon another, during Jerusalem's destruction of 70 AD.
This pronounced desolation is reminiscent of that spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 29. When Moses warned of the desolation, it was explained to be a means of chastening and therefore it provided a measure of hope that the Lord's people were not fully cast off (Moses' Song, Deut 32). Was it any different when Jesus spoke of the desolation to Jerusalem? "Behold your house is left unto you desolate." Was this a permanent desolation with no hope of ever being gathered again by the Lord? Well, He told them the duration of their desolation.. It would last until they saw Him again and said, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord" (Matt 23:39, referring to Psalm 118, which summarizes also the joys Moses declared in Deut 30… Joys of deliverance to them when the Lord would return and gather them.) Has God cast away His people? Is there no remnant, according to the election of grace, that understands the chastening against Jerusalem (if it was a chastening for a remnant) and is there no remnant that is waiting/hoping for the merciful deliverance that Jesus referred to in Psalm 118? The desolation was determined.
Once Jesus eliminates any confusion regarding the imminent desolation of Jerusalem, is it not the case that His first concern for His disciples is that they be not deceived by another that will come falsely in His name, promising a false deliverance (Matt 24)? It seems to me he tells them beforehand of the many struggles and temptations (part and parcel to the interim desolation) that will occur until He returns to save them.. save them as He referenced according to Ps 118. There will be many trials and temptations threatening to overcome them as they wait. Wars will be wearisome. All nations will hate them. Many will betray one another. False Christs will deceive many, but he that endures to the end will be saved. Saved not by the false Christ who is in the desert or hiding in a secret chamber, but by the Christ who comes and gathers His elect from the four winds, even from one end of heaven to the other to perform the hope of Ps 118. They can look forward to being saved but they also are to know that the level of tribulation while they wait will not remain constant, but when it increases there will be signs to know that their redemption is nigh.
In times past, God's people brought upon themselves tribulations by joining themselves to idols. Moses warned the people not to commit themselves to the idols of the nations, idols that were merely made of wood, silver, and gold. They departed from their God and eventually they were overcome by the Babylonians. In Jesus' day the Lord's people had committed themselves to a religious system subservient to Rome and together they were overcome by their cruel masters. In both of these case God's people adopted false "idols" of their own choosing and were deceived to claim for themselves a false utopia. Their hopes of enduring peace collapsed upon them as their world degenerated into grievous tribulations upon them. It is the Lord who pronounced desolation and deliverance. It is He alone who chastens and He alone who has mercy. If they tried to escape the chastening of the Lord by casting their hope to idols, could they reasonably expect anything but greater tribulation? What circumstances would precipitate a greatest tribulation?
In the times to come after Jesus spoke to His disciples, He warned them that false Christs would arrive with signs and wonders to lead away even the very elect if possible, leading them to a new utopia, a false deliverance from the desolation the Lord pronounced. In order to be convincing, wouldn't a false Christ have to claim to be the one who establishes the merciful deliverance of Psalm 118, the true paradise Christ referred to? What would happen if the Jews accepted the one who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God? What if this false Christ deceived them, and they joined themselves to him, to receive the promised comfort for which Jesus told them to wait for? And what if the Jews not only enthusiastically received such a persuasive false Christ for themselves, but they also persuaded everyone on earth (accept for the very elect) to also worship him as the long awaited Christ? What degree of systemic degeneration, collapse, and tribulation would everyone deserve? As great as that tribulation would be, it would not compare to the consequences for those who don't remain faithful waiting for the true, triumphant Christ, nor would it compare to the glory to be revealed in those who do patiently overcome, waiting for Him until the end.
Is not the the warning and encouragement to endure to the end laid out in Matt 24:36 and on through Ch 25?
It seems to me that in Matt 23-25, the Lord Jesus Christ foretold the two events, the desolation of Jerusalem (a chastening?) and His second coming (the deliverance?), in order to explain once again to them God's faithfulness to His people (in like manner as Moses, a type of Christ, understood and testified) and to give them encouragement and warning to persevere in faith, hope, and love, as they wait for Him, strengthened in the light of His revelations to them. What do you think?
Rejoice, O ye gentiles, with His people: for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to His people. (Deut 32:43, Rom 15:10)
If I was forced to choose, I would side with Gill who simply comments that the disciples’ questioning indicated an understanding of the destruction of the temple, the coming of the Lord Jesus (not the 2nd coming), and the end of age (cessation of the Jewish economy) to be a concert of events that took place in AD 70. Christ closes a portion of His response with “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” The efforts of many notwithstanding who argue, against the clear consistency of Christ’s use of this language everywhere else, that this does not mean “the generation to whom Christ was speaking”, these words of Christ stamp the passage with near fulfillment within the lifetime of His audience.
