Conclusion of Matthew 23 and Introduction to Chapter 24

I was looking at past sermons that I've given on different subjects, and back in February was the last time I spoke on discourses that Jesus Christ gave that were recorded by Matthew in his gospel. As we've looked at in the past, there are five discourses. We began the fifth one, which is Matthew chapter 23, 24, and 25. It was hard to believe it was back in February that we last discussed that, but there are other things to discuss and to cover, and so we did that back in February. So we're going to continue that today. If you remember back, the last thing we discussed was the eight woes pronounced by Christ on the religious leadership in Matthew chapter 23. Basically, he said these woes were going to come upon the religious leadership because of their failure to lead the people of God religiously. They failed miserably, and they were not only failing in their job to teach the people, but they were also adamantly opposed to Jesus Christ. When we started Matthew 23, I went over the many places where God dealt with his leaders when they did wrong. As you look at the way that God dealt with his leaders, he dealt with them very firmly. It is very sobering when you know how God deals with leaders who don't do the right thing, and they were not doing the right thing. So he roundly condemned them. God is merciful, but there comes a time when he said, enough. He says, there is enough. I can't let you go on and lead my people any longer. As you look at Saul, Saul was a leader and had a great potential ahead of him, and he failed to follow simple directions that God gave him. There are two instances where he failed miserably. God said, I'm going to take the kingship from you. You will continue to be king, but I'm going to give it to somebody else, and your house is not going to be raised up to rule over Israel. You look at the two sons of Aaron, they were given the responsibility of overseeing the temple under Aaron. Nadab and Abihu. God gave them very specific instructions of what to do in the tabernacle with the fire. They were to keep it going. Unfortunately, they let it go out, and they figured, fire is fire. We'll go get some fire from wherever, and we'll get it started again. God said, that's not going to work. Both of them were struck dead. From that point on, I think the descendants of Aaron were very careful about what they did, because they realized God takes the responsibility of overseeing the tabernacle or the temple very seriously. That responsibility carries on over into the church. What we're going to do today is we're going to go to the conclusion of Matthew 23, picking up in verse 36. Then we're going to start in on Matthew 24. This week we'll finish Matthew 24 next week, and then we're going to move on to some other things that are important to consider as we look at God's Word. Let's go to Matthew 24 and, as I said, pick up in verse 36.

Christ has been condemning the religious leadership of the Jews very soundly, pronouncing one woe after another on them.

The religious leadership was part of the leaders of Judah who had been part of killing the prophets and then opposed to God and not adhering to God's truths the way they should have and teaching them the way that they should have. God was going to very soundly condemn them. Look at what he says beginning in verse 33. He says, Your conduct is so unbecoming, representatives of the great God, that you are on the brink of being condemned to the lake of fire.

Your conduct is so reprehensible. He says in verse 34, Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. So Christ is basically saying, I'm sending these people to you to try to help you get on the right track because you're off the right track, but you're going to be opposed to me and you're going to be opposed to my representatives when they come before you. You're going to exclude them from the synagogue. You're going to persecute them. You're going to scourge them. You're going to kill them. And as you look at the track record after Christ's death, that's exactly what happened. But he tells them that this is going to happen. And he says in verse 35, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. So basically he's putting on them the blood from A to Z, from Abel all the way down to Zechariah, the son of Barakiah. And with that mindset that is opposed to me, you are responsible for their deaths. Instead of listening to them and heeding what I inspired them to say, you've opposed them. You've undermined them. And if they got in your way, then you were willing to kill them. That's what they did with Christ. Christ came as a representative of God and he pointed out their flaws. He pointed out where they failed and where they were leading the people astray. And as I said, he condemns them in chapter 23 and this is the culmination of what he had to say. And he said, the blood of these people is on you. And it's not that they were worse than the people that preceded them, it's that they were following the same trend. And he said, this trend is going to end and we're going in another direction from now on. He goes on and says here in verse 36, Assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. So Jesus said he would be rejected by the generation to which he came. He told them that the people of Sodom, Tyre, Sidon, were going to come up in a resurrection and tell the people of Christ's generation how far off they were. Because Christ said, if I had gone to Sodom and preached, if I had gone to Tyre and preached, if I had gone to Sidon and preached, they would have listened. They were places that were carnality ruled and he said they would have listened. They're going to come up in the resurrection into that world where God's truths are revealed to them and they're going to say, you know, guys, you guys heard all this and look at the way you acted. And they will condemn them because they're going to get it whereas the leadership in Christ's time did not. And Christ was pointing out that this would be the culmination of all the prophecies and warnings since the children of Israel entered into the covenant at Mount Sinai. And there had been many. And it's important to see how enormous it is what Christ is saying here. And God was no longer willing to dwell among the children of Israel. He was no longer willing to dwell among them. And he's telling them that here. The dreadful prophecies of what would happen if they forsook the covenant that we find in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 were about to be fulfilled. Let's go to Luke chapter 19.

Let's begin in verse 41. Luke 19 verse 41. It says, Now as he drew near, he saw the city, and he wept over it. This was the city beloved by God. It is where God began his work with humanity. It's where he's going to end up working with humanity at the end of things on this earth. And he looked at it, and he saw, and he knew what was to come. And he wept over it, saying, If you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes, you just don't get it. You just don't understand the way that will produce the peace and the harmony and the joy and the prosperity. You just don't get it. And he saw what was coming in their direction, and he wept over that city. Not because they had treated him well, but because he knew what was coming. You look at verse 41, as it's translated by Kenneth Wust's New Testament and expanded translation, he says, Because you did not recognize the strategic, ethical season of God's gracious overseeing care and offer to help. You didn't recognize it. Why did God send Christ to the earth? He sent him in the flesh, yes, to die for the sins of mankind, but more than anything to offer help to mankind. They didn't see it. They turned it down. They didn't want anything to do with it. So they did not recognize what was taking place there. Let's go to Luke chapter 1 and look at verse 68. These two verses we'll read in Luke chapter 1 both relate to Christ's coming, and it's interesting how it's phrased. Luke 1 verse 68. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.

God visited and has redeemed his people. So we see that it describes him coming to visit his people. He's not just dropping in for a chat, but he is coming to redeem them. To visit means to come in there to help, to come in there to show them the way. And he offered them that. He offered to teach them those things, but they wanted again nothing to do with it. Verse 78 says, Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the day spring from on high has visited us. So they didn't know the day of their visitation. Israel didn't perceive the coming of Jesus Christ was the day when God was looking upon his people in order to help them. They didn't see it. They did not see it. So they went on to kill him and go get on with life. They didn't recognize what was taking place in their midst. And what was to come? Let's go to Luke 21. What was to come? Luke 21, verse 20. This was to come shortly after the death of Jesus Christ in 70 AD. Luke 21, verse 20. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. So the city of Jerusalem was to be surrounded by the Roman army, primarily. And this was to take place in verse 21. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. So if you're in the city, get out. When you see this unfolding, get out. And if you have business in the city, maybe you better postpone that business. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. That's what Christ has been telling them. It's going to come upon this generation. But woe to those who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

So Israel was to suffer greatly as they rebelled against the Roman government, and the Roman government said, that's enough of this, and they came up to Jerusalem to destroy it. The church was actually inside the city. The Church of God at Jerusalem was inside the city, and the emperor of Rome died, and Vespasian was the general, and he was the one that was designated to take over. So he went back to Rome, and the siege, they withdrew the siege for a time, and the church was able to get out of the midst of the city, and go to the city of Pella, and continue on there. But the Romans eventually came back under Titus, and destroyed the city. They fought bravely, but eventually, once the Romans got in, it was a bad time for those who were still in the city.

So the Jews were driven out, and the city was not restored to Israel, and will not be restored to Israel until Jesus is returned. Yes, the Jews sort of have some control over the city, but it is a place that is contended over. You have Christianity fighting over it, you have the Jews fighting over it, you have the Muslims fighting over it, and they're fighting over who's going to control it. And that has not been sorted out, but it will be sorted out with the return of Jesus Christ. So let's go to Matthew 23 and look at verse 37. Matthew 23 and pick up in verse 37. So Jesus has condemned the religious leadership, and then in Matthew 23, verse 37, he offers his lament over what's coming on this city. And you know, God is pronouncing punishment upon the city, but God never revels in the fact that they're going to be punished or they're going to suffer. You know, God wanted them to do the right thing. God wanted to bless them. He wanted everything good for them, but they just did not do those things that would bring about that outcome. Verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. You see, the prophets came, and they were sent by God to point out to Israel, you're not living according to the covenant. You're not worshipping me, the true God, you're worshipping false gods. And the way that you're living is immoral. You're oppressing the widow. You're giving people a hard way to go, and you're not passing along the truth. They came, and they taught that, and they resisted those prophets, and at times they stoned them to death. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Think about it. If we were to turn to God, do you think God would accept us and take us under his wing? He absolutely would. But do you think people are going to submit to God and turn to Him and allow that to take place? Sadly, they're not. But that's the outcome that God would like and wanted with the Jews.

He says in verse 38, See, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more, till you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And trust me, the religious leadership did not see Jesus as coming in the name of the Lord. They didn't see that at all. So even though they rejected Him, Jesus Christ still loved His people and His principal city, Jerusalem. And He was willing to gather them and protect them, but they were not willing. As you look at what God wanted for them, it's good to understand what is being said here when it says, See, your house is left to you desolate. What does that mean? It's good to understand that. Let's go back to Exodus 19.

And you have to ask, well, what house are we talking about that is going to be left desolate? What house is going to be left desolate? Whose house? We'll see here as we look at this.

A brief time out there.

So, Exodus 19, let's begin in verse 3. Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself. You've experienced Me bringing you out of Egypt and bringing you to Mount Sinai and being here in desirous of entering into a marriage covenant with you.

You've seen this. You've seen all that I've done for you. Verse 5, Now therefore if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. This is what God was offering them, to be a special people above all people. And you have to recognize that they're going to be above all people because God has called them first, not because they're better, and that's not the position that God wanted them to stay in forever.

But they were God's people. He wanted to work with them and bless them and prosper them, and they were to be a blessing to the whole earth. They were the first step that God was going to take in bringing all people to salvation, if they would enter into that relationship and be faithful in that relationship, and sadly they were not.

So He brought them to Him, verse 6, and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So God was calling out Israel, and God was going to make them a special people. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all the words which the Lord commanded Him. Then all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do! So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.

They said, Everything you said, we agree, we will do these things. Now let's go to Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26. So God wanted them to be His people, and what did God want to do in His relationship with His people? Leviticus chapter 26, which spells out the blessings and the cursings. Leviticus 26 verse 3.

This basically summarizes how you receive the blessings. In verse 3, If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and perform them, then the outcome will be good. And look what He says beginning in verse 9. For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply, and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest and clear out the old because of the new. You'll plant, you'll bring in the harvest, and as the new you're beginning to plant again, you're still going to be using up the old harvest.

And you're going to have an abundance. God said in verse 11, I will set My tabernacle among you, and I will, and My soul shall not abhor you. I'm going to put My house in your midst, My tent, among your tents. And He says in verse 12, I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I'm going to walk among you. That's where I want to be. I called you out, and I want to walk among you.

That's what God wanted and always wanted. And Israel always failed in their part of the covenant. As a result of breaking the covenant, God would leave their house desolate. What He's saying is He would no longer dwell in their midst. He would no longer dwell in their midst. This effectively ended the agreement that He had made with them on Sinai. He was going to shut down, in a temple which would be shut down. They would be driven off the land, and that's the way it would be until He returned the second time.

In Luke 19, verse 14, it says, His citizens hated Him and would not have Him reign over Him. And that was the general outlook and approach that the people of Israel had had down through the ages. But look at what we're told in Zechariah chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12, beginning in verse 6. In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a fire pan in the woodpile.

And like a fiery torch in the sheaves, they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left. But Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place. Jerusalem. There are going to be tough times ahead for the city of Jerusalem. But eventually Jerusalem will be inhabited. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first.

So He's going to allow Judah to suffer. But there's still His people. He's allowed Israel to suffer. But there's still His people and He still has plans for them. So that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.

In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David. And the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem. God is going to intervene and He's going to save that city. And He's going to save His people. And He's going to set up His government there. In verse 10 He says, I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication.

Then they will look on Me, whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for His only Son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Because when this plays out and Christ reestablishes the throne of David in Jerusalem, they're going to recognize, this is the Christ! They're going to recognize, this is the one who came to us back in 31 A.D.

We rejected Him! We killed Him! He was one of us, a Jew. And He laid down His life for our sins. And He's not going to come back and seek vengeance on them. He's going to pour out the Spirit of grace upon them and extend the opportunity for them to become a part of His family.

So this is going to be the time described here when the Jews are going to find out that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah. And interestingly, they've been against Him for millennia, 2,000 years at least. And they will see that they were wrong. They will see that they were wrong. And they will grieve, but they will rejoice in the opportunity to be reconciled to God. As Jesus was speaking these words at the end of chapter 23, He knew there would be a day when Judah would welcome Him.

He knew that because He inspired the prophecies that said that that would take place. Let's go to Psalm 118. Psalm 118, verse 22. Psalm 118, verse 22, quotes a very oft-repeated verse. Psalm 118, verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

Christ was the chief cornerstone, and they rejected Him. They rejected Him. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord, O Lord, I pray. Send now prosperity. And at last, verse 25 is interesting, where it says, Save now, I be sichi.

These words were sung by the Jews on the Feast of Tabernacles, when carrying green branches in their hands. And from the Haushania, that's my version of Hebrew, we have the word, hosanna. And this was what was sung as Christ came in to make His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. Adam Clark notes on this. It says, Hosanna to the Son of David. When persons applied to the King for help or for a redress of grievances, they used the word, hosanna, or rather, the Hebrew, Haushaniah. Save now, or save, we beseech you. Redress our grievances and give us help from oppression.

And thus, both words and actions of the people proved they acknowledged Christ as their King when He came into the city at the end of His life. You know, Christ could have rallied them there and become their King, but it wasn't the time. But it was symbolic of what is to come. So after saying, I say to you, you will see me no more, till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, what took place? Jesus Christ walked out of the temple, never to return.

And He will not return to the temple until the sounding of the seventh trump, when He descends to the Mount of Olives and His kingdom is established. Let's go back to Matthew 24. So Christ walks out of the temple, and then what happens? The most significant chapter in the Bible begins in Matthew 24, verse 1. He walks out, says, Then Jesus went out, and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. So you know what? His disciples had heard Matthew 23. They had heard everything that Christ said to the Jews, all the woes pronounced on them, and what is to come on the city?

Now, as you look at what they say, did they understand what Christ had told them? Verse 1. They departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. So they're saying, look at this glorious structure! And it was a rather impressive building, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

You know, it hadn't been finished by the time Christ died in 31 A.D. It wasn't finished for a few years after. They continued working on it and embellishing it and finishing various parts of it, but it was a very, very impressive building. And then it was destroyed in 70 A.D.

So they're looking at the building and thinking how great it is. And Jesus said to them, 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. So He's just throwing cold water on their exaltation in the temple. And what a great building it is!

And what we've seen here in Matthew chapter 23, Christ is speaking to the multitudes and to His disciples. But beginning in Matthew chapter 24 and in chapter 25, He's speaking to His disciples. He's not speaking to the religious leadership or to anyone else. He's speaking to His disciples.

So as you look at Matthew 24, we have to keep in mind that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. He was made flesh and dwelled among them, and He made it clear that He was about to withdraw from dwelling among them. And His withdrawal effectively entered the agreement that He had entered into at Mount Sinai. Adam Clark says, the Jews say the temple was built of white and green spotted marble. Josepha says the stones were white and strong, 50 feet long, 20 feet broad, and 16 feet thick. Huge stones that they carved out of the quarries. They carved them out completely. Then they brought them to where they were put in place. They did no work on them with the hammers and chisels and things. They did it all in the quarry. They brought them there, and they were put together so well that if you look at some of the stones, you can't slip a piece of paper between them. The stones that if they're this big, they're not the stones that we see in the whaling wall. All those are big stones. These were much bigger stones that they're talking about. The Expositor's Bible commentary says whether or not the disciples thought that they were speaking piously, since they're speaking so highly of the temple, they showed they had underestimated or even misunderstood the force of Jesus' denunciation in chapter 23. And he also makes that denunciation in Luke 11. They still focused on the temple on which Jesus had pronounced doom. Since the true center of the relation between God and man had shifted to a relationship between man and Jesus Christ. It had shifted from the temple. Israel went through a physical temple. The New Testament church relates to Christ. We relate to the Father through Jesus Christ. And we have to be in Christ. That's the temple, and it is a huge change. We don't have a temple. We don't have priests. We don't have any of those things. We go through Jesus Christ to the throne of the Father, as we're told in the book of Hebrews. Expositor's Bible commentary continues in Matthew 23. Jesus had already insisted that what Israel does with him, not the temple, determines the faith of the temple and of Israel nationally. Our relationship with God is what's paramount. It's not the building we're in. You know, we all like this building, but this building has nothing to do with salvation.

It is a great place to meet, but the relationship we have with God is what's really important. So, verse 2, just repeating that, Jesus said to them, 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. Let's look at some prophecies that allude to this. Let's go to Deuteronomy 28.

Deuteronomy 28.

So this is a long time before the temple has ever come into being, but it's interesting what the people of Israel were told. Deuteronomy 28, let's look at begin in verse 48.

Deuteronomy 28, verse 48.

Therefore you shall serve your enemies, this is if you follow a path of sin, whom the Lord will send against you in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything, and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance which does not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks until they have destroyed you.

They shall beseech you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land. And they shall beseech you at all your gates throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. Terrible things that were going to come upon them if they were not obedient to God. And those very things unfolded in the city of Jerusalem as they fell to the Romans. Let's go to verse chapter 31, verse 9. So we see God's warning, but look at what Elsie tells them. Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 9. So Moses wrote this law, that is the law that we find expressed in Deuteronomy, and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, at the end of every seven years, at the appointed time, in the year of release, at the feast of tabernacles. So every seven years, there was a year of release. And in that seventh year, on the year of release, there was an appointed time, it was at the feast of tabernacles. It says in verse 11, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God, in the place which he chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. God said, every seven years, in the year of release, at the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel comes up, I want you to read this book. I want the messages that are given to relate to this book, because I want this rehearsed. It is rehearsed in the hearing of Israel on an ongoing basis. So they do not forget. So do you think this ended with Israel or Judah going into Babylon? No, it didn't. Once they came back from Babylon, they re-established this. So from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah coming back to the land and the city being rebuilt and the temple being rebuilt, they did this! They did this year after year after year. So this was not new information. They had heard this. Now whether they heeded it or not, that's the issue. But they heard it. Verse 12, Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God, and carefully observe all the words of this law. And that their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land which you cross Jordan to possess. This was the way it was to be. And God made sure that they would hear these truths expounded at least every seven years.

And it was a sobering reminder every time it was read. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 7. Jeremiah chapter 7. And in Jeremiah chapter 7 we see where the people of Israel stood, at least the remainder of them the Jews, where they stood in Jeremiah's time. Jeremiah chapter 7. Did they heed what we read about in Deuteronomy? Sadly, they did not.

Beginning in verse 1 of chapter 7, Jeremiah 7 verse 1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, stand in the gate of the temple, and proclaim there this word and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Listen up. Remember he said, I sent you prophets? Here's one of those prophets standing before them, delivering God's message to them. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

So if you will repent, you will change your ways. I'm going to allow you to continue to live here. Take seriously what I'm saying. Do not trust in these lying words saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.

See, there are people telling them, look, nothing's going to happen. Jeremiah doesn't know what he's talking about. In fact, we're in the temple. This is God's temple. This is God's city. The holy city, God's never going to allow these terrible things that Jeremiah is talking about to take place. Never going to happen. And they believed in the temple more than what God was telling them.

And God said, don't believe them, because if you don't change, it is going to happen. Verse 5, For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, instead of deciding based on bribes and whom you favor, but you actually make righteous judgments, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. That's what God offered them.

Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. I'm telling you the truth, but you are listening to these false prophets who are telling you something completely different. God hasn't sent them. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by not my name?

You're going to do all of these evils, and then you're going to come to the temple, and you're going to stand before me piously, as if you really believe in the covenant, and believe in me in the course of living that I've told you. In essence, they were saying, we are delivered!

God has made it possible for us to do all these abominations. Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I even I have seen it, says the Lord. But you guys trust in the temple. Take some time and go to a place called Shiloh. Go to Shiloh, he says. He tells us that in verse 12. That's where he said his name earlier on when Israel first came into the land.

They set up the tabernacle there. That's where Eli was, and where people would come up and worship God. That's Shiloh. And what happened? God destroyed Shiloh because of the wickedness of the people of Israel.

There's no special place with him. It's a physical place. And if you're going to conduct yourself in a way that is contrary to God, God says eventually there comes a point where no more. I'm not going to put up with it. I will destroy you and you will suffer the consequences. So God says in verse 13, And now because you have done all these works, says the Lord, And I spoke to you rising up early and speaking, But you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer.

Therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, In which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, As I have done to Shiloh. Shiloh was the place where I first placed my name. And I placed my name in Jerusalem. And I put my house there. And I've dwelled in that house. But if it's necessary, I will destroy my city and that house.

And I will cast you out of my sight as I have cast out all your brethren, The whole posterity. Therefore do not pray for these people. That's a pretty serious place to reach, Where they have become so corrupted, so far from God, God said, don't pray for them anymore. Nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, Nor make intercession to me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, And the women need dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven.

They still do that, by the way. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, And that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? Says the Lord, do they not provoke themselves to the shame of their own faces? Therefore, thus says the Lord, God, behold, my anger and my fury Will be poured out on this place, on the man and on the beast, On the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground, And it will burn and not be quenched.

This took place back in Jeremiah's time, around 585 B.C.

But prior to this, as pointed out in Ezekiel, God had already left the temple. Look at Ezekiel, it talks about the Spirit of God, the Shekin of Glory, Leaving, going to the Mount of Olives and ascending into heaven. God had already left that place. And He never came back to that place. He didn't live, once the temple was rebuilt, when the Jews returned, He didn't live in their midst as He had before.

There was no Ark of the Covenant. There was no Shekin of Glory in the temple. It was an empty space. All they did is remember the way it used to be. And finally, the Messiah shows up and they completely and totally reject Him. Interestingly, on the 9th of Tamas, in the year 586, long before Christ, A breach was made in the wall of Jerusalem. A month later, the 9th of Ab, Nebuz Zardin, the Babylonian commander-in-chief, acting out orders given to him by Nebuchadnezzar, entered the city to destroy Jerusalem. The temple, the royal palace, and the great mansions were set on fire, and the walls were raised to the ground, and a large portion of the population was deported to Babylon.

The overthrow of the Jewish state was complete. And Jesus was saying the same thing was going to happen again. It was going to happen again. If you look up online, if you look up the 9th of Ab, A-V, you'll find it's called in Hebrew, tishabahav.

What does that mean? It means 9th of Ab. And it's an annual fasting in Judaism, which commemorates the anniversary of a number of disasters in Jewish history. And I'm going to mention two, but there are more than two. Primarily, it mentions the destruction of the first temple by the Babylonians. And when was the second temple destroyed? It was also destroyed on the 9th of Ab. The two destructions were 655 years apart, but the same date on the Hebrew calendar. And the Jews observed this as a fast day. It's going to be on August 1st this year.

And I thought it a value to discuss these things in light of Jesus Christ walking out of the temple for the last time. He walked out, and he won't go back in there. He won't come back to Jerusalem and enter the temple until his return. Back to Matthew 24, verse 3. Now, as he said of the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will all these things be? So they recognized something was up.

Something was going to change dramatically. Tell us when will these things be? And what will be the signs of your coming and of the end of the age? And where were they at when they asked this question? They were on the Mount of Olives. They were sitting on the Mount of Olives, and they were looking, and the Mount of Olives is about 200 feet above the temple area.

So they're 200 feet above, and they were able to look down into the temple complex. They were able to look down in there. And, you know, a person may not be able to enter the temple because he was a Gentile, but that person could, from the Mount of Olives, look into the temple complex. The Jerusalem temple rules kept Jews and Gentiles strictly apart in the temple complex. Remember, they had a wall of partition that separated Jews and Gentiles. And there was a sign on that wall that said, if you're a Gentile and you go beyond this point, it will be upon pain of death.

You will be killed. And the Gentiles were not able to go beyond that. And this was something that was set up not by God, but by the religious leadership. And so you had a separation between Jews and Gentiles, and what happened to that wall of separation? What happened to that middle wall of separation? It's interesting what Paul has to say about that. He wrote of that middle wall of separation, and he spoke of it being broken down.

He spoke of it being broken down. But when he wrote that in the book of Ephesians, that wall hadn't been broken down. He knew something was coming. And when it came, that wall would be broken down, opening the way for Jews and Gentiles to be brought together as one. There is no wall of separation any longer. It was not until 70 AD that Titus actually broke down the wall. So Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion began on the Mount of Olives. And interestingly, remember the story where the woman comes in and washes his feet with the fragrant oil and her hair?

That was in a place called Bethany, which is also on the Mount of Olives. Jesus Christ kept the Passover in Jerusalem, but after the ceremony, where did he go? He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was on the Mount of Olives. And after his resurrection, as he is saying his final words to his disciples, where are they at? They are on the Mount of Olives, and from where does he ascend into heaven? He ascends from the Mount of Olives. Now let's go to Zechariah chapter 14 verses 3-4.

Verse 3, Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle. So armies are going to be surrounding Jerusalem. Christ is going to return at the seventh trump, and he is going to fight against those armies. And in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west. Making a very large valley, half of the valley shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. So Christ will touch down on the Mount of Olives, and from there his kingdom will grow and prosper. With all these things in mind, the Mount of Olives is a great place to ask, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming? And it's a very appropriate location for the teachings of Matthew 24 and 25. And they wanted to know, when will the temple be destroyed? When will this new age come? When will the eternal come to a welcoming and respectful nation? So the end of the age is coming. So Jesus' reply to these questions was given to the disciples only. So in verses 4 of Matthew 24, Matthew 24, 4 to 35, is about the events that will take place in the world. And from Matthew 24, verse 36 to the end of verse 25, he focuses on his servants, admonishing them to be prepared for the coming of Christ.

And he goes on to say in Matthew 24, verse 4, he says, And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Interestingly, Matthew 24, and the things that are expounded there, is quite a controversial section of Scripture. There are lots of opinions on it, but nobody really understands how it all goes together.

It's complex, immensely complex. And you know, we have been blessed to have an understanding of that. But for a lot of people, it's incomprehensible. I remember back before I came into the church, looking at the book of Revelation, I was reading this pamphlet on the book of Revelation, and basically it was said, it's incomprehensible. In fact, if you try to understand it, it'll drive you crazy.

I thought, well, why write this? But I didn't have the answers, let me tell you. So, we've been blessed to have a certain understanding of this chapter and the book of Revelation. But why is that that we can understand? Let's go to Revelation 5.

Let's begin in verse 1. Revelation 5, verse 1.

So here's the scroll with great mysteries in it that can't be opened. No one is worthy to open it. Verse 5.

So who do you think that lamb is? We all know who the lamb is, don't we? Jesus Christ. And lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. So Jesus Christ comes to the Father and he is given this scroll. So the Father is giving Christ this scroll and Christ is going to open it. And you have to, as you think about this, and you look at what it says in chapter 1, verse 1, it says, So God the Father is passing along the message here through His Son Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is the only one who has the right and the power to open these seals and to give us insight into what it says. Chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, it says, Now what does that all mean? He's opened the seal, but is that any clearer? Is that any clearer? Look at verse 2.

When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, saying, Come and see, another horse, fiery red, went out, and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another, and there was given to Him a great sword. And then the third one in verse 5. And when He opened a third seal, I heard a third living creature say, Come and see, so I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. So we go on through the chapter, and the Lamb opened six of the seven seals. He opened six of the seven seals, and let's go to Revelation 17. Revelation 17. Let's look at beginning in verse 10. Chapter 17, verse 7, But the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. When they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, here is the mind of which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, seven kingdoms, seven kings, on which the woman sits. Who's the woman? We know the woman to be a great false church. There are also seven kings, five have fallen. One is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. So we know that a great false church is the religious body that rides each resurrection that's described here. And the Apostle John was projecting forward to the sixth revival of the Roman Empire, on which the woman rides. We know that. The sixth revival was the time when Mr. Armstrong began to understand the book of Revelation. He started to understand the Bible in the late 20s and early 1930s. And if you are familiar with that time period, Benito Mussolini began to rule in 1922, and he ruled till 1945. And in 1933, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, and was dictator from 1933 to 1945. Mr. Armstrong began broadcasting the World Tomorrow radio program on January 7, 1934, and he continued to broadcast for over 50 years. The Plain Truth magazine, August 1934, said on page 6, Notice at the present time what is and what is not yet come, in Revelation 17. The five that are fallen are five during the 1260 years in which power was given by the papacy for the healed beast to continue.

The one that is the present kingdom from Garibaldi to the present, that was 1934, and yet it is not in any sense the old Roman Empire. So during the stage of this ninth horn or sixth head of Revelation 17, John speaks of it as the beast that was and is not and yet is. And shall arise again out of the bottomless pit, it was an empire yet very weak.

And we know, if you're looking at when World War II began, it began in 1939, with the invasion of Poland and then the Allies declared war two days later. And what we have to realize is Mr. Armstrong wrote about that, but how did Mr. Armstrong come to that conclusion? It wasn't because he was a genius, it's because of what we find in Revelation 5 and 6.

Who is the one who can open the seals? It's not done by human power or intellect or ability. It's done because God reveals it. There's no other way anyone could understand the book of Revelation. It has to be Jesus opening the understanding. And the understanding was opened in August 1934, five years before Hitler entered Czechoslovakia.

And in 1934 there was a beast chart, the same one basically we have today, with a few changes. And this understanding was given to Mr. Armstrong, and only Jesus was the one who was worthy to open the scrolls and to reveal that knowledge. The Revelation says, The other beast kingdom that is to arise has not yet come, and when he comes he must continue for a short time. The final revival will be a short one, but prophecy reveals it will be an extremely destructive one. So in 2017 we can see six are fallen and one is still to come.

We will continue to look at the book of Matthew, chapter 24, next time. So we'll finish that up and then move on to other things. So it's almost 3.30, so we'll start the Bible study at 4, and cover a different topic here that hopefully you'll find interesting. So thank you for your attention. We'll have one more song and the final prayer, and thank you all for joining us today.