Sunday Evening 08-24-14

1. Jesus is coming soon?
Matthew 24:1-22
Maud church of Christ
By Jim Bradshaw
Sunday Evening, August 24,
2014

2. Jesus is coming soon?
When is soon?
Will there be signs?
How many times will he return?

5. Revelation 22:20 ESV He who
testifies to these things says,
"Surely I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

6. Jesus is coming soon!
• His own disciples asked similar questions.
• Matthew 24:1-2 sets the context.
• The disciples will ask three separate questions.
Matthew 24:3 NKJV Now as He sat on the Mount of
Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell
us, when will these things be? And what will be the
sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

7. When Will These Things Be?
1. Exactly what are these things?
Matthew 24:1-2 NKJV Then Jesus went out and
departed from the temple, and His disciples
came up to show Him the buildings of the
temple. (2) And Jesus said to them, "Do you
not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you,
not one stone shall be left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.”

8. When Will These Things Be?
1. Exactly what are these things?
– We are talking about the destruction of the
temple.
– By implication we are also talking about the
destruction of Jerusalem.
– It does not matter what may have been on the
disciples minds.
– The Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in AD
70 by the Romans under the command of Titus.

9. Some stones were 70’ long x 12’ high x 18’ deep

10. Was the prophecy accurate?

11. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 NKJV And Jesus answered
and said to them: "Take heed that no one
deceives you. (5) For many will come in My
name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive
many. (6) And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled;
for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet. (7) For nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And
there will be famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places. (8) All these are
the beginning of sorrows.

12. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (9) "Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and
you will be hated by all nations for My name's
sake. (10) And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, and will hate one
another. (11) Then many false prophets will
rise up and deceive many. (12) And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will
grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the end
shall be saved. (14) And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in all the world as a
witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come.

13. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (15) "Therefore when
you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,'
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the
holy place" (whoever reads, let him
understand), (16) "then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains. (17) Let him who
is on the housetop not go down to take anything
out of his house. (18) And let him who is in
the field not go back to get his clothes. (19)
But woe to those who are pregnant and to
those who are nursing babies in those days!

14. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 24:4-22 continued (20) And pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on the
Sabbath. (21) For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be. (22) And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect's sake those days will be shortened.

15. The Destruction of Jerusalem
2. Remember we are talking about the
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in
70 AD.
Matthew 24:34 NKJV Assuredly, I say to you,
this generation will by no means pass away till
all these things take place.

16. What is a generation?
Joseph Henry Thayer defines the
Greek word for “generation” as the
whole multitude of men living at
the same time: Mt. xxiv. 34; Mk. xiii.
30; Lk. i. 48 xxi. 32 OR an age (i.e.
the time ordinarily occupied by
each successive generation), the
space of from 30 to 33 years"
(Greek-English Lexicon Of The New
Testament).

17. What is a generation?
W. E. Vine says the word is "connected
with ginomai, to become, primarily
signifies a begetting, or birth; or the
whole multitude of men living at the
same time, Matt. 24:34; Mark 13:30;
Luke 1:48; 21:32 Transferred from
people to the time in which they lived,
the word came to mean an age, i.e., a
period ordinarily occupied by each
successive generations, say, of thirty or
forty years" (Vine's Expository Dictionary
Of Biblical Words).

18. Jesus is Coming Soon
Matthew 23:36-38 NKJV Assuredly, I say to
you, all these things will come upon this
generation. (37) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the
one who kills the prophets and stones those who
are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing! (38) See! Your house is left to you
desolate;

19. The Destruction of Jerusalem
2. Remember we are talking about the
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in
70 AD.
a) Matthew 24:34
b) A generation means that the event would
happen within the disciples normal lifetime
expectancy.

20. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
a) False Christ’s and false prophets
1) Josephus claimed that, "there was an Egyptian false
prophet that did the Jews more mischief than the former;
for he was a cheat, and pretended to be a prophet also,
and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded
by him; these he led round from the wilderness to the
mount which was called the Mount of Olives, and was
ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place."
(The Wars Of The Jews, 2:3:5).

21. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
a) False Christ’s and false prophets
2) Josephus also wrote: "Now it came to pass, while Fadus
was procurator of Judea, that a certain magician, whose
name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people
to take their efforts with them, and follow him to the river
Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he
would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford
them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by
his words." (The Antiquities Of The Jews, 20:5:1).

22. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
b) Wars and Rumor of Wars
1) Tacitus, a Roman historian, said of this period: "The history
on which I am entering is that of a period rich in disasters,
terrible with battles, torn by civil struggles, horrible even in
peace. Four emperors fell by the sword; there were three
civil wars, more foreign wars, and often both at the same
time." (The Histories, 1:2).

23. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
c) Famines & Pestilences –
Acts 11:28 NKJV Then one of them, named Agabus,
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was
going to be a great famine throughout all the world,
which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

24. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
d) Earthquakes
1) J. Marcellus Kik said, "And as to earthquakes, many are
mentioned by writers during a period just previous to 70
A.D. There were earthquakes in Crete, Smyrna, Miletus,
Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colosse, Campania,
Rome, and Judea. It is interesting to note that the city of
Pompeii was much damaged by an earthquake occurring
on February 5, 63 A.D." (An Eschatology Of Victory, p. 93).

25. Was the Prophecy True?
3. Were there false Christ's, wars, famines &
pestilences, earthquakes, and was the Gospel
preached to all nations?
e) Was the Gospel of the kingdom preached throughout
the whole world?
1) Colossians 1:23 NKJV if indeed you continue in the faith,
grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the
hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached
to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a
minister.

26. God’s Word is True
4. An Unlikely Prophecy
a) The prophecy of Christ reinforces a previous
prophecy of Daniel (Abomination of Desolation);
Daniel 9:27, 12:11
b) No Roman ever gave the order to destroy Jerusalem
or the temple
c) Why overturn all the stones?
d) Was it really the greatest tribulations ever faced?
Matthew 24:21

27. Gates to city were closed on the Sabbath; Neh. 13:19
Although 1.1 million Jews died in the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 AD, NOT A SINGLE CHRISTIAN
PERISHED DURING THAT HORRIBLE SEIGE.

28. What does this mean to us?
5. We can rely on God’s Word
a) 2 Timothy 3:16
b) Jesus will return one day
1) Matthew 24:36 NKJV "But of that
day and hour no one knows, not
even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only.
c) What kind of life should we live?

29. Jesus is Coming Soon
2 Peter 3:10-12 NKJV (10) But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great
noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all
these things will be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the
heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat?

30. Jesus is Coming Soon
2 Peter 3:14 NKJV Therefore, beloved, looking
forward to these things, be diligent to be found
by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;