177 - End of the Age 1/6 - overview

You pick up your Bible and wonder, is there more here than meets the eye?

Is there anything here for me? I mean, it's just words printed on paper, right? Well, it may look like just print on a page, but it's more than ink. Join us for the next half hour as we explore God's Word together, as we learn how to explore it on our own, as we ask God to meet us there in its pages.

Welcome to More Than Ink. Boy, lots of people throughout history have said Jesus is coming back on this particular date. Get ready. But it never happens, does it? No, he never showed up. No, but people ask that same question today. And the disciples asked it. That's right.

And Jesus does not answer their question. Instead, he gives them warnings. Let's hear those warnings today on More Than Ink. Well, good morning and welcome. We're so glad you've joined us. I'm Dorothy.

And I'm Jim. And we're sitting here at our dining room table, as we always are, just to talk with you and each other about what God's Word says. We have been talking about what Jesus said, the woes to the Pharisees. His confrontation with them. They were confrontive and powerful.

He called them some brutal names. And then at the end of last week's conversation, we read this lament, this tender lament over Jerusalem, how I long to gather you under my wings, but you weren't willing. And so we come to the part of the story where this reads like Jesus is leaving the temple for good, like we are just done.

As we come into chapter 24. And then the disciples are going to ask him some questions about, well, when is all that going to happen? Well, and it's worth pointing out, too, that when they came into Jerusalem at this Passion Week, almost everybody was expecting that Jesus was going to come in and do a big political, military, powerful takeover thing.

I mean, some really huge public justice thing that will affect the authority of the Romans, the authority of the bad leaders, the religious leaders. And now we're far enough into the week that I think it's dawning them that that's not going to happen this week. He had all these opportunities and all he's been doing is having these verbal fisticuffs with the Pharisees and it doesn't look like he's getting the upper hand and it doesn't look like he's taking over anything. So when we get to this passage today, I think Jesus is going to address the fact that they are realizing that maybe the coming of the Kingdom is in the future somehow. Maybe it's not today, maybe it's not this week, but it is coming soon, but it's not this week. And so that's why Jesus starts off on a very long section in Matthew talking about the second coming. What we call the second coming, he calls it basically the coming of the end of the age.

Right. And so that's what we're going to look at today. But I really, I'm intrigued by the way this chapter starts because in verse one it says, and this is right after the lament Matthew had included, Jesus left the temple and was going away. Going away. And the way that suddenly struck me was he is decisively turning his back on all of that confrontation. We're done here, right?

He's going away. When his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple, well, why would they do that? Maybe they were leaving sooner than they were ready. Like, well, Lord, we know there's still stuff we haven't seen yet, right?

Because Herod's temple was massive and huge and there had been tons of construction going on for years and years and years. So, okay. So in verse two, he answered them, you see all these, don't you?

Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. Wow. Oh, well it's brand new. Herod had just built it.

Well, in fact, there's still a couple of years left before he finished it. And those big limestone blocks that make up the temple, they're all gold coated as well. So, I mean, it's an impressive looking place.

And they're big, big blocks. Yes, yes. We were talking about this the other day, that you can still in Jerusalem see some of those stones that when the Romans came in in 70 AD and pushed them off the temple platform and they just left them where they fell. Left them where they crashed two or three stories down, yeah.

So Jesus predicts an utterly unthinkable thing for the apostles and for anyone who's standing around listening, that this is going to be all destroyed. Wow. So the reason that it was so completely one stone taken off another was because of the gold. Yeah, that's right. Because the soldiers would have wanted to claim all of that gold if they burned the temple and the gold melted down. Right, right. They would push the rocks apart to get the gold.

Yeah, yeah, right. And it was Rome's intention when this happened with Titus in 70 AD, Rome's intention was not just to, I don't know, discourage the Jews but actually to stop them as an ethnic group there. And so they figured if we get rid of the temple then they have no reason to stay in this region, they'll disperse and that'll be the end of the Jewish problem. Well and we know over the next couple of hundred years they systematically built their own stuff on top of the Jewish holy sites. The Romans did. The Romans did and obliterated them.

Right, right, right. So they're thinking the best way to scatter people is to get rid of their temple and that's what they do. Because there's a lot of work. It's a lot of work.

They didn't have bulldozers. But Jesus predicts us and I think the fact that there's no response it just stuns everybody because they're admiring this great edifice and Jesus says, well, pretty soon they'll all be taken down. Yeah. So that's a good introduction into the end of the age. So they've left the temple, they've crossed the Kidron Valley and they're headed for the Mount of Olives across the valley where you can turn back and look at the temple. Yeah, you get a good view of the temple.

I'll read you that. Okay, verse three, yeah. Verse three, we're in chapter 24 if we forgot to tell you. So as he sat on the Mount of Olives, like you're saying, you get a good view of the temple from the Mount of Olives.

It faces right there. The disciples came to him privately saying, well, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and they'll lead many astray. And you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you're not alarmed for this must take place. But the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Okay, stop. Yeah. So they're asking for a sign about this, the cataclysmic destruction of the temple for one thing.

What do we watch for? Yeah. But I think it's interesting what they link together in their question. They said, when will these things be, that's the destruction of the temple, the sign of your coming and the end of the age. They put all those together in one question. Well, it makes you think that perhaps Jesus had indicated somewhere along and Matthew didn't give us much of that or even an inkling of that and he gathered it all up here. So they had the idea that uh oh, it's not going to be right now. Yeah. And that's clear by how they're asking this question.

It's going to be somewhere in the future. But in answering, when they're asking for some clues, which is what we do today, we're looking for clues when Jesus will come back. He doesn't give them the signs, he gives them kind of non-signs. But what I love, and I think this is really important because we overlook this, he gives them two things, two times he says, see that, see that. Pay attention to this, that no one leads you astray and that you are not alarmed. Right? In verse six.

And in between he says some other things. Well, because people are going to claim to be Christ. Right. So be on your guard. They're not me.

Don't be misled and don't be afraid. Right. So he's not really answering their question about a sign, but he's saying, and by the time we get there, you need to be on your P's and Q's, you need to be on your tiptoes because you can be led astray in this period of time.

Because many will come and claim to be him. Right, right. And also when you hear about cataclysmic wars, wars going on, that's not the war at the end of time. I mean, there's going to be wars and rumors of wars. But rumors of wars.

Yeah, right. You know, nations, kingdoms, big famines, big earthquakes. I mean, cataclysms, tumult. Well, you would likely think this must be the end because this is about as bad as it can get. Well, and because it touches everything, right?

Political upheaval, social upheaval, geographic, geologic upheaval. Right, right. And to this day, many Christians, when they see gigantic things going down on the world stage, they say, maybe this is the end. Well, Jesus saying, no, no.

And that's not really the point for you to kind of guess when that's going to happen. Yeah. These are the labor pains, right? And any woman who's ever given birth knows labor can go on for a very long time. At the end of it, there's a baby.

Right. And that's, that's a big clue in eight. This is a, this is a progression that's going to be going on. You're going to be constantly having this progression of increasing painful cataclysms on the earth, but that's not the end yet.

That's just the beginning. It's almost like the earth itself is also in labor toward the day that the maker returns to touchdown. And that set me thinking, if you kind of track this idea of birth pains, again, you can do this using your concordance. I found myself in Romans eight, where Paul says, for we know in verse 22, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

All creation is waiting for this day when God will put everything right. And it's, it also speaks quite directly to the fact that it's going to be increasingly painful. Yes. And so, you know, those who expect that the world will get better before Jesus comes back, he's saying right here, actually, it won't. It'll get increasingly painful.

The other thing about labor is it's unstoppable. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

It's not only increasing in pain, it is on its own timetable and it is aiming for a goal. Right. So during this period, this progression period where Jesus is not giving him any signs about when the big end is going to be, but he's saying during this period, you're going to have to watch out. And that's what he, that's a, he picks up that admonition in verse nine. You want to read that?

Yeah. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. Okay. We have to stop there.

How many manys did you hear? It's almost like he just doesn't have enough words to emphasize the broad effect on so many people, on countless people. And it's a really wide ranging effect. Right, right. So we're not just talking about persecution of the apostles. We're talking about persecution and hatred for those who are just followers of Jesus.

Isn't that interesting? So somehow in his answer to the question, you know, when is this going to happen and what will be the signs? He goes from a kind of intertwining, well, before long, all these stones will be torn down, not one another. And then kind of he weaves in this much larger picture of the end of the age.

Of the progress toward the end of the age. Right. Yeah.

Yeah. And the fact, you know, here they're going to see just in a couple of days, the hatred rise up and kill Jesus. And then in their lifetimes the apostles will see the hatred rise up and kill them as well. Jesus says, you know, if they treated me poorly, they'll treat you poorly. But here he's saving that even on a much broader scale, you'll be hated by all nations, by all.

This is a large scale thing. They'll put you to death, there'll be tribulation. So what they're starting this week with Jesus and the persecution of Jesus is actually going to continue on with the followers of Jesus until the end of the age. Yeah. And he says, you will be put to death. You'll be delivered up.

You will be hated. Right. For my name's sake. But then in verse 10 he kind of shifts and begins to talk about the others. Right. Many, and I see warnings here. Right. Is a warning for those who are faithful.

If they hated me, they're going to hate you. There's a warning for those who are unfaithful. Right. Those many will fall away and then they will betray one another and hate one another.

There's a warning again regarding false prophets leading many astray. That's right. And then there's a warning that this lawlessness will be so increased that love will cool off. Right. Will grow cold.

Yeah. So there is, it's interesting, they ask for a sign so they can know when all this is going down. And Jesus says, no, you need to be concerned about what goes on from now until that day.

Because this is this grinding process that's not going to stop. This is dangerous. There will be false Christs. There will be false prophets.

Their intent is to lead you astray. There will be tribulation. You'll be hated by all nations, not just the traditional enemies of Israel. You'll be hated by all nations because of Jesus name. And the danger is that many will indeed fall away and then end up betraying one another and hating one another. And then it's going to be hard to love one another. Right.

Because it's going to be dangerous. And this idea of lawlessness, not knowing or accepting law. That makes me think of the period of the judges when it says everybody did what was right in their own eyes. Right in their own eyes.

Boy, are we seeing that today. Right. Right. Well when you remove the standard of righteousness, which is defined by God's character, people do what they think is good, but it actually is extraordinarily bad. That's what they think is good. Yeah, exactly.

Good for them. And you know, there are very strong words in 12 where he says lawlessness will be increased. And you know, if you ask anyone today, are you a lawful person? They say, well, you know, I do the right things and I don't speed down main street and stuff like that. But here, when he says lawlessness, he means an absolute disdain for doing anything other than what I want to do. What I want. I am a law to myself. It will be very selfish.

That's the whole judges thing, what they thought was right. But then that next line gives me a chill. The love of many will grow cold. And I looked up this grow cold thing. It's the word they use when you take a hot meal, like a hot pie, and you need to cool it off. And it doesn't happen instantly.

You put it in like on a window shelf or something like that, and it just slowly cools down. So what he's saying is that this love is going to slowly decay off so slowly that you may not even notice it's happening. I mean, it's just going to slough away until all of a sudden you're living in a culture and a society where there is no love. And since love is a very selfless thing and people here based on lawlessness will be very selfish, you'll be finding yourself suddenly in this place where everyone lives for themselves. No one cares anything about other people. There is no sense of benefiting other people in a selfless kind of way.

That will all be gone. Every man for himself. Do what I want to do. I don't care what you do.

You can't tell me what to do. I know what's right. And that's what it will be. But it will happen over a long period of time.

So you won't even notice that it's happening. It's kind of the frog in the pot going the other direction. Many will grow cold, will cool off. Yeah. Yeah, and you know, we even describe that kind of in a chill in a relationship, right when suddenly there's a distance. There's not really a break.

It's just a backing away and a dropping of the temperature. Right. That's what this is describing.

Right, right. And this is actually the manifestation of violating the two great commandments Jesus asked about. About loving God with all your heart, soul, and body strength and loving man as well. You know, when you stop loving God, you stop loving the character and nature of God. And Jesus told us there's only one that's good. You stop loving the very thing that's the source of good in your life.

And what do you replace it with? Well, you replace it with self. That's the lawlessness. I want to do what I want to do and I don't care who God is. And then also as a result when you stop loving those that God loves, the people that are around you, then your love grows cold because you're committed to your own good and never to another person's good. So this is the slow dying away from loving God and loving people. I was just turning my pages here because suddenly what came to mind to me was the letter to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3, this idea of being neither hot nor cold but being lukewarm.

Let me just read these couple of verses. The Father says, God says in verse 15 of Revelation 3, I know your deeds that you're neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So because you're lukewarm, right, you just cooled down and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth because you say, I'm rich. I've become wealthy. I have need of nothing. And you do not know that you're wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, right? So the effect of this cooling off, this disregarding the love of God and the love of people, I'm wealthy. I have all that I need.

It's all about me. Your condition is poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked. But you don't know it. I say this a lot. There are a few people in our culture who have enough money that they can actually do this. They can say, I'm gonna live the way I wanna live and no one can tell me how to live. I live above the law. I can make my own law. I call wealth ego fuel.

You can do whatever you want. And the end of those lives is seldom cheery. I mean those people are usually the most depressed and the most despondent people in all of culture. And it's largely because they thought that this path of extreme selfishness, they thought that this path would make them the most happy. And the irony is is that when you pursue a path of pure selfishness, you are the least happy. And yet we also know when you look at culture that the people who love others, who love God, who invest in other people are the most happy. So it really does seem, it's kind of ironic in a way, the less you think about yourself, the more chance you have that you will be a happier person. The more you think about yourself, well, the chances are very high that you're not gonna be happy. Because in self there really is no answer to life.

There really isn't. It's in a relationship with God and with other people. And that's all about love. So that's why this picture is just so stunning because you're gonna have a whole world of people who feel like they've been cheated in some way. They thought they were gonna get great life out of these things.

They believed ideologies that promoted self above everything else. And yet in the end, to the degree to which they can actually accomplish that, they'll be most despondent and they'll say, is this it? Is this all there was? I thought this was gonna make me happy.

This didn't make me happy. And then you have a collection of very discontent people who wonder what it's all about. I mean, it's a really dangerous place. And we see that happening today in our world. We really do.

It's always been happening a little bit, but we certainly see it on the increase. Yeah, yeah. And I try and warn people, when you make self your God, when you make yourself your God, you really only have yourself. We used to say back in our generation, you know, I'm looking to find myself.

Well, you're gonna be disappointed when you find yourself. When you find yourself, yeah, you're less than you think you are. And in the end, all you have is you.

All you have is you. So that's just really discouraging. I still find that sobering. I know, I know. And I try and warn people about that all the time. I mean, to the degree to which, well, you remember, I tell this story all the time when I used to take youth groups on mission trips.

We'd start before we got in the vans by doing a big circle and taking off some piece of clothing like a hat or a shoe or something and throwing it in the middle and say, middle of the circle and say, that symbolizes you. That's yourself. That's your ego. That's all your interest in serving yourself on this trip. You're throwing it in the middle of the circle and you're saying, I'm leaving me behind on this trip. And now what's left of me here, I'm dedicating to loving and serving and benefiting other people. And I, and then I would look everyone in the eye, I'd go around the circle and say, the degree to which you live for others on this trip, you will be most happy. The degree to which you live for yourself, you'll be miserable. And I said, I'm convinced that when we come back, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

And so we'd go off on these trips and we'd live every day serving other people and it'd be a lot of work and it'd be really uncomfortable. But in the end, so much gold comes out of it. They get it. They sort of get it about the fact. And then there's some kids, you know, who didn't really wise up to that. And it's all about them in the middle of the trip and they start whining about the circumstances and things are uncomfortable and this is horrible and me, me, me, me, me, me, me. You know, I remember one trip where you came home and there was a person who came flying out of the van.

I'm so glad we're back and I'm never doing this again. It was stark. And you know what? The other kids saw that too. And they understood, they saw it graphically right there.

So here's Jesus saying, think of an entire world that's dedicated to self, that worships self. That's how things are going to be. But he had told them before, I'm telling you ahead of time, so that when it happens, you won't be blindsided by it. Right? Right. And he started into this answer by saying, don't be misled. Right.

Don't be afraid. Right. So in a way, even though their question was give us a sign when this will all finish, he's saying, no, no, no, that's the wrong question. Let's just talk about the process. The real question is what you need to do between now and then. That's the real question. And that's what I'm answering right here. And you need to be on your toes because it's going to get really bad.

It's going to get really bad. So it's really helpful that after all of these warnings, he says in verse 13, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. Yes. Right. Saved from what?

Saved from the wrath of God. Yep. Yep.

Whether by the end of the world or by the end of your own life. Yeah. Right.

Stay faithful. Right. He's telling us in sort of a vague way, but he's saying that there's value in enduring.

Yes. Rather than just saying, well God, it's pretty bad now I'm ready to check out. And God's saying, nope, there's a value in enduring. That is a theme throughout all of scriptures. Enduring. Enduring.

Enduring because God is with you and his strength is sufficient. Yeah. And his provision is sufficient. Yeah.

And this section in Mark's gospel makes that point many times about the endurance. So it's not the issue of how do I get out from under this because the word in Greek is actually is to stay under. You need to stay under this. You know? And there will be a good end. That's the saved part. So you know, don't worry about that. But there's good value in enduring.

So endure this. And this is not a surprise to me. Right. So don't let it be a surprise to you.

But he does give them something very positive to watch, to look for. Right? Starting verse 14. Yeah. He says, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.

Right. And I don't think it's an accident about the fact that the gospel will be spread so widespread in the midst of a world that has really rotted out to its core. I think the contrast and the highlighting of the need for life from God will be so apparent. That's why the endurance is so important because people need to know that there's a hope.

There's something other than this rotten place that I live in. That's where the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. And so in difficult times, it moves fast. It spreads. And it's been historically documented that the church, the authentic believers in Jesus, the church grows under times of persecution. Why is that?

Because people are desperate. And when they see the real deal, they see the authentic love of God, the power of God. They're going, I want that because I sure don't want what the world is dishing out. Which is why it's wise for us to endure rather than to try and get out from under it. It's not just wise, it's essential.

Right. And that's God's strategy in terms of reaching the world. I might read out a revelation 14.

Oh please. Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the Springs of Water. Revelation 14.6. So what he's talking about right here is exactly what he's talking about in Revelation. At the end of all this stuff, the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world. And the conflict will be a large reason why people will listen. It'll be the contrast from the conflict.

Whew. So, were you looking for a sign? What sign did Jesus give?

We still didn't get a sign yet. He said it's going to get bad and badder. And that's going to keep on going. But here's the hopeful part. Endure because the gospel will also keep on going. As you endure. Will reach the uttermost ends of the earth and to every nation.

Right, right. Well we're not done on the end of the age topic. Matthew is quite complete on it and we'll go next time and he'll get close to giving us some signs you know.

And this thing that people banter around a lot called the abomination of desolation. So we're going to continue on the topic if you feel like hey that's not enough information I want to know more. Well you just stay tuned and Jesus gives us a lot more in this section of Matthew about the end of the age. But read what the Bible actually says. Exactly. Not what somebody else says the Bible says. Exactly. That's exactly right and here's your great opportunity.

Read it right here from the mouth of Jesus himself. The end of the age. So come back with us next time. I'm Jim.

And I'm Dorothy. And we're in an exciting section of the end of the age here on More Than Ink. There are many more episodes of this broadcast to be found at our website. MoreThanInk.org. And while you are there take a moment to drop us a note. Remember the Bible is God's love letter to you. Pick it up and read it for yourself and you will discover that the words printed there are indeed more than ink. Okay we're going to muddle our way through this. This has been a production of Main Street Church of Rhythm City.