Return of Jesus to the Earth
Matthew 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21
1. Context of Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21
A. In AD 33:Jesus & His disciples are on the Mount of Olives - looking down on the Temple.
B. The disciples said what a beautiful building the Temple was.
C. Jesus then told them that the Temple would be destroyed.
2. This shocked the disciples
They thought the Temple:
Was permanent.
Would only be destroyed when this Earth is destroyed - at the end of this age.
The disciples did NOT YET understand that Jesus would REPLACE their need for the Temple:
John 2:19-22
19Jesus answered and said unto them (= the Jews making money by buying & selling in the Temple), Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this Temple in building, and wilt thou rear (= raise) it up in three days?
21But He spake of the Temple of His body.
22When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
--> Only after Jesus' resurrection, did His disciples understand that Jesus would replace the Temple - as the only way to be reconciled with God.
--> So when Jesus was speaking to His disciples on the Mount of Olives - they DID NOT YET UNDERSTAND that this was going to happen.
Further reading
Matthew 12:6
3. What did Jesus say on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21?
Jesus described & compared what would happen when:
A. The Romans destroyed the Temple in AD 70 - for us, this is past history.
B. Jesus returns to Earth at the end of this age - this has yet to happen.
A. & B. follow a similar pattern - although:
A. Only applied to the Jews in Jerusalem - in AD 70.
B. Will apply to everyone living on Earth - when Jesus returns.
--> So we need to learn what happened in AD 70.
Q - How?
A - By studying Flavius Josephus' book ‘The Jewish War’:
Written in AD 75.
Relevant sections summarised below.
Easy to obtain, and well worth reading in full.
4. What happened in the lead-up to AD 70?
Following the death of King Herod the Great in AD 4, a series of brutal & corrupt Roman governors ruled the land.
In AD 66 - Florus slew 3,600 Jewish worshippers, and stole 17 talents from the Temple treasury in Jerusalem ‘for the Emperor’.
This sparked a revolt - a Jewish mob massacred the Roman garrison and took their war machines.
A political / religious group - the Zealots - rebelled against the Roman forces, believing that God would intervene and send their Messiah.
The Romans sent one Legion from Syria to besiege Jerusalem, but as the Roman soldiers were about to break into the city - their commander Cestius inexplicably ordered them to retreat.
Many Christians obeyed the warnings of Jesus (which we’ll look at later) and took this unexpected opportunity to flee to Pella (a Gentile city in modern-day Jordan).
The Roman general Vespasian then arrived with four Legions to defeat the Jews.
During this fighting, Vespasian succeeded Nero as Roman Emperor - so left Judea to go to Rome.
Vespasian handed over the campaign to his son Titus, who besieged Jerusalem.
5. What happened inside Jerusalem - just before and during the long Roman siege?
Sexual perversion:
Lots of homosexual behaviour.
Some men dressed as women.
Like at Sodom & Gomorrah - just before God destroyed them.
Violence by Jewish militias:
Murder
Rape
Looting
Famine:
People fought for food - even within their own families.
Militias tortured fellow Jews in disgusting ways - to force them to disclose where they’d hidden food.
There’s an account of a mother eating her own baby, because of her own hunger.
Abominations in the Temple:
Animal sacrifices were stopped, because of the food shortage - but stopping the sacrifices was an abomination to the Jews.
Melted down the sacred vessels.
Appointed ungodly men as High Priests.
A violent earthquake.
Signs in the sky:
A comet which could be seen for a whole year.
A bright light - like daylight - which lit up the Temple between 0300 & 0330.
A star which looked like a sword - hung over Jerusalem.
--> So the conditions were APPALLING.
6. Before Titus finally attacked Jerusalem - he offered people mercy
Titus said the Jews could leave Jerusalem - right up until the final attack.
Jesus prophesied about this in His warning - ‘Flee to the mountains’ (which we’ll look at later).
This was the equivalent of someone with perfect foresight: warning European Jews in the 1930’s that they must flee the forthcoming Holocaust.
But most Jews did not take this opportunity to escape.
This is a prophetic picture of how God offers mercy to people:
He warns everyone and doesn’t want anyone to go to hell.
But some people are too stubborn to accept His mercy.
7. When the Roman legions attacked and broke through the city walls
... they showed no mercy and killed everyone:
1.1m Jews were killed in just a few weeks - including those hiding in the sewers (mutilated skeletons have been excavated in the ancient Jerusalem sewers).
The population of Jerusalem was far higher than usual - because hundreds of thousands of Jews had come up for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
This was a massive genocide. The Romans killed a higher percentage of Jews than Hitler did during the Holocaust.
The Romans burnt the Temple, then tore it down - its massive stones can still be seen in Jerusalem, where they fell.
8. Because this would be such a massive disaster ...
... Jesus went to great lengths to warn the Jews about what would happen in AD 70 - which was only 37 years in the future.
Therefore MUCH of Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21 is about AD 70.
But Jesus then LINKS:
What would happen in AD 70
to
What will happen when He returns to the Earth
… because the events follow a SIMILAR PATTERN.
9. Comparison of what happened in AD 70 with the return of Jesus to the Earth
A. What do people put their trust in?
AD 70 - Jerusalem & its walls.
Now - This world & its systems.
B. Total destruction of:
Jerusalem - by Titus.
This world & its systems - by God.
C. Obeying Jesus' commands leads to safety:
AD 70 - Only those who obeyed Jesus' command were saved: they fled to the hills of Judea.
When Jesus returns to the Earth - Only those who obeyed Jesus' command will be saved: by accepting His sacrifice for them on the cross.
Let’s now look at what Jesus said: in Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21.
10. Luke
We’ll start with Luke - because out of the four gospel writers, Luke often gives the fullest account of events.
Luke 19
Verses 41-43
41And when He (= Jesus) was come near, He beheld the city (= Jerusalem) and wept over it,
42Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace (= which would bring you peace)! But now they are hid from thine eyes.
43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench (= build up an embankment) about thee,
and compass thee round (= surround), and keep thee in on every side,
--> Jesus gave a clear warning about the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70
Verse 44
44And shall lay thee even with the ground (= dash you down), and thy children within thee;
and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
--> Jesus said that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
If God SAYS that something’s going to happen --> it WILL happen:
Unlike the uncertainty of a weather forecast e.g. ‘probably sunny’.
Jesus’ words were exactly fulfilled in AD 70
Luke 21
Jesus is speaking to His disciples on the Mount of Olives, which overlooked the Temple.
Verses 5-7
5And as some spake of the Temple, how it was adorned with goodly (= beautiful) stones and gifts, He said,
6As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
7And they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?
--> The disciples asked Jesus two questions:
A. When will the Temple be destroyed?
B. What sign will lead up to this?
Notice that:
In Luke 21 - the disciples did not ask about the end of the age.
Nor did they ask about the end of the age in Mark 13 (as we'll see later).
Only in Matthew 24 (which we’ll look at later) was it recorded that they asked about the end of the age.
Verse 8
8And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Most Jews were looking for a military messiah - to deliver them from Roman occupation (Messiah in Hebrew = Christ in Greek).
There WOULD be false, Jewish, self-proclaimed messiahs - here are FIVE:
Before AD 70
AD 44 - Theudas tried to divide the River Jordan, to prove his calling as the messiah.
AD 54 - ‘The Egyptian prophet’:
Was followed by 30,000 disciples.
Tried to split the Mount of Olives (to fulfil Zechariah 14:4).
After AD 70
Bar Kochba in AD 132-135: many Jews - including one of the leading Rabbis - believed that Bar Kochba was the Jewish messiah.
In the 5th century - ‘Moses of Crete’ wanted to part the Mediterranean Sea, so the Jews could pass over to Zion on dry ground.
Rabbi Shabbetai Zevi in the 17th century:
He and many Jews believed that he was the messiah, and he gathered a large following around himself.
He taught many heresies - which misled people.
The rulers of the Ottoman Empire gave him the choice of execution or converting to Islam, and he converted to Islam in 1666
--> So Jesus NEEDED to give this warning about false messiahs.
Verses 9-10
9But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by (= will not come immediately).
10Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Nation = Singular = probably referring to the Jews fighting the Romans in AD 66 - 70.
But Jesus said (verse 9) that this, and other wars, would not = the end of this age.
Verse 11
11And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,
and famines,
and pestilences (= plagues: malignant and contagious or infectious epidemic diseases, which are deadly & devastating);
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from Heaven.
--> These things happened in AD 70 (as we saw earlier), as well as in more recent times.
Verse 12
12But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
--> This was fulfilled / recorded in the book of Acts (as were the other persecutions described in verses 13-19).
Verse 20
20And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed (= surrounded) with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
--> Jesus said Jerusalem would be:
A. Surrounded by armies.
B. Shortly afterwards - destroyed.
This is EXACTLY what happened 37 years later - in AD 70.
So we can trust that what Jesus says - WILL come to pass!
Verse 21
21Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out;
and let not them that are in the countries (= out in the country) enter thereinto.
--> When Jesus said JUDEA - He can ONLY be talking about Jerusalem & the surrounding area:
Jesus warned the Jews to flee to the mountains - away from the Roman army.
The Jews who obeyed Jesus, were saved from the slaughter.
According to 'The Church History' by Eusebius (Bishop of Caesarea in the 4th century) - the early church heeded Jesus’ warning and fled to Pella (in modern-day Jordan).
The Bible is not a theoretical book, but our practical safety manual!
Verse 22
22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
--> If something is prophesied in the Bible --> it’s GOING TO HAPPEN:
Jesus’ prophecy about what would happen to the Jews in Judea in AD 70 was fulfilled.
And so will Jesus' prophecy about His return to the Earth.
Verse 23
23But woe unto them that are with child (= pregnant women), and to them that give suck (= nursing mothers), in those days!
For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
--> Jesus was talking about ONE group of people in ONE land = the Jews living in the land of Judea.
Verse 24a
24aAnd they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations …
This is exactly what happened.
The Jews were dispersed around the Roman Empire & elsewhere as slaves - particularly after their second revolt against the Romans in AD 132-135
Further reading about the dispersal of the Jews
‘Israel’ message on WholeCounselofGod.com
Verse 24b
… 24band Jerusalem shall be trodden down of (= by) the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Jerusalem was occupied by Gentiles (= non-Jews) until 1967.
Israel's recapture of the whole of Jerusalem in 1967 (during the six-day war) was a key milestone in God’s plan for mankind.
So Jesus now switches to talking about what would happen at the end of this age:
After the key milestone of 1967 (when Israeli Jews recaptured the whole of Jerusalem).
In the time leading up to His return to Earth.
Verses 25-26
25And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the Earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken.
#1 Nations = Plural = No longer talking about just the singular Jewish nation.
#2 On the Earth = No longer talking about events only in the land of Judea.
So Jesus is NOW talking about what will happen to the whole earth, at the end of this age.
#3 Distress caused by: violent storms, tsunamis, waterspouts etc. from / in the sea.
Further reading
Psalm 46:1-3
#4 Fear of what is happening e.g. because of: instability, pandemics, 'climate change' & other disasters.
Verses 27-31
27And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (= near).
29And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
30When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
--> As Believers, we should NOT BE SCARED by what’s happening on the Earth:
Q - Who’s causing these events?
A - God. And we’re on God’s side!
--> Instead of being scared, we should:
Look up ↑ towards God.
Understand that we’re near to the time when Jesus will come back to Earth. Which for us is very good news!
Further reading
Psalm 112:7
Verses 32-33
32Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33Heaven and Earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away.
--> 'This generation' = The generation when verses 25-31 happen in world history.
--> These events occur immediately before the end of this age (as Jesus also said in verse 31).
Verses 34-35
34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (= over-burdened / weighed down) with surfeiting (= debauchery / self-indulgence),
and drunkenness, and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares.
35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth.
Animals never expect a snare = When Jesus comes back: it will be totally unexpected for unbelievers.
Like: 9/11, earthquakes, tsunamis, Covid-19 etc. were totally unexpected.
But by the signs we looked at earlier - Jesus is telling Believers that He's coming back soon.
So that we can get ready.
Verse 36
36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
--> So as Believers, we:
A. Don't escape living through the uncomfortable warning signs that the end of this age is near (the signs which God is sending - to give people a last chance to turn to Him).
B. Will escape the final judgement of God, as He pours out His wrath on the sin in the world.
We're worthy to escape, because we were made righteous in God's eyes when we accepted that the blood of Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
11. Mark 13
Mark 13 is very similar to Luke 21 - so we’ll only look at a few verses.
The first few verses are clearly about the Temple & what would happen at Jerusalem in AD 70:
Verses 1-2
1And as He went out of the Temple, one of His disciples saith unto Him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
--> They were discussing the Temple & the buildings in Jerusalem.
Verses 3-4
3And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives over against (= opposite) the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,
4Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
The disciples asked when the Temple would be destroyed & what would be the sign leading up to this.
As in Luke - Mark does not record that the disciples asked Jesus about: His return to Earth / the end of this age.
Verse 10
10And the gospel must first be published among all nations (= Gentile / non-Jewish people).
--> This started in the Book of Acts (i.e. before AD 70):
Paul & other disciples took the gospel to the non-Jewish nations / people.
This would be a hugely significant change - because until Jesus died on the Cross, God was only in covenant relationship with the descendants of: Abraham, Isaac & Jacob i.e. the Jews.
Further reading
Matthew 12:17-21
Verse 14
14But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,)
then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains.
We read earlier about the abominations which took place in the Temple in AD 70.
‘In Judea’ can only mean Jerusalem & the surrounding area.
Q - So who was Jesus warning?
A - The Jews living in & near Jerusalem.
Q - What was He warning them about?
A - The awful events which would happen 37 years later: in AD 70.
Verses 15-18
15And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take anything out of his house:
16And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
--> Jesus was warning the Jews to flee Jerusalem in AD 70, before it was too late.
--> As we saw earlier - this was the worst event to happen to the Jews (in terms of the percentage killed - even worse than the Holocaust).
12. Matthew 24
Matthew’s account is similar to Luke 21 & Mark 13 - but with one significant difference:
Verses 1-2
1And Jesus went out, and departed from the Temple: and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the Temple.
2And 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.
Q - What was Jesus talking about?
A - The destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
Verse 3
3And 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?
--> Only Matthew recorded that the disciples asked Jesus about His return to the Earth / the end of this world.
--> Maybe God only recorded this in 1/3 of the gospel accounts, to highlight that MOST of what Jesus said was about the events of AD 70.
13. Let's imagine that we're Jesus' disciples on the Mount of Olives in AD 33
A. We believe that the only way to have fellowship with God is in the Temple.
Further reading
Matthew 23:17 & 21
B. Which is exactly what we’re now looking at.
C. We have no idea that Jesus is soon going to die on the cross.
Nor that God's New Covenant will replace His Old Covenant, with its Temple sacrifices.
D. So we think that the Temple is permanent, and will not be destroyed until the end of this age.
Not destroyed during a separate catastrophe in AD 70.
So we ask Jesus our TWO LINKED-QUESTIONS in the same sentence:
#1 When will the Temple be destroyed?
#2 What will be the sign of the end of this world?
... because we WRONGLY ASSUME they’ll happen at the SAME TIME!
But Jesus replies cleverly - COMBINING his warnings about:
A. What will happen in AD 70.
B. The end of this world - which will happen much later.
Back to main message about:
(Continue at Section 8)