WE now come to the answer which Jesus gave to the inquiry which the disciples made in verse 3. Jesus had told the disciples that their symbol of permanence and of God's protection and blessing, the temple, was going to be destroyed. For the disciples this meant the end of all that had been the world, and so it was natural for them to see this destruction of the temple in terms of the end of the world. Jesus does not correct this misapprehension, but uses it to give a discourse which would be a strength and encouragement to Christians throughout history.

The first thing that we notice as we read through chapter 24 and 25 of Matthew's Gospel is that Jesus does not answer the question in the way we would have liked, and no doubt the disciples had hoped for. Jesus affirms the fact that the Temple would be destroyed and there would be an end to the world, but he does not give us a serious of events, in a chronological order, by which we can determine the coming of Christ at the end of the world, and so that we would be able to say it will happen around a certain time. Christian people have tried to find this sort of revelation in the Bible all down history, and all sorts of wild ideas and predictions have resulted; however Jesus does not give such guidance. Instead he gives such information which affirms the event and helps the church to face all that happens, while we wait for the event. From the Bible revelation, and certainly not from these two chapters, it is impossible to say when the return of Christ and the end of the world will take place. All Jesus tells us is that when he does return there will be no doubt left that it is Jesus coming to judge the living and the dead, and this will be clear not only to Christians, but also to the whole world.

In this meditation my purpose is to try and give an overall view of what Jesus is saying before we get down to details. In other words we are going to try and look at the 'wood' before we look at the 'trees'.

In the first place Jesus warns his disciples that people will try to spread confusion concerning his return by making predictions, and saying he is come or is coming, when he is not. This is how Jesus commences in verse 4, and by this he is seeking to protect his disciples from being led astray.

From this point Jesus explains that his coming will be after a long period of time. Jesus speaks of the traumatic events in the world all down history, which we are all familiar with, as birth-pains. In other words Jesus is saying that when all these things happen from time to time all through history and into the future, we must not suppose they are portents of his coming, but realize that this is how the world is and will be all down history, and Christians must not be surprised.

Then Jesus goes on to warn his disciples that throughout history the Christian church will find itself out of tune with the world, and will find the world hating Christ and his people, and this will be a cause of much suffering for Christ's disciples. However and again Christians must not be surprised at this, or be afraid, and are reassured by Jesus that if they stand firm to the end, they will find the salvation they have been promised through Christ was not vain, but absolutely true.

Then Jesus gives specific advice to the church in relation to the terrible events which were soon to take place, when the present temple would be destroyed. However in doing this Jesus places it under the overall canopy of the events at the end of the world. This covers verses 15 to 25. We can see as we read these verses that verses 15 to 20 have particular resonance to AD 70 when the Romans came, desecrated the temple, and destroyed both Jerusalem and the temple, but as we read on beyond verse 20 the revelation blends into much future events which are more applicable to some future time.

In fact Daniel's prophecy mentioned in v15 had its first fulfillment (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) almost 200 years before in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, but was going to have a further fulfillment in AD 70, but this does not exhaust this prophecy, which will have its final fulfillment in the period preceding Christ's return. Because the suffering will be so great at this time, Jesus gives instructions to believers how to react, and also to beware of being deceived as to Christ's return. In such suffering it would be natural for believers to yearn for Christ to come and relieve their suffering, and so they would be more easily led astray. Jesus warns us to beware of being deceived. In these verses Jesus plainly predicts a time of great suffering immediately before his return. (Revelation 11:7-9; 20:3b, 7-9a)

Jesus then speaks of the time of his coming. This will be unmistakable when it happens. In verse 29ff Jesus says his coming will follow closely on the time of great distress, and it will be marked by a catastrophic break down of the natural world, and be marked by a sign, which will be evident to all, both Christian and otherwise, of Christ's coming. In some wonderful way, all will see Jesus in his power and glory, and the whole world of people will have to stand before him to be judged.

How this can be we have no means of appreciating until it happens, but by faith we believe it.