Matthew 24:3, "...And what will be the sign of
Your coming..."
The Greek word for "coming" is "parousia." This Greek word means "arrival or
presence," it does not mean "return." The bible never speaks of a
future physical return of Christ. Other than the Tanakh, the disciples
knew of one "parousia" the destruction of Jerusalem.
"The day of the Lord" was never referred to a physical, literal return of the
Lord. "The day of the Lord" has always referred to the Lord's judgment upon a
city or nation of people. It refers to a destruction from God Almighty: "The day
of the Lord" and "the Lord riding on a swift cloud refers to judgment.
Joel 1:15; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 2:1-3; Jeremiah 46:2,10;
Isaiah 19:1; Ezekiel 30:3-4 - Destruction of
Egypt, fulfilled in 480 BC
Isaiah 13:1,6-9 - Destruction of Babylon, fulfilled in 539 BC
Zephaniah 1:4,7,14-15 -Destruction of Jerusalem, fulfilled in 586 BC
Amos 5:18-20 - Destruction of Israel, fulfilled in 722 BC
When we read of "the day of the Lord" it can only refer to God's judgment upon a
nation of people. And in the New Testament, it refers to the destruction
of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 A.D.
Matthew 21:43 and Matthew 22:7 is reference to Jerusalem's destruction, which
happened in that generation in 70 AD
Matthew 23:23-39 - Jesus continues to warn them
of a coming judgment because of their rejection of the Messiah
Matthew 23:36-38 all these things will come upon this generation. The word
"house" refers to Jerusalem and the temple .
Matthew 24:3 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?"
what exactly are the disciples asking?
The Mount of Olives was east of Jerusalem, about a mile away It is about a mile
in length and about 700 feet in height, and overlooks Jerusalem. The walk
was up hill and would have taken about 15-30 minutes. Bu ton the way I'm
sure the disciples were thinking about what Jesus just told them about the
temple's destruction and how their house would be left desolate. The
disciples questioned Jesus about the temple's destruction. First they ask,
"when will these things be?"
Matthew 24:3, "Tell us, when shall these things be?..."
Mark 13:4, "Tell us, when shall these things be?..."
Luke 21:7, "So they asked Him, saying, Teacher, but when shall these
things be?..."
The "these things" refer to the temple's destruction in verse 2 (Matthew 24). In
verse 1 the disciples point out the temple buildings to Jesus. In verse 2, Jesus
says, "All these things shall be destroyed." It should be clear that they are
asking, "When will the temple be destroyed? When will our house be left
desolate?" After all, Jesus had just talked about judgment on Jerusalem, and
then about not one stone not being left upon another, the disciples' response
is, "When?" That makes sense, right?
The second part of their question is, "What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" To help us understand the question, we need to compare all three synoptic gospels, comparing scripture with scripture
Matthew 24:3, "...And what will be the sign of
Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
Mark 13:4, "...And what shall be the sign when all these things should be
fulfilled?"
Luke 21:7, "...And what sign shall there be when these things are about to take
place?"
Comparing all three accounts shows us that the disciples considered "Your
coming" and "the end of the age" (the old covenant age) to be identical events
with "these things." Remember, "these things." referred to the destruction of
the temple.
Mark 13:4 "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when
all these things will be fulfilled?"
The first part of the verse they say, "When will these things be?", referring to
the temples' destruction. Then in the second half, they ask, "What will be the
sign when all these things be fulfilled?" The sign of His coming and the end of
age was the same as the "these things," which referred to the destruction of
Jerusalem in the year AD 70. These are not separate questions that can be
divided up into different time events. The disciples had one thing, and only one
thing, on their mind and that was the destruction of the temple. With the
destruction of the temple, they understood that the coming of the Lord and the
end of the old covenant age was determined by when that event occurred.
Notice that the disciples did not ask about the dissolution of the physical
heaven and earth or the judgment of the "world" (kosmos), but about the end of
the "age" (aion). The Disciples asked Jesus when the temple would be torn down.
They could not possible have been asking Jesus about his physical second coming,
because of these three undisputed facts:
Fact #1:
The Disciples did not understand that Jesus was going to die the first time
(John 12:34; 16:16-18; 20:9, Mark 9:10,31-32, Luke 9:44-45; 18:31-34). And if
the apostles had no idea that Jesus would physically leave them, why would they
ask him about his physical return? Return from what? Therefore, the disciples
could not have been asking about a future return of Christ, because they had no
idea that he was leaving!
Fact #2:
The disciples believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Matthew 16:15-16).
The people living in the first century believed that Messiah would come and rule
physically, having no idea of Him coming, then leaving, then coming again (John
12:34). The disciples expected Jesus to be their physical King and set up a
worldly Kingdom at his first coming (John 6:15, Luke 19:11; 24:21), not at his
"second coming." Even after the crucifixion, they still had no concept about his
"second coming," because they still thought he was going to give them the
Kingdom at that time (Acts 1:6).
Fact #3:
Jesus talked to them about his death and going to the Father, but the apostles
did not understand it at all (Matthew 16:21-22, Mark 8:31-32; 9:31-32, Luke
9:44-45; 18:31-34, John 13:33-14:6; 16:16-18). This account in John takes place
after he had given them the Olivet discourse and they still didn't understand
that He was leaving them. The disciples could not grasp that Jesus was going to
die, and be resurrected from the dead, and acsend to the Father! Even after the
crucifixion, they still didn't understand that Jesus was going to rise from the
dead (John 20:8-9). If they did not understand that Jesus was going to return
(from the dead) the first time, how they have any concept that Jesus was going
to return (from heaven) a second time?
If the disciples had no idea that Jesus was going to leave them, how could they
ask Him about His return? The disciples could not have asked a question about
something they knew nothing about! They didn't understand anything about a
second coming. The fact is, the disciples believed "the coming of the Lord" or
"the day of the Lord" would be the coming judgment upon, and the destruction of,
Jerusalem and the Temple. This is the same meaning (destruction of nation) as
used throughout the old testament scripture.
Did Jesus answer the apostles question as to when the temple would be destroyed,
and when "these things" would be fulfilled? Yes, he did! He answered it twice in
the same conversation:
Matthew 23:36, "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation.
Matthew 24:34, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled."
Yes, Jesus said "these things" (the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple)
would happen within the generation of the people then living.
These prophesies are not specific as to the day
or the hour, but they do give a definite generational time-frame. And, sure
enough, God's Word is true, and it did happen just when Jesus said it would
happen, within 40 years (a generation) of Jesus making these prophesies! It
happened in 70 A.D.
Matthew 16:27-28, Jesus said that some of His disciples, who were standing right
there in front of Him, would not die until they have seen the Son of man coming
in His kingdom. And the apostle John is one of these apostles who lived to see
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The apostles wrote in scripture that they expected Christ's coming (Parousia) to
happen within their own lifetime. This fact is indisputable, and easily proven
from scripture. Those who believe the "second coming" of Christ is still future
must also believe that the apostles were wrong. Why? Because "all scripture is
given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). The apostles did not write their
opinions, but they wrote "as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).
If the apostles were wrong, one cannot avoid the conclusion that scripture is
wrong. And if scripture is wrong, and Jesus did not come in His kingdom when he
said He would, that means the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all the
apostles were either wrong, or they lied (Numbers 23:19).
So, we have a choice. We must believe that the Word of God is Truth and Jesus
came when He said He would, or we must believe the teachings of men's philosophy
is truth and Jesus will physically return sometime in the future. Both cannot be
true. And if scripture is wrong about the timing of Christ's coming, what other
parts of scripture are wrong and untrue?
"Futurists" make the same mistake that the Jews who crucified Christ made
- they
were not satisfied with a spiritual kingdom; they had to have a literal,
worldly, physical kingdom. That's why they rejected Christ's "first coming." We
hope and pray that you do not make the same mistake about his so-called "second
coming" and reject the fulfillment of the coming of His Kingdom that came in 70
A.D. Glory be to God, His Kingdom is here now! If not, what kingdom is He the
King of kings of?
Adapted in part from Richard Anthony