Lets read Matthew 23:29-39. Matthew 24:1-51
I believe the disciples knew exactly what was going on in the destruction of Jerusalem. They had great knowledge of the bible. Many believe yes the destruction of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD but most claim that the second coming could not have happened because of the events of that magnitude would place Christ return at the end of the world.
I want to remind you that the same terminology was used in the destruction of the first temple. The temple destroyed in 586 BC the disciples knew that as history. To prove it further, according to Jeremiah chapter 9 they had four feast days to celebrate it. Another point is the disciples knew the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was called the day of the Lord. So now, the coming of the Lord or the day of the lord did not mean it was the end of time. The disciples knew the temple in 70 AD would be destroyed as it was the first time. Did the world come to an end? Now, can we show scripture that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC was destroyed? Can we show it was the destruction of "heaven and earth"? and the Day of the Lord. The answer to these is YES! Now if we can prove this to be true then you would have to agree that the disciples were not ignorant right? Good! then it would prove many preachers wrong.
Mat 24:3 When the disciples asked Jesus "when are these things going to happen" Jesus answered as if they should know. And they did as we will prove later. He said "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."
Did the disciples think at Jesus second coming the world would end? No. They had history from the past coming of the Lord in not just the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, but other coming as we will cover later. The disciples knew when God appeared, the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC was the destruction of heaven and earth.
Jesus did not come to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill. He lived in the old covenant. He believed in it and wanted to fulfill it. The old covenant meant everything to him. That meant His ministry is based on the old covenant. When we look at Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. We can look to the O.T. and find the meaning of "Heaven and earth." It turns out the same terminology is use not just in the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC its used in many places. That same language was used in the fall of Babylon, Isaiah 13. And the fall of Egypt, Isaiah 19. Jeremiah 4 tells us about the destruction of Jerusalem. in 586 BC. We see the sounding of the trumpet, the gathering, and do not delay. Notice in verse 13 "he shall come up like clouds." notice clouds, dust and whirlwind. Jeremiah 4:23-27 shows similar language as in the destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD in Jeremiah 4, We see that the heavens and the earth were destroyed at the presence of the Lord. And guess what, It was coming shortly with out delay. The disciples knew this had happened. They were aware of God coming on the clouds and dust and fire. Did the world come to and end? No Did the Lord appear physically? No.
When Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and His second coming, Many Christians believe that's when the world will end. But that's not what the bible tells us. Let' ask the disciples a few questions based on what we've discussed so far.
Do you know that the Jerusalem Temple had been destroyed before? Yes
Do you know that the destruction was not the end of time? Yes
Do you know that the destruction was heaven and earth? Yes
Do you know that the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was called the "Day of The Lord?" Yes
Do you know that the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was the presence of the Lord? Yes
Let's read Ezekiel 7:1-20 Notice all the times it says "The end has come" ,"The time has come" "Time is near" The context is clear, it's about the fall of Jerusalem the destruction of the temple that occurred in 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar. This all proves "at hand" means very quickly. Not some 2,000 years in the future.
Zephaniah 1 it mentions The Day of The Lord 7 times and its about the the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of 586 BC. Notice the Day of the Lord is at hand. Also we have the "shout", the "trumpet", "clouds", "fire". Does this all sound familiar?
Let's ask a question. Where did the disciples get the idea the Christ was coming? How would they have known He was coming before Jesus told them He was. There is no passage in Matthew Mark Luke or John describing Jesus return prior to the disciples asking the question. Did the disciples know that the Lord would be coming out of Heaven on the clouds with the sound of the trumpet, in flaming fire, with the angels, and heaven and earth being destroyed, Yes they knew that. Also keep in mind Jesus said he would come in the glory of the Father. And How did the Father come? well he come out of heaven he came on the clouds but he never came literally visibly or bodily
Isaiah 19 was written in 712 BC. The Lord rides on a cloud and came into Egypt. Is that the Day of the Lord coming on the clouds? Yes it is. In Isaiah 20 written in 711 BC, We have God riding on the clouds to destroy Egypt. This is the nature of the coming of the Lord.
Isaiah 13 written 701 BC. It was written before Babylon became great in power. God the Father is ready to destroy Babylon. In this symbolic description we are able to see the large army surrounding the Babylonians. The walls of Babylon were 100 feet thick. Babylon was considered to be non destructible. The the Lord said the day is at hand. The destruction would come from the almighty. It goes on to describe the pains and sorrow as a women in child birth ect. What did Jesus say in Matthew 24:8 all those things to happen, were birth pains of the coming destruction of 70 AD. As we read on in verse 10 notice the stars of heaven give no light. And the sun will be darkened the moon will give no light. I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity. Where have we heard this before? Many think this is the end of the world. is it? of course not. This all happened to Babylon and obviously the world didn't end. Again here is the destruction of the heaven and earth. Let's see, Jesus said he was going to come on the clouds of heaven, the sun would be darkened and the moon would turn to blood, at His coming. Again, behold the day of the lord in at hand as were told in verse 6. Does at hand sound like 2,000 years in this coming? NO! within 15 years the Assyrians destroyed Babylon!
All of this is the disciples background knowledge. They knew Jesus was coming to destroy Jerusalem and its temple. They did not expect the world to come to an end. They went on preaching about the kingdom. It is here, we live in it now. Every time the Lord has come, has been in a non visible body form.
Before we move on lets ask ourselves this, Where would the Apostles ever get the idea that Jesus would return in bodily form and then the world would come to an end? This is a very simple question to answer because they wouldn't have. This is not what they were taught. Today's Christians think Jesus will return and the world will end. Friends, I hope you take the time to study this. Nowhere in the entire bible does it teach this. In fact they believe that because that's what religion has taught them. They figure if the sun will not show light, the moon is turning red, God will shake the earth and we're to live in a time of trouble. To them it sounds like Jesus would return and the world would end. Let's review this, The presence of the Lord is the Father and now Jesus acting in judgment like in the old testament. He never came literally, visible or bodily. He always used one nation to judge another. When He did this, it is said that He came. That He came on the clouds of Heaven, He came in flaming fire. He came with the angles. He came with a shout.
Bible evidence shows we are NOT in the last days. In fact the last days is in reference to the old covenant not the end of the world. And the Christian age is the new covenant and the Christian age has no end. Do you know that there is no teaching in the bible, that the earth or universe will end?
Isaiah 34 In this symbolic story we can conclude that Edom was destroyed. We cannot take any of this literally. If we did, we would see God's sword literally coming down from heaven and destroying Edom. It turns out God had Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroy Edom. See Ezekiel 25, Jeremiah 25 and Malachi 1 for fulfillment.
Let's review what we have learned so far. The Apostles understood that God predicted the fall of Babylon using the Assyrians. He said is was the Day of the Lord, He said it would be the time when heaven and earth would be destroyed, The Lord predicted His coming on the clouds of heaven when Egypt would be destroyed. And it was fulfilled. The Lord predicted the destruction of Edom and used Nebuchadnezzar to do it. It was accomplished.
In Ezekiel 30 we see the Day of the Lord destroying Egypt using the Babylonians. In the destruction of Egypt we see the coming of the Lord. We do not see a literal sword from God. So why do some take Matthew 24 to be literal and the end of the world at Jesus coming?
There are many more passages that show the Lords coming but we do not need to show all of them to prove that. When The Lord came, He did not come literally, visibly or bodily. I believe the Apostles were right in their thinking knowing when the fall of Jerusalem took place, that Jesus would return and the end of the age (old covenant) would finally end. In fact Jesus asked His Disciples if they understood what he had said. What did they say? Yes. They understood.
I can tell you that most commentators, pastors/preachers in this world today are confused, wrong and ignorant! We just proved it? Who are we to believe, today's commentators or the Disciples? The Disciples answered Jesus Yes! they understood. Who do we trust? I'm choosing the Disciples. The people that say it was the Disciples that were confused, make themselves out to be the ignorant!