Matthew's Five Discourses of Jesus Christ

As you know, on the first Sabbath of the month, we have what I call a Sabbath Bible study.

We go over one portion of the Scriptures, and we've been going over the discourses that Matthew recorded, Christ's discourses, that are throughout the book of Matthew.

There are five discourses, and we're on the last of the five, which is Matthew 23, 24, and 25.

When I covered this on the pastoral care classes, I had to finish each chapter basically in one section. Here, at the Bible study, I thought I'd take time to flesh it out a little bit more, and as you can see, it's being fleshed out. I hope not too much. But to be able to give more background that I hope will give us a better understanding than you can get just in a lecture of an hour, and you've got to stop, and you've got to go to the next one and get it done and fit it into the schedule. So I think you will find it of interest.

We're in that section at the end of Matthew 23. And you'll remember the last time we covered eight woes that Jesus gave that were going to come upon those religious leaders of that day. When we started Matthew 23, you may remember I went over and showed the many places where God has dealt with his leaders when they did wrong, and he dealt with them very firmly. And we went over them. I don't want to go over it again, but it's a sobering thing when you know how God deals with leaders who don't do the right things, his leaders, that he appoints and that he's responsible for. He's very merciful, he's very patient, but there comes a time when he deals with things that need to be dealt with. And Saul is one example. The two sons of Aaron who brought profane fire into the temple, and they died right then, setting a pattern that we're going to follow the instructions here.

And it was set up there that way. So let's go now to the conclusion, the last few comments of Matthew 23. And we'll finish Matthew 23 and start in Matthew 24. Matthew 23, verse 33. He said, Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?

Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous bloodshed 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. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. You'll understand why people find this so different from the rest of Christ's teaching, because this is very strong and very powerful. In the preceding verses, I pointed out Jesus referred to those religious leaders five times as blind and six times as hypocrites. That's very strong. Those who were spiritually blind were leading a nation away from God in his way of life. The blind were leading to blind, and they were going to head for more than a ditch in this case. Hypocrites comes from the Greek word for actor.

Dictionary.com, hypocrite, one, a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. That's a hypocrite. And they've got a second definition.

A person who feigns some desirable or public-approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements. They say one thing and do another.

So they acted as if they were God's servants, but their hearts were far, far from him. They acted as though they were God's teachers. But their teachings actually led people away from God, as we saw one of those woes that they were like a white ensepliker. That if you got in contact with it, you were ceremonially defiled, and you couldn't participate in the temple service. And he said, Serpents, brood of vipers. I'm sure that's very strong language.

But did you know John the Baptist used the very phrase brood of vipers in 3.7? He used it at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus used the same phrase at the end of his public ministry in the flesh. Those religious leaders were of their father the devil, also described in Scripture as a serpent, Genesis 3.1 and Revelation 12.9. He's described as a serpent there. And he said, your serpents, a brood, offspring, a vipers. It's very strong. And the condemnation of hell refers to the second death. Expositor's Bible commentary makes this point, the transition from the preceding verse is clear. If the teachers of the law and the Pharisees are filling up the measure of sin of their forefathers, how can they possibly escape the condemnation of hell? It's very strong. It's very strong. Remember Matthew 28 says, and do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell in the grave or in that judgment period. It's interesting. People think they have an immortal soul. And Jesus clearly talked that God is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And then he said, I'll send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. This was just days before he would be crucified. And those religious leaders would soon put God in the flesh to death as God allowed it. JF and B points out that the Greek reads, quote, the eye here is emphatic.

I am sending. That is, I am about to send. He was about to do this. Even though that generation rejected Jesus, he was about to send others to benefit and strengthen them if possible. He had explained to his disciples that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Remember he told them at the beginning? That was in Matthew 10. He also told them in the same place, a disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It's enough for a disciple that he'd be like his teacher or a servant like his master. If they've called the master of the house Baelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household? Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known. That's a scary verse.

All the stuff that's going on will be known eventually. Now, God's merciful in that, too, but we'll see how that all works out. After the resurrection, he said, I am sending.

After the resurrection, Jesus would send Peter, James, Stephen, and Paul. And that generation killed them all, one way or another. The Apostle John was persecuted and imprisoned, but we understand he was the only apostle who was not martyred. All the others were.

That's how we understand it. I don't know if I can prove that, but that's what everybody states. Verse 35, Matthew 23, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth. Now, think about that. Barnes notes on the New Testament says, upon the land of Judea, the word is often used with that limitation. That's correct. They would talk about when he said all the earth, he meant in the nation of Israel and in that geographical area. That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth. From time to time, Jesus was the earth. From the blood of righteous Abel to Zachariah, the son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Now, many have pointed out that A to Z is a very interesting coincidence from Abel to Zachariah, A to Z. But there's a big question people have about this, because many think Jesus got the wrong Zachariah, believe it or not. Zachariah, the son of Barakiah, is the author of the book of Zachariah. But look at 2 Chronicles chapter 24. 2 Chronicles 24. And in the beginning of chapter 24, Joe Ash was seven years old when he became king. Now, when you're seven, it's a little hard to rule a country. Interesting, Billy is seven. And if he were asked to rule the whole nation of Israel, he would be challenged, to say the least, as I'm sure he'd agree. And he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebiah of Beersheba. Now, Joe Ash, yet seven, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Now, that's significant. Jehoiada the priest. In other words, when he had a good guide in Jehoiada the priest, he did good things. But when Jehoiada died, he was full of days, and he died, and he was 130 years old when he died. And they buried him in the city of David. He was respected. Now, verse 20. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. Here's Jehoiada's son now. The priest who stood above the people and said, He is the son of the priest. And he was the son of the priest. And he was the priest who stood above the people and said to them, Thus says God, why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he also has forsaken you. So Zechariah the son of Jehoiada spoke out plainly, this isn't good what you're doing here. Verse 21. So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king, whom the father Jehoiada had shepherded, they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Now, I should tell you that in verse 20, Adam Clark makes the point that Jehoiada and Barakiah have the very same meaning, the praise or blessing of Jehovah. So Jesus called him Zechariah the son of Barakiah, and Barakiah and Jehoiada mean basically the same thing. Now in verse 21, Kyle and Delish say, according to these pages, he was slain between the temple and the altar of burnt offerings, consequently in the most sacred part of the court of the priests. Now, think about that, and I spent a little time putting this all together. Thus it seems that King Josiah, now that he was grown, had given the priest the order to kill Zechariah because Zechariah was killed in the area of the temple where only the priests can go. Remember they threw the money in there?

And they couldn't, nobody else could get it, but they had to go to the priest, they had to deal with it. It's really something. They did it in only the place where only the priests can go. So Zechariah was betrayed by his own priestly brethren because he spoke out and said, you're not doing the right thing. That also desecrated the temple. Murder in the temple, I mean, it's astonishing when you think about it. Verse 22, well, let me read 21 again.

Now, isn't that interesting? Because when we get back to Jesus Christ talking to them that you killed all these people from Abel to Zechariah, he was saying that blood was going to come on that generation. The Lord looked on it and repaid. It's really, really astonishing. Jesus, the Lord in the flesh, was saying that Zechariah's prayer was about to be answered. In the Hebrew Bible, Genesis is the first book, as we all know. But you may not realize that the last book in the Hebrew Bible is 2 Chronicles. So perhaps Christ was referring to the first murder in the first book and the murder of his faithful book, a faithful priest, in the last book of the Hebrew Bible. In other words, and everything in between. Both were righteous men who were killed by wicked men. As it says, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth in Israel. It was going to come on that generation. And all those things were building up. And more I'll show you, I plan to show you as we go along. Verse 36, Assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Jesus said he would be rejected by the generation. Remember in his ministry he said the people of Corazun and Israelite City, Tyre, Gentile City, Sidon, Gentile City, Capernaum, Israelite City, Sodom, Nineveh, the Queen of the South, would rise with that generation and condemn it. They're all going to come up and say to the people who lived in that generation, you guys were way, way off. This would be the culmination of all the prophecies and warnings since the children of Israel entered into the Mount Sinai covenant.

I want to see how enormous this is. God was no longer willing to dwell among the children of Israel. The dreadful prophecies of what would happen if they didn't keep the covenant that are found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 were about to be fulfilled. That's what Jesus was saying. Have a look at Luke 19, if you would.

Luke 19. Let me go. Sorry. Luke 19. And let's look at verse 41.

Now let's remember that Luke was the one who was associated with Paul. They traveled together. So you're feeling Paul had a great influence on Luke's gospel. And as we'll see, Luke has several references to Jesus Christ's sorrow over Jerusalem, which probably reflected Paul's sorrow over his brethren in Jerusalem and what was going to come upon it as God showed it to him. Luke 19. Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that would make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.

What is the time of your visitation? In Mr. Wust's W-U-E-S-T word studies from the Greek New Testament, he said, Zacharias, at the birth of John the Baptist, knowing that the latter would be forerunner of the Messiah, and would therefore shortly come, said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. That's Luke 1.68.

When he used the word visited, he really said, quote, For he has looked upon his people in order to help and benefit them, and provide for them. That's how he explained it. To visit them means to come in there to help, come in there to show them the way. Then in Luke 1.78, ten verses later, he said, The day spring from on high has visited us. Continually, Mr. Wuss, the day spring is none other than the Lord Jesus, who looked upon Israel and had a care for his chosen people, so that he came to their aid.

And when Israel refused the aid of his Messiah, he laments over Jerusalem and its inhabitants, and speaks of its destruction with the closing words, You knew not the day of your visitation. Luke 19.44. The word visitation is from the noun whose root is the same as the stem of our verb. Israel did not perceive the coming of Jesus Christ was the day when God was looking upon his people in order to help them. We have the same meaning in Luke 17.6. So choose that way in Luke, another place in you.

In other words, this is all in Luke. It's used other places, but it's surprisingly often in Luke. And look at Luke 21. This is the beginning of the day when the Lord Jesus prophesied the parallel to Matthew 24. He said in Luke 21 verse 20, But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 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. For these are the day of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled, but woe unto those who are pregnant and 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 shall be trampled by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled. I don't want to get into that prophecy, but Jerusalem wasn't going to be the same again until the time of the Gentiles ended. And as I mentioned, notice how many of those statements are contained with Paul's associate, Luke's gospel. That generation would soon see the Jerusalem temple destroyed and the people driven off the land until Jesus again returns to the earth. Now, this leads to Jesus' lament over Jerusalem. Matthew 23, verses 37 to 39. Matthew 23, 37 to 39. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.

How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her checks under her wings, but you were not willing. 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. Even though they rejected him, Jesus still loves his people and their principal city, Jerusalem. And he's willing to gather them and protect them, but they were not willing. I want you to understand clearly the phrase see, your house is left to you desolate. Would you mind going to Exodus 19? This is just before at the beginning of the Mount Sinai covenant.

Exodus 19. Exodus 19. And let's begin in verse 3. Exodus 19 and verse 3. And Moses went up to God, and he was the one who followed him. And the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.

As I understand it, it's like an eagle goes in and grabs something and pulls it out and carries it away and delivers it. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you out to myself. 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, 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 Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Verse 8, 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, and he went on with the covenant, and it went from there. I'd like you to look at Leviticus 26. This is the first part of Leviticus, prophecy of 26, and the second part is what happens if they don't follow it.

But look what happens if they did. Leviticus 26, I remember speaking this somewhere in the 60s, in covering this point in the Wisconsin Dells, to me it was such an encouraging point. Leviticus 26, and let's begin in verse 9. In verse 3, he says, if you walk on my statues and keep my commandments formed, I will give you rain, it goes on down.

But I want to approach this one section of it. Verse 9, Leviticus 26, 9, For I will look on you favorably, and make you fruitful, and multiply, and confirm my covenant with you, and you shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you, and I will walk among you.

God wanted to walk among His people who were going His way. Back then, in the sermon that I gave back in the 60s, I think it was the 60s, I said, I can picture God grabbing His tent and all the stakes, and He said, if you guys are going to follow that way, I'm going to live with you, and putting down that tent. I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you, and be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you walk upright. He freed them, and He gave them every indication. Remember they had a cloud in the daytime to follow them? He would show you it was with them, and it was a pillar of fire at night.

He showed us, remember when the psalmon built the temple, that the Shekinah of the Lord came and filled the whole temple? And He showed everybody He was dwelling in that place.

He made it extremely clear. But they were no longer keeping their part of the agreement.

Now He would depart from among them, and leave your house, the temple, desolate. A temple with no God is desolate. God would no longer dwell there. Remember Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament, and He was made flesh and dwelt among them. He had just made clear He was about to withdraw from dwelling among them. That effectively ended the agreement He had made with them at Mount Sinai. Now, because I'm irresidual, God did say, if they call out to Me, I'll hear them, and He will do that. But He shut down the temple. He drove them off the land. And He's not going to change that until He comes back. Verse 39, 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. In Luke 19.14, Jesus said His citizens hated Him. It would not have Him reign over them. But there's going to be a different time. Look at Zechariah chapter 12.

Interesting. The prophet's name is Zechariah, which we've been talking about here.

Zechariah chapter 12. And please notice Zechariah 12 in verse 6. Zechariah 12, and if you have...my Bible has a heading over chapter 12, it says, The coming deliverance of Judah. 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!

The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, 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 as David. And the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. Of course, they'll all be changed to spirit when this happens, right? Not all, but David will be there. It changed.

In that day, it shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that came against Jerusalem. And I will pour out 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. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad Ramon in the plain of Midgarot. This is when the Jews find out that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah. And they have been against him for centuries and millennia. And they're going to see that they were wrong. And they're going to grieve. But they're also going to rejoice to be reconciled with the Messiah. Jesus knew as he speaks in these words that there was a day coming when they would welcome him and mourn for him, for not respecting him for centuries.

Look at Psalm 118.

Psalm 118.

Whoops.

Psalm 118.

This pictures a day or time when the Jews will welcome Jesus Christ as their king.

Verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made.

We will rejoice to be glad in it. They rejected the stone.

And they're going to find out they were wrong to reject the stone.

Verse 25. Save now, I pray, O Lord. I pray. Send now prosperity. Now let me show you something about that. Save now. This is Adam Clark. Save now I beseech the King James Version.

These were words sung by the Jews on the Feast of Tabernacles when carrying green branches in their hands. And from the Hoshiah Nah, we have the word Hosanna. This was sung by the Jewish children when Christ made public entry into Jerusalem. See Matthew 21.9 and the note.

I will share that note with you. And see the note there in which the word and the circumstances are both explained. Remember when he wrote on the donkey? They're saying, Hosanna.

They're referring to Psalm 118. Adam Clark on Matthew 21.9. Hosanna, the son of David. Hosanna too, 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 from the Hebrew Hoshiah Nah. Save now, or save we beseech you. Redress our grievances and give us help from oppression. Thus both the words and the action of the people prove that they acknowledge Christ as their King when He's coming on the donkey. And look to Him for deliverance. How easily might He have assumed the sovereignty at that time had He been so disposed?

After saying, For I say to you, you will see me no more, till you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord. The God of Israel walked out of the temple for the last time.

Matthew 24, 1, and 2. Then Jesus went up and departed from the temple, and His disciples came to show Him the buildings of the temple.

And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things?

Assurely I say to you, Not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Okay, let's continue now going on about the... in Matthew 24.

You will find this... Matthew 23, 24, and 25 is about judgment. First, He goes with the religious leaders in the temple, judgment. Now, in Matthew 23, He was speaking to the multitudes and to His disciples. But in Matthew 24, He's going to speak to the disciples only, and 25 is spoken to the disciples only. So let's look again now at Matthew 24, 1, and 2. Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came to show Him the buildings of the temple.

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. You probably remember that in the past, when I've gone over the phrase, it's in the New King James, Assuredly I say to you, I often pointed out that the the NIV translation says, I tell you the truth.

But they changed it. The computer program I have is updating updates translated. Actually, they told me that I should update my King James once a week. I don't do that. And the New King James once a month, they update sometimes texts, sometimes they have notes, sometimes they get references, and they update things. So when the NIV came in, it's no longer said, I tell you the truth. It says, truly, I say to you. It's what they have now. I just thought I'd point that out.

It surprised me that these things are being constantly updated.

As we noted, Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. He was made flesh and dwelled among them.

He just made clear that he was about to withdraw from dwelling among them. This effectively ended the agreement he had made with them at Mount Sinai. It says, and his disciples came to show him the buildings of the temple. Adam Clark says, the Jews say the temple was built of white and green-spotted marble, see light foot. Josephus says the stones were white and strong, 50 feet long, 24 feet broad, and 16 feet thick. I don't think builders would even try to take that on today.

We like everything nice and, you know, the facade.

Somebody once said that that guy's facade all the way through, or veneer all the way through.

Now, this was a solid, I mean, 50 feet long, 24 feet broad, and 16 feet thick. That's just one stone. I've been to there, and you can't slip paper between those stones that are on the wailing wall. They're amazing. I don't think they're quite as big as that. They are very impressive, but it's amazing how well that was done. As I covered in the pastor's update yesterday, all that planning was done before the stones were brought there.

So there were no tools used on it. Expositor's Bible comment theory says, whether or not the disciples thought they were speaking piously, they showed that they have underestimated or even misunderstood the force of Jesus' denunciation in chapter 23 in Luke 11.

They still focus on the temple on which Jesus had pronounced doom. Notice the next one.

They still focus on the temple on which Jesus had pronounced doom since the true center of the relation between God and man had shifted to himself.

Israel went through a physical temple. The New Testament church relates to Christ. We have to be in Christ. That's the temple. It's a change. It was a huge change. And expositors recognized it amazingly. In Matthew 23, Jesus had already assisted that what Israel does with him, not the temple, determines the fate of the temple and of Israel nationally.

Isn't that sobering? I thought it was very good observation.

And Jesus said to them, in verse 2, Matthew 24, Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you, not one stone will be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.

Let me show you just one prophecy on that. Deuteronomy 28.

Deuteronomy 28.

And let's look at verse 47. Deuteronomy 28, verse 47.

Deuteronomy 28, verse 47. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything.

Therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, in need of everything, and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck till he has destroyed you. You know, brethren, we live in a... we have abundance of everything.

We have poor, but the poor do much better than most poor do in the world. I've seen really poor people, and our poor are nothing in comparison. So I often think in my mind about verse 47.

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything. I hope we all have a joy and abundance of heart, even with the trials and the difficulties and whatever's happening. We live extremely well, and we want to thank God for it because it comes from God. Those blessings come from God. Therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you in hunger and thirst and nakedness in the 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 an eagle flies a nation whose language you do not understand, a nation of fierce countenance which does not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. There are nations that do not respect the elderly and have no respect for 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 and the increase of your cattle and the offerings of your flocks until they have destroyed you. They shall be seed you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls, on which you trust, come down throughout all your land.

And they shall be seed you at 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 daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.

That's terrible. I don't want to labor, but we need to know about it. Look at Deuteronomy 31, a couple pages further on. Deuteronomy 31, verse 9. And Moses, Deuteronomy 31, verse 9.

So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the Ark of the Covenant of Israel, who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and 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 Elis, at the feast of tabernacles, 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.

That includes the verses we covered just a minute ago, and more.

Gather the people together, men, women, and little ones, everybody, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear, and they may learn to fear the Lord your God, and carefully observe all these 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 the Jordan to possess. Now, I presume the priests fulfilled this responsibility in the temple. I would say no reason why not.

Which means, if they did that, and they went to the temple and kept the holy days, they heard, on the Feast of Tabernacles, every seven years they heard the book of Deuteronomy read, which would be a kind of a sobering thing to review. And that's what that sermon would be that year, reading the book of Deuteronomy. And if the priests didn't read Deuteronomy as instructed, they still had no excuse. It's in the scripture. It's plain. It was there. But that was to be the message every seven years. Look at Jeremiah 7. I think I did cover Jeremiah 7 with the pastoral care classes, because it's so startling. And, of course, this happened hundreds of years before Christ. Jeremiah 7, verse 1, The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, that's often called the temple, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter into these gates to worship the Lord.

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. Do not trust in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. In other words, we're in the temple.

What's going to happen? God's not going to mess up the temple.

Verse 5, For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doing, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 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 so you're hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave your fathers forever and ever.

Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods, who you do not know, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations. Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers, a den of thieves in your eyes? That's quoted in the New Testament. Jesus said that to them. Behold, I have even seen it, says the Lord. But go now to my place, which is in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it, because of the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, behold, you have done all these works, says the Lord. And I spoke to you, rising early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called, 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 in Shiloh.

And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out your brethren, the whole posterity of Ephraim they were already carried away. Therefore do not pray for this people, 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, in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women need dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven.

Hey, we still have that expression today, the queen of heaven. Isn't that amazing?

And they pour drink offerings to other gods, and they 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, and on man and beast, and on the trees of the field, and the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched. It's very strong, as you can see.

Now, the Soncino commentary says, on the ninth of Tammuz, in the year 586, long before Christ, a breach was made in the wall of Jerusalem. A month later, the ninth of Abb, a month later, it says, on the ninth of Tammuz, the breach, and on the ninth of Abb, Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian commander-in-chief, acting out orders to destroy Jerusalem, the temple, the royal palace, and the great mansions were set on fire, and the walls raised to the ground. A large part of the population was deported to Babylon, it's 586, and the overthrow of the Jewish state was complete. Jesus was now saying the same thing was going to be happening again. Wikipedia, article Tishba'av, which means the ninth of Abb.

Tishba'av is the annual fast day in Judaism named for the ninth day, Tisha, of the month Av, A-V, or A-B, in the Hebrew calendar. The feast commemorates the destruction both of the first temple and the second temple in Jerusalem, which occurred 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date.

Although primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the temples, it is also considered appropriate to commemorate other Jewish tragedies that occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 on the same day, and of the concluding events of the Iberian Reconquista. Accordingly, the day has been called the saddest day in Jewish history. Tishba'av. For this year, just for your information, Tishba'av is the July 25th, which is a weekly Sabbath, so they will observe the fast on the Sunday, the 26th. I just thought I'd let you know that, that there's still people observing that. Okay, I thought I'd take that time to give that detail, because God walking out of the temple for the last time was amazing.

Matthew 24, verse 3. Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the age, and of the age? Now, the Mount of Olives is highly significant.

The Mount is 200 feet higher than the temple complex, and from it you can look down those 200 feet, and you can look right into the temple. Although not everyone could enter the temple, everyone, everyone or anyone, could see it from the Mount of Olives.

Now, the Jerusalem Temple rules kept Jews and Gentiles strictly apart.

The temple had a permanent barrier that had been erected between Jews and Gentiles.

Such rules and such barriers didn't come from God, but was originated by the temple leaders themselves.

And I find it fascinating that Paul, in Ephesians 2.14, wrote of the middle wall of separation being broken down, but he wrote of it while I was still standing.

As I understand it, in 70 AD, after Paul's death, Titus would actually break down that wall, and the temple itself.

When Jesus rode on a donkey and was cheered by the crowd, he began the journey on the Mount of Olives and rode into Jerusalem.

When the woman poured fragrant oil on his feet and wiped his feet with her hair, he was in Bethany on the Mount of Olives.

It seems Jesus kept the Passover on his final night in Jerusalem, but afterwards went out to the Garden of Exsemi, which is on the Mount of Olives.

After his resurrection, he ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, Acts 1.9-12.

In Zechariah 14, verse 3 and 4, let me read it to you, the Lord will go forth, this is Zechariah 14, verses 3 and 4, then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle.

And in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley.

Half the mountain shall move toward the north and half toward the south.

So isn't it a great place to ask the question, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign you're coming? As you're sitting down there, you can look into the temple, and all these things have happened and are yet to happen on the Mount of Olives.

I think it'll be a very moving experience.

Jesus began by explaining that the temple, I want to say that it's a very appropriate setting for Jesus to give the teaching that's in Matthew 24 and 25.

Jesus began by explaining the temple would be destroyed.

Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what would be the sign you're coming at the end of the age?

When would the temple be destroyed? When would the end of the age come?

And when would the Lord come to a welcoming and respectful nation?

Zechariah 12. Expositor's Bible commentary.

The end of the age is used six times in the New Testament, five of which in Matthew, and look to the final judgment and the consummation of all things.

Hebrews 9.26, it's using this, the phrase is used in a slightly different way, sees the cross as introducing the coming age and thereby marking the end of the ages, which is the NIV translations. Now, Jesus' reply to those questions is given to the disciples only, and it's found, of course, in Matthew 25. First, he tells of events that would take place in the world. From verse 4 to verse 35 is about events that will take place in the world.

Then from 24.36 to the end of 25, he focuses on his servants. It admonishes him to be ready for his return.

So it's divided into two sections that way. First, what's happening in the world, and second, what's happening in the church, and a warning to all of us. Matthew 24, verse 4 to 8.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many will come in my name, saying I am of the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be 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 shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Expositor says, Few chapters of the Bible have called forth more disagreement among interpreters than Matthew 24 and its parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21. The history of the interpretation of this chapter is immensely complex, and then they go on for page after page because they don't understand it.

The message of Matthew, which is done by University Press, does cover it verse by verse, but they only draw various lessons from the text, so they don't explain it.

We have been blessed to be given understanding of the book of Revelation, which wasn't even written when he said these words.

Look at Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation chapter 5.

John is taken in vision up to heaven, and he says, Revelation 5 and verse 1.

Revelation 5 and verse 1.

And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to lose its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. They weren't even allowed to look at it.

Remember, it's in the hand of the Father.

So I went much, verse 4, because no one was found worthy to open it and read the scroll or look into it. But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scrolls and to lose its seals. And I looked and behold the mist of the throne and one of the four creatures. And in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out to all the earth. I won't explain that. Then he came up to the Father and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. He was able to take it and say, I'll do that. Now, chapter 6, verse 1. Now I saw when the lamb opened the scroll and opened one of the seals. He was the only one qualified to open the seals.

So he starts opening them. I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a loud voice, with a voice like thunder, Come and see. And I looked and behold the white horse. And he who sat upon it had a bow and a crown was given to it. And he went out conquering and to conquer. And when he opened the second seal, I heard a second living creature say, Come and see. And another, we'll go into that in a minute. But in chapter 6, he opened six of the seven seals in that one chapter that unlocked the book. But the book still unlocked until you have the seventh one because he got one seal, it's still a seal.

But he starts doing them one by one. Now look, if you would, at Revelation 17.

We've gone over this when we went over the book of Revelation. So I'm not going to go into it in the detail, but I just want to make this one point which I made in the sermon before the feast.

Revelation 17 and verse 7. He said, But the angel said to me, Why do you marvel? For I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. And the beast that you saw was and is not, and will ascend out of the bottom split and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written 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 which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

There are seven kings. Five have fallen. One is, and the another has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue his short time. Okay, we know that the seven kings with the woman in the Catholic Church rides on the seven successive restorations of the Roman Empire. It says, Five are fallen. One is, and the other, the seventh, has not yet come. So the Apostle John was projected forward to the time of the sixth revival of the Roman Empire, the sixth revival of it, on which the woman rides. Think of that. The revelation from Jesus Christ, from the Father whom Jesus Christ opened, put John forward in time to the sixth resurrection of the Roman Empire. That's the time when Mr. Armstrong began to understand the book of Revelation. He started learning the Bible in the late 20s and early 30s.

But he told Mussolini he was in power from 1922 to 1945. Later, he was allied with Hitler, who was the German dictator from 1933 to 1945. Mr. Armstrong began regularly broadcasting the World Tomorrow Radio program on January 7, 1934, and he continued for over 50 years.

The Plain Truth magazine, August 1934. I find this just astonishing. Page 6. He wrote, August 1934, page 6. Notice at the present time, one is, and one is not yet come. Revelation 17, 10. The five that are fallen are five during the 1260 years in which power was given by the papacy for the, quote, healed beast, unquote, to continue. The one that is is the present kingdom from Garibaldi to the present, 1934. Yet, it is not in any sense the old Roman Empire. So, during the stage of this ninth horn, or sixth head, Revelation 17, John speaks of it as a beast it was, and it's not and yet is, and shall arise again out of the bottom of the pit. It was very weak, but it was that empire, but it was very weak. So, it was, and, yeah, was not, but yet is.

Wikipedia article, World War II. The start of the war is generally held to be, when did World War start officially? What exact date?

1st September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland. Britain and France later declared war on Germany two days later. Jesus Christ, the only one worthy to open the seals of the book of Revelation, opens the seal to Mr. Armstrong's understanding.

There's no other way anybody can understand the book of Revelation. It has to be Jesus opens it.

So, he opens his understanding. August 1934, five years before Hitler entered Poland, or Czechoslovakia, before he invaded Poland. Isn't that astonishing?

And if you look, there was in that issue, there was a beast chart. All the heads of king, it's exactly the same chart today with a few little changes in terminology.

It was there. He had to be given to it. He couldn't come up with that. He wasn't worthy to open the scrolls. Only Jesus is worthy to open the scrolls. And he says, And the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.

The final revival will be a short one, but we know from many prophecies it's going to be an extremely destructive one. You know, today we can say, six are fallen, and one's still to come.

We'll pick it up next time.