THE SIGN OF THY COMING

THE SIGN OF THY COMING

Mat 24:3 And 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?

The last time I wrote on this subject, I pointed out that Jesus had initiated the discussion by telling His disciples that the day would come when the Temple would be completely thrown down and not one stone be left attached to another stone. I also pointed out that Jesus, Himself, had designated the turmoil of that time as being THE GREAT TRIBULATION (the grand daddy of them all) (the worst of all time).

The disciples also asked what would be the sign of His coming. I am of the opinion that they knew very little of what they were talking about. They were, undoubtedly, much like we are today in our theological discussions, and interpretations of prophetic scriptures. We approach them with pre-conceived ideas and private interpretations. It is little wonder that we get started on wrong paths, and find ourselves in a swamp somewhere.

Several years ago, when we were ministering from the pulpit, many of our people attended a Camp meeting in Canada where some knowledgeable teachers were expounding the Word of God. The Bible Teachers were elaborating on the "coming" Great Tribulation,

When they reached a certain passage, panic seized a young expectant mother, and we had some explaining to do when she and her husband returned home.

Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let hi m which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The sad part about it was-- Pearl and I did not have an adequate explanation to give the young lady and her husband. Not then, nor for a long time to come. But we DID have confidence in the integrity of the Lord, and believed that He would give us an understanding either before, or at the time when we would need it. We did our best to comfort our people with that confidence.

In the ensuing 40 or so years, however, we have come to a more complete understanding of what Jesus told His disciples that day on the Mount of Olives.

We have come to the point of believing that Jesus answered all three parts of the question, and each part pointed to the last three or four years of the Jewish Kingdom which came to a very bloody end in August of 70 AD.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,100,000 Jews were slaughtered mercilessly at the hands of the Roman soldiers under Titus in a very short period of time. The carnage was terrible.

The "sign" that the disciples should look for was a time when Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies. They thought they were asking about the time of His Coming to rule and reign. They were wrong.

History tells us that the army of Cestius Gallus enclosed Jerusalem in A. D. 67, then deterred by its strength, retired to Cæsarea. This was the signal for which the church waited, and it then fled beyond the Jordan. --the people's new testament

Roman army is called an abomination, for its ensigns and images, which were so to the Jews. Josephus says, (War, b. vi. chap. 6), the Romans brought their ensigns into the temple, and placed them over against the eastern gate, and sacrificed to them there. The Roman army is therefore fitly called the abomination, and the abomination which maketh desolate, as it was to desolate and lay waste Jerusalem; and this army besieging Jerusalem is called by St. Mark, Mar_13:14, standing where it ought not, that is, as in the text here, the holy place; as not only the city, but a considerable compass of ground about it, was deemed holy, and consequently no profane persons should stand on it.-- Clarke

It was in the short period of time between the siege of 67 AD and attack by Titus in 70 AD. that the Christians fled the city and surrounding territory. The main flight would not have been in winter, nor perhaps not on the Sabbath day.

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

The disciples had asked Jesus about the end of the world. The word used here, and elsewhere, is the word meaning "the age". They didn't know what they were talking about, so how could they understand the answer He gave them. HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE END OF THE JEWISH NATION, AND THE ULTIMATE DESOLATION THAT HE HAD PRONOUNCED ON THEM WHEN HE WEPT OVER JERUSALEM AND SAID, "YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE."

Three questions were asked. Four answers were given. When shall the Temple be demolished? What sign will be given? When is the end of the world? Jesus answered all of the questions, and also added the answer that the time would be marked by the worst tribulation ever to come on the earth.

Jesus did, however, go on to explain what lay in the distant future, and it is not a pretty picture. But, NEITHER IS IT THE GREAT TRIBULATION that most of the theologians are pointing to today.

Now, I want to ask a question. How did these events all get pushed down into the last few years of time as we know it today? Where did all of the futuristic teaching get started? Who did it? What was the purpose of the erroneous teachings of gloom and defeat being given to us?

Why are we afraid of "Big Brother", or "One World Government", or "Mark of The Beast", or "Antichrist"? Aren't they also "Paper Tigers" along with the "Great Tribulation"?